Can employers use AI in disciplinary hearings UK? Acas asks

Acas has published a draft overhaul of its statutory Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures and opened a consultation that explicitly asks whether and how employers use artificial intelligence — can employers use AI in disciplinary hearings UK?

The draft was published on 30 July 2026 and Acas is inviting responses until 23 September 2026. The regulator frames the revision as a modernisation of long-standing guidance, but flags new questions about automated and generative tools in investigatory and disciplinary processes and the safeguards employers should put in place.

The draft Code includes targeted consultation questions about AI: how employers are using automated decision-making, the risks AI poses to procedural fairness, documentation and transparency requirements, and whether existing obligations on reasonable adjustments and informal resolution remain fit for purpose when technology is deployed. Acas also asks stakeholders to comment on manager training, data-retention practices and whether the Code should say more about the use of third‑party AI vendors in disciplinary and grievance cases.

Acas frames these questions around procedural fairness. The draft stresses that use of technology in disciplinary or grievance handling must not undermine employees’ ability to understand and respond to allegations, and that employers should be able to justify how any automated tool influenced outcomes. The regulator says employers should consider whether tools affect staff who have protected characteristics and whether extra adjustments or supports are needed.

Employment lawyers say the draft shifts the practical compliance landscape. Eversheds Sutherland warns that employers will need to revisit policies and training to show they remain consistent with the Code, pointing out that tribunals routinely consider whether an employer followed the Code when judging unfair dismissal and related claims. Local practice firm TLW Solicitors highlights that asking about AI brings new evidential questions to hearings — for example, how an algorithmic output was produced, who configured it and what checks were run.

The consultation arrives amid broader regulatory scrutiny of workplace AI. UK and European agencies have signalled greater interest in algorithmic decision-making at work, and employment tribunals are increasingly confronted with disputes where digital evidence and automated processes are central. For HR leaders, Acas’s move signals that technology can no longer be treated as a neutral back-office tool when it intersects with disciplinary or grievance outcomes.

The draft leaves several practical questions unanswered. It does not set out specific technical standards for AI audits, does not require independent bias certification for tools, and offers no step‑by‑step checklist for how to document automated decisions. Acas also does not give a timetable for when a final Code will be published or when any new expectations would be expected to apply, leaving employers to weigh whether to change current practice now or wait for definitive guidance.

For employers, the consultation is a prompt to act. Human-resources teams should map where automated tools touch investigatory and disciplinary workflows, update records so decisions can be explained, and review training for managers who will run processes that incorporate machine outputs. How tribunals will treat the use of generative or automated tools in practice remains to be seen, but the draft makes clear that Acas expects employers to be able to demonstrate fairness, transparency and appropriate adjustments where technology is involved — and that failure to do so could attract adverse tribunal findings.

Responses to the consultation close on 23 September 2026; HR leaders and providers should consider contributing practical examples and evidence about how AI is currently used in grievance and disciplinary cases to shape the final Code.