Grievance at Work

If an employee wants to raise a grievance at work, you must take it seriously. Whether you think it's valid or not, it could negatively affect your employee.

Their morale may have dropped which could lead to productivity levels decreasing. As a result, staff retention could fall as employees may decide to leave your business.

If a formal grievance process or complaints aren't handled properly, you could face employment tribunal hearings and costly compensation to your employees.

Call one of our experienced employment law advisors for 24/7 grievance advice, on 0800 470 2701.

This guide will explain what a grievance is, the different types of grievances in the workplace, and how to manage the grievance process.

What is a Grievance at Work?

A grievance can be a complaint, concern, or problem that employees raise to their employer. It can relate to the following:

• Working environment
• Working conditions
• Conduct

An employee can raise a grievance at any time if they deem an employer’s actions to be unfair. This can be in response to redundancy, performance, or disciplinary process against an employee.

Grievance at Work

If an employee wants to raise a grievance, you must take it seriously. Whether you think it's valid or not, it could negatively affect your employee.

Their morale may have dropped which could lead to productivity levels decreasing. As a result, staff retention could fall as employees may decide to leave your business.

If a formal grievance claim isn't handled properly, you could face employment tribunal hearings and costly compensation to your employees.

Call one of our experienced employment law advisors for 24/7 grievance advice, on 01455 858 132.

This guide will explain what a grievance is, the types of grievances in the workplace, and how to manage the process.

What is a Grievance at Work?

A grievance can be complaints, concerns, or problems that employees submit to their employer. A grievance can relate to the following:

• Working environment
• Wages
• Process failure
• The treatment of an employee

An employee can raise a grievance at any time if an employee deems an employer's actions to be unfair. This can be in response to redundancy, performance, or disciplinary process against an employee.

Different Types of Workplace Grievance

There are many types of grievances you need to know. Understanding what each type means can empower you to devise a fair grievance procedure. This can be passed on to the workforce.

An employee can report issues of:

Individual or Collective Grievances

A single employee can raise individual grievances. They normally relate to issues linked to their personal employment, like wages or entitlements.

A collective grievance is raised by a group of employees. If two or more staff members raise the same issue this must be signed by all involved and in writing. After an issue has been raised and signed, an investigation to assess the situation follows.

After an investigation, a meeting is held to reach a solution on the matter.

Interpersonal Issues

Interpersonal issues are a common cause of grievances at work. They can derive from a variety of situations and can lead to individual or collective problems.

A grievance related to interpersonal issues is aligned with bullying, harassment, discrimination or all three.

Bullying

Bullying relates to offensive, intimidating, or abusive behaviour. It may be difficult to determine whether behaviours count as bullying.

For example, copying another employee into condemning emails or exclusion might not be so apparent to others.

Harassment

Harassment relates to unwanted conduct which violates an individual's dignity. The conduct can be hostile, degrading, or humiliating for that particular individual.

For example, an individual not involved in the situation may submit grievances relating to others being victimised for their religions or beliefs.

Discrimination

Discrimination occurs when an employer or employee treats someone less favourably than others.  For example, a female could be paid less than a male for carrying out the same job.

Discrimination can take several forms at work:

Direct discrimination

Direct discrimination is when a member of staff receives unfair treatment against protected characteristics, such as:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage or civil partnership
• Pregnancy
• Race
• Religion
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Bullying, harassment, or discrimination all breach employment rights under the Equality Act 2010.

Indirect Discrimination

Indirect discrimination requires a policy to be fair but involves being discriminative. For example, if a recruitment requirement asks for applicants to be a certain height, this can negatively impact certain groups like women.

Harassment

Harassment involves communication or policies that target or exclude a protected characteristic. From this, a culture may develop that makes staff feel uncertain or even unwelcome.

Victimisation

Victimisation is a form of discrimination that involves the unfair treatment of an employee. This is regarding managerial positions such as promotions or providing support testimony in a related grievance.

Working Conditions

This refers to the working environment and the employee’s terms and conditions in their contract.

The common grievance issues in working time and conditions may involve:

• Dissatisfied with annual leave, rest breaks, or non-working days.
• Safety during the working day
• Effects of the work on mental health
• The way a staff's job has been created. For example, an employee may feel that reasonable adjustments haven't been made

Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing is a term to describe a grievance that relates to reports of wrongdoing.

For example, an employee could “blow the whistle” on a company if they think their company is acting unethically or committing unjust behaviour at work.

Pay and Benefits

As an employer, you may experience a range of issues related to wages and benefits. These can relate to issues such as:

• Dissatisfaction with salaries or benefits
• Conflict between other employees of the workforce
• Unhappy with expenses

Your company must commit to equal pay and offer a fair structure in line with the Equality Act 2010. It may also align with the National Minimum Wage.

 

 

Before Raising a Grievance

The best way to sort out a problem with your employee is to talk with them. This can begin with an informal discussion to understand the issue.

It may be possible to sort out a complaint with an employer informally. You should ask your employee what you should do to resolve the matter. If your employee or group doesn't feel comfortable talking to their line manager, they should seek help from a senior manager.

An employee may raise a formal grievance if the issue can't be resolved.

How to Raise a Formal Grievance

A formal procedure must be raised without unreasonable delay. It should be submitted to the line manager (or a senior manager if the grievance relates to the line manager).

An employer's grievance procedure should be outlined in the company handbook or HR manual. But if you don't have one, your employee can refer to the ACAS Code of Practice process.

The Code of Practice sets out employment law standards and reasonable behaviour that need to follow.

The Formal Grievance Procedure

An employee can raise a grievance in writing if:

• They have already raised it informally and hasn't worked
• They want it dealt with externally
• It's a serious issue, such as harassment or whistleblowing

When raising a formal complaint in writing, it should be as detailed as possible and include:

• Why the staff member is raising a grievance
• The circumstances should include the type of grievance, any relevant facts, times, dates, or discussions related to the problem.

Does It Depend on the Size of the Business?

No, regardless of the size of the business, all employers should follow a fair grievance process.

Employers should:

• Handle it fairly
• Conduct an internal investigation to gather as much information as possible
• Allow the employee to bring relevant people to the meeting
• Give employee's a chance to have their say before making a decision
• Make decisions as soon as possible
• Allow the employee to appeal against the final decision

If There Are Related Grievances

If there are two or more related grievances, you should:

• Follow the correct procedure for all grievances.
• Make should all information is kept confidential.
• Understand what your employees want.
• Explain the process to your employees.

Each employee has the right to a grievance meeting. This could be without the other employees who are part of the same grievance.

What Happens at the Grievance Meeting?

As an employer, you should arrange the initial meeting. This should be at a reasonable time and place, to discuss their grievance.

The meeting will give your employees the chance to:

• Explain their grievance properly
• Produce any evidence they have
• Ask any relevant questions
• Answer questions that need clarification

After the meeting, you may require further investigation if the information given is not sufficient.

Can You Record the Grievance Meeting?

Yes, but only if the employee gives consent before the start of the meeting.

But typically employers won't accept the recording of your job.

It may help if a companion is given detailed minutes during the meeting. Having recorded your meeting without consent is not deemed evidence in an upcoming court case as your employer could argue that this document is inadmissible.

A court must perform balancing exercises when considering a decision about granting evidence. It might also be permissible in cases where evidence shows your employee was lying.

 

 

Appealing a Workplace Grievance

Following an employer's decision, an employee might request an appeal meeting due to the grievance outcome. This can be done via a letter which should state:

• They're appealing your decision
• Why they don't agree with your decision

A further meeting should be arranged to discuss the appeal. There is no fixed timeline for appeals, but they should be heard as soon as possible and without any unreasonable delays.

Making an Employment Tribunal Claim

If an employee has tried everything to sort out their problem, they may consider taking further action and make a claim to the employment tribunal.

Employees don't have to raise a grievance before making a claim to the tribunal. But if there is no evidence of raising a grievance first, the tribunal may reduce the amount of any compensation.

The tribunal may change its mind if your employee has a good reason.

What Happens if Raising a Grievance is Unsuccessful?

If an employee has raised a grievance and it's unsuccessful, they can appeal it or claim constructive dismissal.

A constructive dismissal would mean that an employee has been forced to leave because an employer has breached an employment contract.

Can You Be Dismissed After a Grievance Hearing?

An employee has the right to bring a trade union official or colleague to a disciplinary meeting. A trade union official represents and advises colleagues when they have problems at work.

If an employee is dismissed for exercising their employment rights, this is called an unfair dismissal. This applies to both the employer and employees or agency workers.

Get Expert Advice With Croner

Handling a workplace grievance can be difficult. Especially if you don't have a secure process in place.

If your employees have been raising issues at work, you should try and resolve them as quickly as possible. This will be in the best interests of your business. If problems can't be resolved after the formal meeting, you can face employment tribunal claims and costly compensation to your employees.

Croner can help you manage a grievance in the workplace with ease. We provide expert advice in employment law and on raising a grievance with our 24/7 HR advice line. Give us a call on 01455 858 132 today.