Grievance
Download a copy of this Grievance guide for yourself
A grievance procedure should normally be referred to in your contract of employment or staff handbook. You must read your employer's procedure where it is available. Below we have outlined a good practice guide on how employers should deal with grievances.
A grievance procedure should be intended to provide a mechanism for you to air any issues related to your employment so that any problems can be resolved quickly and fairly in the workplace. It is not possible to provide for all the circumstances in which grievances may arise and this is intended to act as a framework.
The grievance procedure should be used by you to address any problems or concerns about your work, working environment or working relationships and can be used where you believe you have been treated unequally including where you feel you have been discriminated against.
In the first instance, you should be encouraged to attempt to resolve any problems or concerns you may have about any aspect of your employment informally by discussing the matter with your line manager. Where your grievance is against your manager and you feel unable to approach him or her you should talk to another manager, Human Resources or the owner of the business.
Where such informal discussions have failed to resolve the matter satisfactorily or you prefer not to discuss the matter informally, you can make a formal complaint without delay by using the grievance procedure set out below.
The procedure outlined below is a good practice guide on how employers should deal with grievance issues.
Good practice: Procedure you and employer may follow
Set out the grievance
You should put your grievance and the basis for it in writing in as much detail as possible and send it to your line manager. If the grievance involves your line manager, go to another manager, human resources or the owner of the business. You will then be invited to attend a formal meeting to discuss the grievance and will have the right to be accompanied.
Attend a meeting
The meeting should take place, normally within five working days, once your employer has had a reasonable opportunity to consider a response to your grievance and if necessary investigate the matter. You must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting
After the meeting your employer must respond to the grievance and notify you of your right to appeal if you are not satisfied with the decision.
Appeal
You must inform your line manager in writing if you want to appeal the outcome of the grievance within a confirmed time frame set by your employer once you have been notified of the decision. Your letter of appeal should set out the reasons upon which the appeal is made.
If you appeal you will be invited to attend a further formal meeting, normally within five working days and you must take all reasonable steps to attend that meeting.
After the appeal meeting your employers should normally consider the appeal and may make further enquiries if they consider it necessary. They should then inform you of their final decision. There is usually no further right of appeal after this.
The right to be accompanied
At any meeting under the grievance procedure you must have the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union official to act in a supporting capacity but such companion may not usually be permitted to answer questions on your behalf.
Grievance procedure where you have been dismissed or left your employment
The grievance procedure set out above may not be appropriate in all circumstances. In particular, if you wish to bring a grievance after the end of your employment about a matter of which your previous employers were unaware at the time you left employment you should set out your grievance in writing as soon as possible and in as much detail as possible and send it to your previous employer.
If you and your employer agree your employer may respond to you in writing without the need for you to attend a hearing. There is no formal requirement that your previous employer must hear or consider your grievance but it is advisable they do so where your potential grievance relates to some alleged action by them which could form the basis of a complaint to the Employment Tribunal.
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