UK Grievance Procedure - Editor

Grievance Procedure Editor

Create a comprehensive grievance procedure for your workplace

🏢 Company Information

🎯 Scope & Purpose

? Define which employees are covered. Usually all employees, but you may exclude contractors, consultants, or those in probation depending on your policy.
💡 A grievance procedure allows employees to formally raise concerns about work, working conditions, or relationships with colleagues. It's a legal requirement for employers with staff.

💬 Informal Resolution Stage

? Most grievance procedures encourage employees to try resolving issues informally first through discussion with their manager. This is best practice and often resolves issues faster.

📝 Formal Grievance Submission

? How should employees submit formal grievances? Written submissions create a clear record. Email is most common, but some prefer formal letters or online forms.
ℹ️ Employees should include: nature of grievance, dates/times, names of people involved, desired outcome, and any supporting evidence.

🔍 Investigation Process

? How quickly will you investigate after receiving a grievance? Statutory guidance suggests acknowledging within 5 days and investigating promptly. Setting timeframes shows commitment to resolution.
? The investigator should be impartial and have no involvement in the grievance. Usually a manager not involved in the issue, or HR. For senior staff grievances, consider using external investigators.
? What will the investigation include? Best practice: interview complainant, interview witnesses, review documents/evidence, maintain confidentiality throughout.

👥 Grievance Meeting

? Employees must be given reasonable notice of the grievance meeting. ACAS recommends at least 5 working days to prepare. The employee should receive investigation findings before the meeting.
? Legally required: employees have the statutory right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative. You cannot deny this right.
⚖️ Statutory Right: Employees MUST be allowed to bring a colleague or trade union rep to grievance meetings. Denying this right is unlawful.

✅ Decision & Outcome

? How quickly will you communicate the decision after the meeting? Best practice is within 5-10 working days. Complex cases may take longer - inform the employee if delays occur.

⚖️ Appeal Process

? How long does the employee have to appeal? Common practice is 5-10 working days. This gives employees time to consider the decision and grounds for appeal.
? What can employees appeal on? Common grounds: new evidence available, procedural irregularities, decision was unreasonable, penalty/outcome was too harsh.
ℹ️ Appeal decisions are final. The appeal should be heard by someone more senior than the original decision-maker, who was not previously involved.

🔒 Confidentiality & Record Keeping

? Grievances should be handled confidentially to protect all parties. Information should only be shared with those who need to know for investigation/resolution purposes.
? How long will you keep grievance records? ACAS recommends 6 years minimum for legal compliance. Records may be needed for tribunal claims (time limit: 3 months from grievance, but can be longer for discrimination).

⚠️ Special Circumstances

? If the grievance is about the employee's direct manager, they should be able to raise it with someone else (senior manager, HR, or director) to ensure impartiality.
? When multiple employees raise the same or similar grievances, will you handle them collectively or individually? Collective handling can be more efficient for systemic issues.
? If an employee raises a grievance during disciplinary proceedings, ACAS recommends dealing with the grievance first if it's related, or pausing disciplinary action to address the grievance.

📋 Additional Provisions

? What support will you offer employees during the grievance process? Consider: access to HR, EAP (Employee Assistance Programme), trade union, reasonable adjustments if needed.

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