An Employer's Guide to Grievance Procedures (UK Guide)

Employers must maintain a documented ACAS-compliant grievance procedure (informal first, then formal with hearing, written decision, and impartial appeal) to handle employee complaints about unfair treatment, bullying, pay, etc., and avoid costly tribunal uplifts or constructive dismissal claims. Start informally where possible, escalate to formal investigation/hearing/appeal only when needed, handle everything confidentially and without unreasonable delay, and ensure the policy is in contracts/handbooks with no statutory time limit for raising grievances.

What is a grievance procedure / process?

ACAS standards

Where does a grievance begin?

The informal grievance procedure

The formal grievance procedure

Step 1: Grievance hearing

Step 2: The decision

Step 3: The appeal

Other points to remember

Is there a grievance procedure time limit to when a grievance can be submitted

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Your working environment typically consists of individuals from different backgrounds, with unique life experiences, cultures, opinions, and working styles. Because of this, and many other factors, workplace conflict frequently occurs and, as a result, grievances arise.

In this article, Croner provide guidance on how to avoid costly employment tribunal claims by implementing a formalised grievance procedure in place.

If you’re experiencing issues with employee conduct and need immediate support, you can contact our advice team. We can help you with:

• Support through initial grievance claims.
• Grievance investigations.
• Final appeal hearings.

Call us now on 01455 858 132  for expert, same-day support.

Read on for a full breakdown of how you, as an employer, should handle the grievance process / procedure.

What is a grievance procedure / process?

A grievance is a formal request submitted by an employee to their employer. Employees use this avenue to address a workplace problem or conflict. These can include:

• Perceived unfair treatment.
• Bullying or harassment-related claims.
• Issues with managers and/or colleagues.
• Compensation concerns (such as missing wages or receiving too little pay).

Employees can submit grievances in many situations. For employers, mishandling a grievance (such as by failing to investigate it properly, delaying unreasonably, or breaching fair procedures) can lead to costly constructive unfair dismissal claims (and potentially linked unfair dismissal elements). This is why a compliant grievance procedure - which sets out the steps for managing complaints - is so essential.

Remember that although submitting a workplace grievance is rarely something anyone expects, it should still be handled carefully and in a consistent manner whenever it comes up.

ACAS standards

As soon as an employee makes a formal complaint / submits a grievance, you must follow the formalised process you have in place. Importantly, your formal procedure should comply with the ACAS disciplinary and grievance procedures Code of Practice.

This means your documented procedure must include information relating to:

• How employees should set out the details of their grievance. This includes the problem, date of the incident and / or challenge, as well as any other important details.
• Who to send the grievance letter to (including a secondary contact if the complaint relates to the primary contact).
• How the initial informal meeting with the relevant manager will proceed (or other appropriate contacts) to discuss the issue.
• How the initial formal meeting with the manager will proceed.
• The process for appealing grievance related decisions.
• The estimated length of each stage of the grievance process.

Once your grievance policy has been created, reviewed for accuracy, and meets ACAS requirements, consider adding this information to relevant company documents, such as:

• Your company handbook.
• Employment contract (by law, the grievance procedure must be provided as part of the employment contract. It doesn't have to be provided as part of the main document that you give by commencement of employment; it can be given separately. 
• Intranet platforms / internal company information systems.

Where does a grievance begin?

When an employee has a problem at work, the first step is usually an informal conversation with the parties involved to try to resolve the issue. Here, employers have an opportunity to address concerns before they escalate.

The formal grievance procedure begins when you receive notification of a formal grievance from an employee(s). This could be verbal or via a grievance letter. If it’s a letter, it should detail the nature of their complaint, including details, such as:

• Who or what the grievance involves.
• When, where, and how the incident occurred.
• Any relevant evidence to corroborate the veracity / accuracy of the grievance.

Grievances can also include a description about how the claiming employee would like you, as the employer or manager, to respond.

Remember, as soon as a grievance is raised, you should begin following your grievance procedure.

Here are the next steps:

The informal grievance procedure

As we've said, your employees typically raise grievances with their line manager or supervisor. However, in some instances, they might not feel comfortable enough to do so. Instead, they can approach another manager / authority within your company or, perhaps, a relevant individual in your HR department.

Depending on the size of the business, an employee might want to speak directly with a senior manager. Although employers or senior leaders may need to take part in a grievance in more serious grievance-related situations, it is usually considered best practice for the matter to be raised and resolved within the team, or through HR, first.

When an employee raises a grievance informally, you’ll need to have an initial informal discussion with them. In this meeting, allow them to explain their concern(s). Write down the key points and determine which step to take next. This first meeting is meant to gather information, not resolve the issue. If serious concerns are brought to light, such as discrimination or sexual harassment, you must begin a formal investigation.

If the issue raised is a minor disagreement or conflict, you can hold a further meeting or mediation session to try and resolve the issue if it can't be handled informally. Often, employers can effectively resolve minor issues informally. However, this isn’t always the case...

Where you’re / your team is unable to informally resolve a grievance with an employee, you can then attempt to address it with a formal grievance meeting / procedure. There are three main reasons employers and employees might escalate their complaint to a formal grievance meeting.

This can happen if:

1. The employee is unhappy with how the grievance meeting was initially handled (the informal process was ineffective, in other words).
2. The employee would prefer to handle their grievance formally (this typically occurs when the employee feels their complaint requires formal proceedings / can't be handled informally).
3. It involves serious issues such as violence, bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination or whistleblowing.

The formal grievance procedure

A grievance becomes a formal procedure due to one of the three reasons outlined above.

At this level of seriousness, an investigation is generally required. Once an investigation into an allegation or issue has been conducted, and findings have been established, the formal grievance procedure progresses via three main stages:

1. The grievance hearing.
2. The employer’s decision.
3. The appeal (if this applies).

For a more comprehensive understanding of the procedure, read on, as the next section will cover the stages in detail.

Step 1: Grievance hearing

1.1: As soon as the grievance is raised you may need to ask for further details surrounding the grievance in writing (unless you have these details already) and should begin scheduling a formal meeting to discuss it without delay. 

1.2: Once the meeting has been held, begin a formal investigation and determine the facts of the allegation. Keep in mind any requests for anonymity.

However, if the person being requested to join does sit outside the legal remit, there are certain circumstances, where allowing the individual to sit in on the meeting is appropriate, for example if the grievance holder is disabled or where they need language translation support in the event that they are not a native English speaker.

1.5: All relevant persons must endeavour to attend the grievance hearing. But, if an employee fails to attend the meeting without a valid reason or notice, it can proceed in their absence to avoid unreasonable delays. This may be appropriate course of action if you've already arranged a meeting once before.

1.6: Encourage your staff to propose a resolution to their grievance.

1.7: Sometimes, you’ll need extra time to conduct a further investigation before deciding on the case. You may adjourn the meeting to a later date agreed upon by everyone in attendance. Most times, it’ll be as simple as listening to both sides of a story. However, in other cases, a full investigation may need to take place. During the investigation you may need to collect witness statements in writing and conduct interviews.

Step 2: The decision

2.1: After the meeting and any consequent investigation(s), you’ll set out (in writing) the outcome of the grievance meeting.

2.2: When relevant, the outcome letter should also outline action required to resolve the issue in question.

2.3: Remind the employee involved of their right to appeal any decision made during the process.

2.4: Remember, whatever the grievance outcome is, you must ensure that it is fair and appropriate.

Step 3: The appeal

3.1: Your staff have the right to an appeal. The most common reason for an appeal of the outcome of a grievance meeting is because it doesn’t resolve the complaint effectively. Or, because the employee feels that the process was unfair or they were unfairly treated.

3.2: If they do decide to appeal, they must state the grounds for doing so. A written appeal must be submitted to the relevant person within the organisation.

3.3: Specify a time limit for appealing the decision.

3.4: Once you revise the letter appealing the decision, arrange another meeting to discuss the appeal in a reasonable time. Remember to inform the employee well in advance of the time and place of the meeting.

3.5: This process should be impartial and if possible chaired by someone who wasn’t involved in the original hearing. For example, if the employer wasn’t present at the first hearing, they could represent the business here.

3.6: Just like the original meeting, the employee can invite a companion to accompany them to the appeal meeting.

3.7: After the meeting, remember to inform the employee of the outcome within a reasonable amount of time.

3.8: The employer’s decision will conclude the grievance process. Allowing another appeal on the final decision depends on your particular stance as an employer. Some employers allow secondary appeals, as it's not the law that employers only provide one. However, if you want only to provide one, then ensure that this is covered in your grievance handling policy.

Other points to remember

• Handle grievances in the strictest of confidence as much as is reasonably possible.
• Store confidential records of all grievances safely and securely.
• An employee can raise a grievance during the disciplinary process. If they do, consider whether to suspend the disciplinary action.

Remember, it’s not a legal requirement to follow this code of practice when handling grievances. But there are consequences for an employer not following the grievance guidance set out by ACAS.

If your employee’s claim ends up at an employment tribunal, you may be liable to pay up to 25% more in compensation than you would have if you followed the ACAS grievance handling Code of Practice.

Is there a grievance procedure time limit to when a grievance can be submitted?

No. Unlike employment tribunal claims, there’s no statutory time limit to when a grievance can be submitted. This means an employee can raise grievances at any time.

Whilst you can set grievance handling timescales within your company policy, it wouldn’t be advisable to do so. This is because your staff may see it as a way of preventing them from raising issues that concern them.

If an employee wants to make a grievance-related claim an employment tribunal, they’ll need to do it within three months. In most circumstances, they'll need to do it from when the issue they’re complaining about happened.

It’s worth noting, this time limit still applies even when the member of staff goes through your company’s grievance procedure first.

Get expert support today

No employer enjoys dealing with grievances, but unfortunately it is part of business. When a serious issue occurs, such as discrimination, employers must follow a formal process.

Having a strict procedure in place will help the process run smoothly and reduce the risk of it escalating. However, getting the process right can be tricky. That’s where we come in…

Croner's team of specialists can offer you up-to-date advice on the ACAS code of practice. We help guide the employer through the process of grievances. Call Croner today for immediate expert advice on 01455 858 132.