conduct-note

---
name: conduct-note
description: Turns a difficult conversation with a member of staff into a dated note that separates fact from opinion, says plainly whether it is informal or formal, and does not accidentally become a warning nobody was allowed to answer. Use when someone has been late, rude, careless or short of the standard and you want it written down properly rather than remembered wrongly.
---

# The awkward conversation, written down so it helps you in six months instead of hurting you

You give me what actually happened, in whatever state you have it: three dates scribbled on the back of a rota, a message from the duty manager, a complaint a customer left on Google, your own memory of Saturday night. You get back a note with the facts on one side and your opinion of them clearly marked as yours on the other, a script for the conversation including the sentence that stops it turning into something you are not allowed to run, a five-part written record with a review date, and a plain statement at the top of whether this is an informal word or the first step of a formal procedure.

## What it does

1. **Decide which of three things this is before you write a single line.** A note to yourself, an informal word, and the first step of a formal disciplinary procedure are three different documents with three different sets of rights attached, and mixing them up is the single most expensive mistake a small employer makes here. The Acas statutory Code of Practice is direct in its foreword: "Many potential disciplinary or grievance issues can be resolved informally. A quiet word is often all that is required to resolve an issue. However, where an issue cannot be resolved informally then it may be pursued formally." The accompanying Acas guide adds who this suits: "Cases of minor misconduct or unsatisfactory performance are usually best dealt with informally... An informal approach may be particularly helpful in small firms, where problems can be resolved quickly and confidentially." Three late starts in a fortnight from someone who has been solid for two years is an informal word. A till drawer that does not balance twice is not. Write the answer at the top of the page before anything else goes on it.

2. **Check the rule existed, in writing, somewhere the person could have found it, before you allege anyone broke it.** The Code says at paragraph 2 that rules and procedures "should be set down in writing, be specific and clear... It is also important to help employees and managers understand what the rules and procedures are, where they can be found and how they are to be used." GOV.UK makes part of this a duty rather than good practice: the wider written statement, due within 2 months of the start of employment, must include information about "disciplinary and grievance procedures". The Code adds at paragraph 24 that "Disciplinary rules should give examples of acts which the employer regards as acts of gross misconduct." If the standard you are about to enforce is not written anywhere and was never explained, the note does not allege a breach. It records that a standard is being set from today, names it, and says when it was communicated to everyone else.

3. **Write the facts first, with a date and a source, and keep your view of them in a separate paragraph with your name on it.** The Information Commissioner's Office draws the line that makes a note survive being read back to you: "A record of an opinion is not necessarily inaccurate personal information just because the worker disagrees with it or it is later proved to be wrong. Opinions are, by nature, subjective and not intended to record matters of fact. However, to be accurate, your records should make clear that it is an opinion, and, where appropriate, whose opinion it is." So the fact reads: "Saturday 6 September, table 12's mains ticket printed 20:14 and food went away 20:54, from the kitchen screen; the party complained to the floor manager at 20:45." The opinion reads, separately and labelled: "My view, David Martins, owner: the section was not being checked." Facts carry no adjectives. Opinions carry a name.

4. **Hold it in private, as a conversation, and say at the start what it is.** The Acas guide sets the shape: "Talk to the employee in private. This should be a two-way discussion, aimed at discussing possible shortcomings in conduct or performance and encouraging improvement. Criticism should be constructive, with the emphasis being on finding ways for the employee to improve and for the improvement to be sustained." It then says the thing managers forget they are allowed to conclude: "Listen to whatever the employee has to say about the issue. It may become evident there is no problem - if so make this clear to the employee." The guide's own worked example is a reliable employee repeatedly late, who turns out to have split from his wife and now does the school run, and the outcome is a temporary change to start and finish times and no formal action at all. Open the conversation with one sentence: this is an informal chat, it is not a disciplinary meeting, nothing goes on your file as a warning today.

5. **Know the trapdoor, and script the way out of it.** The Acas guide states the risk plainly: "Be careful that any informal action does not turn into formal disciplinary action, as this may unintentionally deny certain rights, such as the right to be accompanied. If, during the discussion, it becomes obvious that the matter may be more serious, the meeting should be adjourned. The employee should be told that the matter will be continued under the formal disciplinary procedure." That right is statutory. The Code, paragraph 13, gives workers the right to be accompanied where the meeting could result in "a formal warning being issued" or "the taking of some other disciplinary action", while the guide confirms the other side: "Informal discussions, counselling sessions or disciplinary investigatory meetings do not attract the right to be accompanied." So have the sentence ready and use it the moment the ground moves: "I am going to stop this here. What you have just told me is more serious than I understood, so I am ending this conversation and I will write to you about a formal meeting." Then stop. Record the time you stopped, and record no findings from the part you should not have been having.

6. **Write the note the same day, in five parts.** Acas gives the five for a formal improvement note, and they are the right five for an informal one as well: "the performance problem; the improvement that is required; the timescale for achieving this improvement; a review date; any support, including any training, that the employer will provide to assist the employee." The support line is the one owners skip and the one that makes the note defensible, because it shows you tried to fix the problem rather than build a file. In a kitchen that might be a fortnight paired with the sous on Friday and Saturday; on the floor, a table plan walked through before service. The guide also says of informal action: "It may be useful to confirm in writing what has been decided" and "Keep brief notes of any agreed informal action for reference purposes. There should be reviews of progress over specified periods." Brief means brief. One side of A4 with dates on it beats three pages of narrative.

7. **If it is formal, run it as formal from the start, not halfway through.** The Code sets out what that means and tribunals must take it into account. Paragraph 9: the employee is notified in writing with "sufficient information about the alleged misconduct or poor performance and its possible consequences to enable the employee to prepare to answer the case", normally with copies of any written evidence. Paragraph 10: the notification gives the time and venue and advises them of the right to be accompanied. Paragraph 18: after the meeting, decide and "inform the employee accordingly in writing". Paragraph 21: "A first or final written warning should set out the nature of the misconduct or poor performance and the change in behaviour or improvement in performance required (with timescale). The employee should be told how long the warning will remain current." The guide suggests a first written warning "should be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after a specified period (eg, six months)". Write that expiry date on the note, because nobody remembers it otherwise.

8. **Give them a copy, and record their disagreement instead of arguing it out of the file.** The Acas guide: "Copies of meeting records should be given to the employee including copies of any formal minutes that may have been taken." The ICO says what to do when they say the note is wrong: "If someone challenges the accuracy of an opinion, you could add a note recording the challenge and the reasons behind it." A note showing a disagreement recorded fairly reads far better later than a clean note that was never shown to anyone. And assume it will be read: the ICO warns that "Workers are especially likely to exercise their right to access their employment records during grievance or disciplinary proceedings, or in the case of dismissal", with a subject access request answerable "without delay and within one month".

9. **File it where the rest of the team cannot read it, set the review, and set the date it stops counting.** Acas lists what a disciplinary record should contain: "the complaint against the employee; the employee's defence; findings made and actions taken; the reason for actions taken; whether an appeal was lodged; the outcome of the appeal; any grievances raised during the disciplinary procedure; subsequent developments; notes of any formal meetings", and adds: "Records should be treated as confidential and be kept no longer than necessary." The ICO is specific on storage: employment records should "only be accessed, altered, disclosed or deleted by those who are authorised to do so", and for a physical record, "you should keep it in a sealed envelope in the worker's file or in a lockable cabinet". The office drawer everybody uses to get stationery is not that. Put the review date in the diary before you file anything.

## Then it checks

1. The note states, in one sentence in the first line, whether it is a note to file, an informal conversation, or a step in the formal procedure, and names the date, the time, the place and everyone who was present.
2. Every factual statement carries a date and a source you could produce: the rota, the till report, the kitchen screen, the booking system, a named person. No adjectives appear in the facts section.
3. Every judgement sits in a separate paragraph, is labelled as an opinion, and carries the name of the person whose opinion it is.
4. The standard being applied is quoted from a document that existed before the incident, and the note says where the employee could have read it. If no such document exists, the note sets the standard from today and alleges no breach.
5. If the conversation moved towards formal territory, the note records that it was adjourned, at what time, the words used, and that the employee was told it would continue under the formal procedure. No finding is recorded from after that point.
6. The note contains all five parts: the problem, the improvement required, the timescale, the review date, and the support offered. If formal, it also states how long it remains current and on what date it is disregarded. A copy went to the employee within one working day, their response including any disagreement is recorded in their own words, and the note is stored somewhere the rest of the team cannot open.

Any check fails: name it, redo that step once. Failed twice: say what is wrong and stop.

## Rules
- Public information only.
- Never invent a fact, a number or a quote.
- Anything sent in someone's name says whose name it is.
- Never write a note that reads like a warning but was never issued as one. A document headed "final chance" that arrived with no notice, no evidence, no chance to answer and no right to be accompanied is not an informal note, whatever it says at the top, and a tribunal reads it as what it looks like. The Acas Code's foreword records that tribunals "will also be able to adjust any awards made in relevant cases by up to 25 per cent for unreasonable failure to comply with any provision of the Code".
- Never record an opinion as a fact. The ICO's own example is a manager who records the facts accurately and the view that someone is underperforming, and notes the worker's disagreement alongside. Do that, and the note is accurate even where it is disputed; blur the two, and the whole note becomes arguable.
- Never leave an allegation on file without the answer beside it. The Code requires employers to "inform employees of the basis of the problem and give them an opportunity to put their case in response before any decisions are made". A file of one-sided notes built up over months is the document that loses the case, not the one that wins it.
- Never write anything in a staff note you would be unhappy to hand to the person it is about, because you may have to, within one month, and there is no version of the file they cannot see.
- This output is a working document prepared for the owner's HR adviser or solicitor to check before it is used. It does not decide whether conduct is misconduct, it does not determine any disciplinary outcome, and it is not employment law advice.

## Built from
- Acas, "Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures", https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-on-disciplinary-and-grievance-procedures/html, in effect from 11 March 2015 as stated in its foreword, read 14 September 2026: the informal-first principle, the requirement that rules be written and findable (paragraph 2), the fairness elements (paragraph 4), the right to be accompanied (paragraph 13), and the notification and warning requirements (paragraphs 9, 10, 18, 21). Shaped steps 1, 2, 5 and 7.
- Acas, "Discipline and grievances at work: the Acas guide", July 2020, https://www.acas.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-08/discipline-and-grievances-at-work-the-acas-guide.pdf, read 14 September 2026: the informal approach in small firms, the two-way private discussion, the adjournment instruction, the five elements of an improvement note, the six-month disregard period, and the list of what a record should contain. Shaped steps 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
- Information Commissioner's Office, "Collecting and keeping employment records", https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/employment/employment-practices-and-data-protection-keeping-employment-records/collecting-and-keeping-employment-records, no publication date shown on the page, read 14 September 2026: opinions under the accuracy principle, recording a challenge to an opinion, subject access during disciplinary proceedings with the one-month window, and the security expectations for staff records. Shaped steps 3, 8 and 9.
- GOV.UK, "Employment contracts: Written statement of employment particulars", https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions/written-statement-of-employment-particulars, no publication date shown on the page, read 14 September 2026: the wider written statement due within 2 months including disciplinary and grievance procedures, and the duty to tell staff about changes within one month. Shaped step 2 and check 4.

# conduct-note

## You are given
A folder about one named member of staff at a UK hospitality business. It holds whatever the owner actually has: dates written on the back of a rota, a WhatsApp message from a duty manager, a screenshot of a customer review, a till or kitchen-screen printout, a booking record, a typed paragraph of the owner's own recollection. You are also given a one-line classification written by the owner saying whether this is a note to file, an informal conversation or a step in the formal procedure, plus the staff handbook, contract or written statement that contains the standard being applied, if one exists. Names are spelled several ways, dates are in mixed formats, and some events have no document behind them at all.

## Produce
Write into an `output/` folder next to the inputs:

1. `conduct-note.md` - one printable A4 page. First line is the classification exactly as the owner supplied it, then the date, time, place and everyone present. Then five headed blocks in this order: `The problem`, `The improvement required`, `The timescale`, `The review date`, `The support offered`. Each block is filled only from the supplied inputs, and any block with nothing behind it is left empty and listed in `gaps.md`.
2. `incident-log.csv` with these columns in this order: `ref`, `incident_date`, `incident_time`, `what_happened`, `source_document`, `source_page_or_line`, `recorded_by`, `date_recorded`. `ref` is I001 upward. `what_happened` carries no adjective, no adverb and no characterisation: it states what the source document says was done, at what time, and nothing else.
3. `opinions.csv` with columns: `ref`, `incident_ref`, `opinion_text_verbatim`, `held_by`, `job_title`, `date_recorded`, `source_document`. `ref` is O001 upward. Every row is somebody's stated view, copied word for word, with a name against it.
4. `standard-applied.csv` with columns: `standard_text_verbatim`, `document_name`, `document_date`, `where_the_employee_could_read_it`, `date_communicated_to_staff`, `existed_before_earliest_incident`. The last column is `yes`, `no` or `not recorded`.
5. `employee-response.csv` with columns: `ref`, `incident_ref`, `response_verbatim`, `given_by`, `date_given`, `disagreement_recorded`. One row per point the employee answered, in their own words. Rows are left empty where no response has yet been supplied.
6. `evidence-index.csv` with columns: `source_document`, `document_type`, `date_of_document`, `date_received`, `received_from`, `filed_as`, `contains_health_or_personal_detail`, `given_to_employee`, `date_given_to_employee`.
7. `dates.txt` - the computed dates only, one per line, each with the input date it came from: date of the earliest incident, date of the latest incident, days between them, the review date as supplied, the date a copy is due to the employee (one working day after the note date), and, where the owner's classification says formal and supplied a currency period, the date the note stops being current.
8. `gaps.md` - a numbered list of every field left empty, every incident with no source document, every date that could not be read, and every name that appeared in more than one spelling.

## Rules
- Codex records only what is in the supplied inputs, attributed and dated. Never characterise conduct. Never describe anybody as late, rude, careless, unprofessional, difficult, aggressive or below standard, and never repeat such a word into `incident-log.csv`: if a source document uses it, it is somebody's opinion and it goes in `opinions.csv` with their name on it.
- Never infer a reason for what somebody did, and never write a motive, an attitude or a pattern.
- Never draft, suggest or imply a disciplinary outcome. Write no warning, no final warning, no dismissal, no sanction, no "if this continues" and no recommendation. Produce nothing that reads as a decision having been taken.
- Never move a statement between `incident-log.csv` and `opinions.csv` to make the note read better. A fact has a date and a source document you could produce. Everything else is an opinion and carries a name.
- Never leave an allegation on file without the space for the answer beside it: `employee-response.csv` is written even when it is entirely empty.
- Never write the classification yourself. It is supplied by the owner. If it is missing, write no note at all and say so in `gaps.md`.
- Every date and every quoted sentence must trace to a supplied file named in the row. Fill no gap from memory, from a template or from what is likely.
- Use British English, DD Month YYYY dates and £ where money appears. No em dashes.
- Every file ends with this line: this is a working document prepared for the owner's HR adviser or solicitor to check before it is used. It is not advice, it does not decide whether conduct is misconduct, and it determines no outcome.

## Return
The absolute path of each file written, the row count of each CSV, the number of incidents with a source document and the number without, the number of opinion rows and the names they are attributed to, whether a standard document was supplied and whether it predates the earliest incident, the computed dates from `dates.txt`, and the `gaps.md` item count. Name any input file you could not read and why.