Recent updates to the style guide.
23 August 2024
Updated entry for 'acronyms and initialisms' to:
- make clear we should usually write acronyms and initialisms out in full
- add HR to the examples where the acronym is more familiar
22 May 2024
Updated the following to apply recent style changes and correct links:
- acronyms and initialisms
- and/or
- blog guidelines
- Britain
- Code of Practice
- dashes and hyphens
- death
- disciplinary procedure
- early conciliation certificates
- employee
- GDPR or UK GDPR
- guidance
- inverted commas or 'quote marks'
- content pattern for linking
- might
- navigation boxes
- content pattern for raising a problem at work
- Relay UK text relay
- remote working
- transcript guidelines
- working from home
Removed entries for 'Employment Rights Act 1996' and 'Equality Act 2010'. The style for acts of law is in the entry for 'acts of law, legislation, regulations'.
8 April 2024
Updated content pattern for 'length of service' to replace flexible working examples.
20 February 2024
Updated content pattern for examples to explain that examples on the Acas website:
- do not always have to include names
- should be written in present tense
Updated entries for 'examples' and 'gender-neutral language'.
9 January 2024
Updated entries related to headings, titles and summaries:
- updated entry for 'headings'
- removed entries for 'publication titles' and 'verbs in guide and chapter titles'
- added entries for 'summaries' and 'titles for webpages'
Moved 'writing for the Acas website':
- updated the style guide introduction
- created content design landing page
We will no longer post updates to 'writing for the Acas website' to this page.
19 December 2023
Added entry for 'hearing or meeting'.
13 November 2023
Added entry for 'race and ethnicity'.
31 October 2023
Updated content pattern for 'raising a problem at work' so that it:
- works with updated content on raising a problem informally
- follows our style for legal terms
Created separate style guide entry for 'raising a problem at work' to link to updated content pattern.
23 October 2023
Added content pattern for 'employee representative'.
19 October 2023
Updated the following to apply recent style changes and correct links:
- content pattern for callouts
- content pattern for enhanced and contractual entitlements
- legal terms
- content pattern for linking
- mental health
- adviser
- death
- publication titles
- subject access request
- headings
Changed entry for 'statutory maternity and paternity pay and leave, and shared parental leave' to 'statutory leave and pay for parents'. Added statutory adoption leave and pay to that entry.
13 October 2023
Added sections on structure and concepts to writing for the Acas website.
14 September 2023
Updated entry for 'mother or birth parent' to make it clear when to use it.
5 September 2023
Removed entry for 'hearing or meeting' while it is reviewed.
23 August 2023
Added entry for 'claimant, respondent, representative'.
Added links to it from:
- new entry for 'respondent'
- new entry for 'representative'
- updated entry for 'early conciliation'
22 August 2023
Added entry for 'signpost'. Updated entry for 'legal advice' to remove a use of the verb 'signpost'.
21 July 2023
Updated content pattern for 'discipline, grievance and appeal hearing'. Amended explanation of 'hearing' to correct inaccuracy.
20 July 2023
Updated content pattern for 'detriment for enforcing a right'. Added separate links to 'bullying' and 'harassment' content.
3 July 2023
Added content pattern for 'trade union representative'.
7 June 2023
Added entry for 'trigger points'.
26 May 2023
Changed content pattern for 'homepage news and updates boxes' to a content pattern for 'navigation boxes'. This covers all types of navigation boxes.
22 May 2023
Updated entry for 'acronyms and initialisms' to add line about when there's limited space.
17 May 2023
Updated entry for 'capitalisation and title case'.
Removed entry for 'job titles'. This was all about capitalisation and is now in under 'capitalisation and title case'.
4 May 2023
Updated content pattern for 'detriment for enforcing a right' to make clear this should not be used in content about recruitment.
19 April 2023
Updated entry for 'advice' to make it clearer why we use 'advice' and not 'guidance'.
Updated the following to apply recent style changes and correct links:
- inverted commas or quote marks
- references
- content pattern for examples
- content pattern for linking from advice to Acas training
18 April 2023
Updated entry for 'italics'.
17 April 2023
Updated entries for 'inverted commas' and 'legal terms'.
14 April 2023
Updated entry for 'partner, spouse'.
31 March 2023
Updated entry for 'workplace' and made related updates to other entries.
28 March 2023
Added entry for 'hearing or meeting' and content pattern for 'discipline, grievance or appeal hearing'.
14 March 2023
Added content pattern for 'callouts'.
7 March 2023
Updated link to Harvard referencing style on The Open University website.
21 February 2023
Added section on audiences to writing for the Acas website.
13 February 2023
Added entry for 'statutory maternity and paternity pay and leave, and shared parental leave' and amended previous examples that included these.
8 February 2023
Added entry for 'holiday entitlement'.
13 January 2023
Updated 'Acas helpline' content pattern to include guidance on using headings, including heading wording options.
10 January 2023
Made various updates to style guide entries and content patterns to apply recent style changes.
Updated style guide entries for capitalisation, examples, and gender-neutral language.
Updated content patterns for bullet-point lists, homepage news and updates boxes, linking, linking from advice to Acas training, related content links. Removed content pattern for making it clear a press release has out of date advice.
Added entry for 'email addresses'.
3 January 2023
Updated entry for 'acronyms and initialisms'. Removed entry for 'addressing a representative' because this needs reviewing.
30 December 2022
Removed entry for 'filenames' because this is now in an internal document about managing files.
29 December 2022
Added entry for 'time periods'.
23 December 2022
Added entry for 'dashes and hyphens'.
Added content pattern for 'detriment for enforcing a right'.
Updated entries for 'covid-19 (coronavirus)' and 'long covid'.
22 December 2022
Added page on writing for the Acas website.
Added entry for 'mental health'.
21 December 2022
Updated entry for 'capitalisation' to add heading for team names.
Updated entry for 'gender neutral language' to expand the examples.
Various other updates to fix broken links.
15 December 2022
Added entries for discrimination and harassment.
Updated entry for protected characteristics.
14 December 2022
Added content pattern for links to downloads.
22 November 2022
Added entry for 'written statement'.
16 November 2022
Updated 'enhanced and contractual' content patterns to be clearer how and when to use them.
9 November 2022
Added entries for 'early conciliation certificates' and 'employment tribunal form ET1'.
Updated the content pattern for 'homepage news and updates boxes' to include new guidance in sections on conferences and blog posts.
2 November 2022
Amended inverted commas entry; removed furlough entry; amended capitalisation, and acronyms and initialisms entries.
25 October 2022
Added content pattern for 'employment tribunal time limits'.
21 October 2022
Added entry and content pattern for 'customer services'.
20 October 2022
Added entry for 'putting something in writing'.
13 October 2022
Added entry and content pattern for 'examples'.
12 October 2022
Updated the content pattern for 'Acas helpline' to make it clear that you should not link to the legal advice page.
Updated the style guide entry for 'legal advice' to signpost to the helpline instead of the legal advice page. And removed reference to legal advice in the style guide entry for 'advice'.
30 September 2022
Added entry for 'disability'.
27 September 2022
Temporarily removed the content pattern for 'employment tribunal time limits'.
26 September 2022
Added entry for 'partner, spouse, wife, husband'.
Replaced previous entry for 'birth parent' with 'mother and birth parent'.
22 September 2022
Under 'adoption and surrogacy', updated what we say about 'intended parent' to be more accurate, and added 'parental order'.
21 September 2022
Added 'linking from advice to Acas training' to the content pattern for linking.
8 September 2022
Updated content pattern for 'making clear a press release has out of date of advice' to make clear that we only add call-outs to press releases in exceptional circumstances.
5 September 2022
Updated entry for 'capitalisation' to make it clearer. Added example to entry for 'telephone numbers'.
30 August 2022
Added content pattern for 'employment tribunal time limits'.
25 August 2022
Changed example in 'archive content' entry from suspension to retirement. Advice on suspension is moving to this website.
22 August 2022
Updated entry for 'lawful and unlawful' to give more clarity on when to use these terms and when to use alternative terms.
15 August 2022
Removed entry for 'numbers'. We'll follow the Government Digital Service (GDS) style guide for numbers.
Updated entry for 'okay'.
12 August 2022
Added entries for 'reasonable adjustments' and 'workplace adjustments'.
Added content pattern for 'enhanced and contractual entitlements'.
10 August 2022
Added entry for 'may'.
4 August 2022
Did a tidy up to be consistent with use of full sentences and inverted commas. Removed duplication of GDS style guide. Made sure all entries follow the style guide and content pattern for linking.
19 July 2022
Updated entry for 'coronavirus (COVID-19)' and removed entry for 'test and trace' as no longer used.
18 July 2022
Removed examples from the entry for 'telephone numbers' as they were not consistent with our style on the website.
7 July 2022
Updated helpline content pattern to remove negative language and fit in with what we say the helpline can do on the 'contact us' page.
23 June 2022
Added entry for 'verbs in guide and chapter titles'.
16 June 2022
Updated the introduction to the style guide. Created this updates page.
10 June 2022
Updated blog guidelines so that they're written for blog authors.
20 May 2022
Added entry for 'length of service'.
19 May 2022
Tiny fix: in entry for 'might' – added missing space after comma.
12 May 2022
Updated links to content patterns and guidelines:
- blog guidelines
- homepage news and updates boxes
- linking
- making it clear a press release has out of date advice
- raising a problem or formal grievance at work
- related content links
- transcript guidelines
11 May 2022
Updated link to 'bullet-point lists' content pattern.
6 May 2022
2 tiny fixes:
- helpline – changed 'can't' to 'cannot'
- references – changed 'latin' to 'Latin'
29 April 2022
Added entry for 'early conciliation is free and confidential'.
28 April 2022
Added entry for 'addressing a representative'.
21 April 2022
Updated links to content patterns:
12 April 2022
Published the style guide at www.acas.org.uk/style-guide.