Grievance

What is a grievance?

A grievance is the term given to a formal complaint raised by an employee, to their employer, about their work.

From time to time, employees may have concerns about their work, working environment or working relationships. In many cases, it will be possible for these concerns to be resolved informally. However, where this is not possible, an employee should be able to raise their concerns in a formal way under a grievance procedure. Having a clear and effective grievance procedure in place will help employers respond to such concerns fairly and consistently.

All employers must have in place a written grievance procedure which complies with certain minimum standards of fairness set out in the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. A failure to meet the standards set out in the ACAS Code does not in itself make an employer liable to employment tribunal proceedings. However, in cases where an employee alleges that an employer has not addressed their complaint fully, an employment tribunal may increase an employee’s compensation by up to 25% if the employer has unreasonably failed to comply with one or more of the Code’s requirements.

The written statement of terms of conditions of employment issued to every new employee must include specified information relating to the redress of grievances. The document must clearly state the name or job title of someone within the organisation to whom employees may address a grievance, and how any such application should be made. If there are any further steps to be taken in respect of a grievance, the statement must explain them, or direct the employee to a separate document which explains them (such as a staff handbook).

What procedure must we follow to investigate a grievance?

It is important to comply with both the terms of your organisation’s grievance procedure and the ACAS Code of Practice.

As a minimum, an employer should carry out an investigation into the complaint and then invite the employee to attend a grievance meeting. The employee has the right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative at the meeting and should receive any evidence in advance. At the meeting, the employee should be allowed to explain details of their grievance and how they would like it to be resolved.

The employer should adjourn the grievance meeting to properly consider all the evidence before making a decision. The employee should be informed in writing whether or not their grievance is upheld and given reasons for that outcome.

The employee must be notified of their right to appeal against the outcome of the grievance procedure. The number of appeal stages permitted by a grievance procedure will depend on the size of an organisation, its resources and management structure. Larger organisations may wish to allow two stages of appeal, to allow unresolved complaints to be escalated up the management chain. In smaller organisations, one appeal stage will usually be sufficient.