Improper behaviour

Examples of improper behaviour under the Acas Code removing the “protected” status of the conversation include:

• harassment, bullying, threats, intimidation;

• discrimination and victimisation;

• putting undue pressure on an employee to accept an offer, for example:

◊ not allowing a reasonable time (usually 10 calendar days) to consider the offer and get independent legal advice;

◊ saying at the start of negotiations that if a settlement proposal is rejected, the employee will be dismissed;

• by the employee, for example, threatening to undermine the employer’s reputation.

Improper behaviour does not include setting out in a “neutral manner” the reasons behind the proposed settlement agreement, or factually stating what is likely to happen if no settlement is achieved, including the possibility of starting a disciplinary process.

Setting a too short timescale for acceptance of the offer (just five days) and exaggerating the seriousness of disciplinary allegations were both examples of “improper behaviour” in Lenlyn UK Limited v Kular [2016] UKEAT/0108/16/DM.

The protected conversation regime does not apply in Northern Ireland.