Status of the Code and Guidance
[ch 7: page 106]Introduced in 2009, with the support of both the CBI and the TUC, the Code is not legally binding, and failing to follow it will not make a dismissal automatically unfair. However, unreasonable failure by either side to follow the Code can lead to an increase or cut in compensation in any successful tribunal claim (up to 25%). A tribunal can also take breaches of the Code into account when deciding whether a dismissal decision was fair.
Acas Guidance on discipline and grievances at work includes a separate section in Appendix 4: Dealing with absence. A failure to follow the Acas Guidance (as opposed to the Code itself) will not trigger any percentage increase or cut to compensation, but it may help persuade a tribunal that a dismissal is unfair.
Acas, Discipline and grievances at work www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/9/g/Discipline-and-grievances-Acas-guide.pdf