Do you have an issue with your employer? Most people in most employers will rarely need to raise a grievance during their careers, however this also means that lots of workers don’t have any experience in raising a grievance and how best to approach it. In this guide, we will work through what a grievance is and how to try to find a resolution.
What is a grievance?
In simple terms, a grievance is raised by an employee with their employer when they have a problem: It could be with a colleague’s conduct, with the application of a contract or policy or some other reason. You are legally entitled to raise a grievance with your employer, even if that employer does not have a formal grievance procedure.
How do I raise a grievance?
The first step to raising a grievance is to find your own employer’s grievance procedure if it has one. Most employers will have a grievance procedure and not having one does not mean that they don’t have an obligation to investigate your grievance. Read the procedure carefully, as it will lay out the steps involved in processing your grievance, including the appeals procedure if you find that the initial outcome is not satisfactory.
Next, it’s a good idea to take some time to write down the facts of the matter, in order to be clear in your own mind about what the actual issue is and, just as importantly, what you would consider to be an acceptable resolution. Then raise the matter informally with a manager or supervisor if possible. You can raise a grievance informally via email, telephone or by a face-to-face discussion. If you send an email, be sure to keep that email as a record for future reference.
There may be occasions where raising the grievance informally might not be the most appropriate first course of action. These can include:
- The issue being too serious to raise informally (cases like racism, sexual harassment and whistleblowing are examples)
- If you don’t think that raising the matter informally will work (for instance if the grievance is against your manager or supervisor)
- If you have already raised the matter informally and it hasn’t been resolved to your satisfaction
To raise a formal grievance, if you are a trade union member you should contact your local representative to let them know that you have grievance and to agree the next steps. Take the advice of your rep, but remember that this is your grievance! The next step is to write to your manager or supervisor, stating that you are raising a formal grievance and giving an account of the circumstances of the grievance and what you will accept as a resolution. If you feel that this manager or supervisor would not be the appropriate person to raise this grievance with (for instance if they are involved at some level with the issue that you are raising as a grievance) then you should approach someone from your Human Resources department or another manager and raise the grievance with them.
The grievance procedure
Having submitted your grievance, the employer must now follow their own grievance procedure if they have one or, if they don’t, then they should follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. In essence, these guidelines require employees to:
- To meet with the employer to discuss the grievance
- To carry out a thorough and fair investigation
- To conclude the investigation in a timely manner
- To keep accurate records of the investigation
- Give the claimant the right to appeal whatever decision is made
When a grievance meeting is called, you are entitled to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a workplace colleague: You are encouraged to take advantage of this entitlement, as attending alone could render you ineligible for legal assistance from a trade union in the future if the case reaches Employment Tribunal. Attending a meeting with someone can also help in terms of recalling your own account of the issue and, just as importantly, your recollection of what happened at the meeting itself.
At the grievance meeting, you should be given the opportunity to set out the substance of your claim. The person hosting the meeting may ask supplementary questions as required and allow your workplace colleague or representative make a statement either on your behalf or in addition to any statements that you have made.
If other parties are required to be interviewed following your meeting, then the investigating manager may inform you of an estimated lead time for the completion of the investigation and when you will be likely to receive an outcome. The outcome may not necessarily take place at a further formal meeting: Often your response will be sent to you in writing.
Appeal
If the findings of the grievance investigation are not satisfactory, then you have the right to appeal it. Your employer’s grievance procedure will set out how to lodge such an appeal, but typically it will require you to lodge your appeal in writing to the appropriate manager within seven days or receiving the original grievance outcome. It is very important that you are very clear as to the reasons for lodging your appeal: Examine the response from the management very carefully to identify any faults in their findings and use them as a framework for your appeal.
The appeal will usually be hosted by the manager of the manager who hosted your first grievance meeting. Note that these meetings will not be a revisit of the case – it will instead be focussed on the findings of the investigation and your appeal against them. As before, you will be entitled to be accompanied by a trade union representative or workplace colleague at this meeting.
Commonly, the lead time for concluding your appeal will be shorter than for the original grievance. This is because the appeal does not revisit the case but reviews the outcome and your appeal before determining whether the original outcome was correct or should be overturned.
What next?
Once you have exhausted the grievance procedure, you have the option to make a claim to an Employment Tribunal. An Employment Tribunal is an employment court where individuals and groups of workers can lodge claims against their employers.
You MUST exhaust your employer’s grievance procedure before lodging a claim at an Employment Tribunal. You also should be aware that the time limit for lodging your appeal is three months less one day from the day the grievance procedure is exhausted, so for instance if your appeal letter is sent to you on 1st January, you would have until 31st March to lodge a claim at an Employment Tribunal.
You must tell Acas that you will be making a claim: If you are a member of a trade union, then you should consult them before registering your claim as many unions will assess your case before determining whether to grant legal assistance, which will cover any incurred costs for the claim. If your case is assessed and the union deems that it does not meet their criteria (for example at least a 50% chance of your claim winning at Employment Tribunal) then legal assistance will not be granted and you may become personally liable for costs. Also be aware that legal assistance is not normally granted by trade unions until you have completed at least six months of clear membership and are not in arrears in your subscriptions.
As part of the process of making a claim, you may be offered an option to participate in early conciliation. This a meeting, chaired by a judge, where both the claimant (you) and the respondent (the employer) will attempt to settle the case without going through a full Employment Tribunal, which can be extremely expensive for the employer and take months to schedule and run.
You can read more on Employment Tribunals at the Acas website.
In summary…
- If you can, try to resolve the grievance informally
- Read your employer’s grievance procedure carefully
- If you are a trade union member, contact your representative or, if you don’t know who they are, then contact your union’s head office for help
- Think carefully about the basis of your grievance – write down the salient facts before you set about writing your formal letter or email
- Don’t attend any formal meeting alone – always take a union representative or workplace colleague
- If you are not happy with the outcome, then appeal the decision
If you need any help or advice in lodging a grievance, we can help. You can email us ay classconsciousnessproject@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to help, in complete confidence.
Class Consciousness Project 