Raising a grievance at work

Raising a grievance

Most employers will have their own grievance rules in a policy or staff handbook. If there is a policy, both employer and employee should follow the process.

For employers, it is important to periodically check that any policy you have complies with the latest ACAS Guidelines. If necessary, revise your policy. We can advise and help with this if you get in contact.

Risks for Employee raising a grievance

Employees often face a dilemma. Raising a grievance, whether informally or formally, carries the risk of damaging the relationship with any colleagues you may complain about or with the employer. If your grievance is not resolved to your satisfaction, it is common to feel that trust and confidence with the employer has been irretrievably damaged.

In addition to the risks of your grievance not being upheld, sometimes grievances can result in counter grievances by other employees. Starting a grievance process can result in a disciplinary process against the employee raising the grievance.  Grievances do quite commonly result in the employee leaving employment, sometimes after signing a settlement agreement.and/or lead to Employment Tribunal Claims for discrimination and/or constructive dismissal or unfair dismissal.

We discuss with employee clients and advise on the pros and cons and underlying legal issues and risks of raising a workplace grievance and if so, whether to do so informally or formally.

Grievance process and outcome

Key things to note and be aware of include :-

• Grievances should be put in writing by the employee - it is essential that an employee ensures the nature of the grievance and supporting facts are sufficiently clear and accurate. Often employees ask us to help them set out the grievance.

• Employment Tribunal claims that might follow a grievance - if you have been employed for under 2 years, if your grievance fails and you feel you must resign or you are sacked, you can't bring an unfair dismissal claim. However, you can still bring a discrimination claim, as there is no qualifying employment period for grievance claims.

• Importance of timescales with workplace grievances - employers should deal with grievances promptly after receipt. Any significant delay before an employer starts to deal with a grievance or subsequently can result in legal problems for the employer later.

• Impartiality and thorough investigation - employers should ensure that a grievance investigation and the people chosen to deal with it, should be manifestly impartial and the process should be thorough, including interviewing witnesses.

• Potential grievance outcomes - sometimes employees drop grievances part way through the process. After investigating, employers may find that the grievance is upheld, not upheld or partially upheld.

• Grievance appeal - the employee should be given the right to appeal. The appeal should, be in writing and dealt with by another set of people internally. The appeal can be in the form of a full re-investigation or  rehearing if there are grounds to believe there has been a procedural flaw in the process first time around, or if there is no procedural error, a review of the decision. Appeals should be dealt with promptly.

• There is no formal rule requiring a grievance to be brought before a claim may be made - however, the ACAS Code seems to expect formal grievances to be brought if it is impossible to resolve matters informally. There is a risk of compensation being reduced if the employee wins any case when he or she had not first brought an internal grievance. The Code is unclear whether employees have to bring a grievance once they have left the employment.

Solicitors to advise on employment grievances

We have a number of specialist employment lawyers, based in locations throughout England & Wales. We advise both employers and employees. Please do get in contact to discuss how we can help you.