What is a grievance policy?

Grievances in the workplace are bound to occur from time to time. While it’s never pleasant when they do occur, having an effective grievance policy in place means you’re always handling it the right way. Doing this could be the difference between a successful resolution and, in the worst cases, an employment tribunal.

So, what should you include in your grievance policy? And how can you execute it effectively? We’ll detail everything you need to know below. Remember you can also call our expert team who can give you free advice at any time of the day or night on 0808 501 6651.

What is a grievance policy?

A policy grievance is documentation that determines your business procedure in the event of an employee complaint. In doing this, your employees are fully informed of the process and how their grievance will be dealt with, and you’re adhering to the legal requirement that your staff must be fully informed.

An employee can raise a grievance on a range of matters, including:

• Discrimination
• Health and safety
• Conflict
• Employment conditions
• Breaches of policy

However, in more severe cases, such as gross misconduct or discrimination, you may need to refer to different policies. If you ned more information about this, why not contact our experts on 0808 501 6651.

What should a grievance policy contain?

There are a few key clauses that you should always include in your grievance policy. These are:

• Details of who the employee raising the grievance should contact
• The name of the person to contact in the event the first person is involved in the grievance or is unavailable
• An explanation that the company will attempt to resolve the issue informally first
• An explanation that problems will be taken to a grievance hearing if informal methods fail
• Details of employees’ rights, including the legal right to be accompanied into meeting by a colleague or union representative
• Time limits for each stage of the formal procedure
• How to appeal a decision

Once you’ve created your grievance resolution policy, include it in your employment contracts or your employee handbook. If you fail to produce your own procedure, you must rely on the ACAS code of practice when it comes to a grievance policy.

Grievance policy example

When an employee makes a formal complaint, you should follow a formal procedure that’s fully outlined in your policy. We understand it can be overwhelming and stressful to decide what to include, but Croner are experts for a reason. We’ve produced a sample grievance policy for you, so download it now to get more of an idea on what it should look like.