Why It’s Important to Have a Grievance Policy and Process

A reasonable grievance procedure in the workplace can encourage a thorough, speedy, and satisfactory resolution to any issues highlighted by an employee in the first instance, helping to avoid lengthy and costly potential tribunals. It should also help to protect the employee from receiving further punishment on appeal, and promoting a healthy grievance culture allows other individuals to understand the process, should they consider pursuing formal proceedings in future.

 

What is the purpose of a grievance procedure?

A grievance is a formal complaint raised by an employee to address an issue with their employment situation. Grievances are usually raised in relation to issues affecting working relationships or productivity. Once a problem is highlighted, a formal grievance complaint should be directed to a member of management for investigation. The employee can also inform a union representative of their grievance to seek advice and support. Some of the most common issues raised in grievance proceedings include problems for the employee with:

• wages
• working conditions
• supervision arrangements
• changes to policies and practices
• employee / team relations.

 

ACAS Code of Practice

Before implementing a grievance policy or responding to a grievance, employers should review the ACAS Code of Practice on Grievances. This code provides practical guidance on how to handle grievances fairly and correctly.

Although compliance with the code is not required, employers should strive to comply and demonstrate compliance. If a grievance case goes to an employment tribunal, the tribunal will consider whether both the employer and the employee followed the code. Importantly, if an employee wins their case and the employer did not follow the code, the compensation awarded to the employee may be increased by up to 25%.

 

The three key steps of a grievance procedure

Once an issue has been identified, employees should be advised to informally raise their grievance with their direct line manager (or if the grievance is with the line manager, the employee should be able to informally speak to the next line of management or the HR department. If the issue is not resolved at the initial informal stage, your organisation should have the in place a procedure for the employee to escalate their complaint formally. There should be three key steps at the core of every formal grievance procedure including:

1. The employee must put their grievance in writing. The letter should detail their specific concerns which may include a description of the problems, examples of problems, and dates and times of any occurrences. 
2. Once the appropriate line manager has received the letter, they should arrange a timely meeting to discuss the issues raised. This may require further investigation and reporting on the problem to reach a satisfactory resolution. There should be a notetaker present for the employer side and a representative for the employee side invited to each meeting.
3. The outcome of the meeting(s) or investigation(s) should result in a decision made by the employer including acknowledgement and steps to be taken if needed and a conclusion to the matter, presented in a letter to the employee. If this decision and suggested action does not meet employee expectations, the employee should be given the opportunity to appeal the decision, but they must state their grounds for appeal.

 

Why are grievance procedures important?

A grievance process is designed to give employees and employers a fair and objective system to raise and review serious issues and complaints without bias.

A formal grievance procedure should support employees to raise concerns relating to a safe working environment without the fear of any negative repercussions. The knowledge that any concerns will be taken seriously and handled fairly will help to bolster staff morale and maintain levels of productivity. A thorough process will help to protect employees from arbitrary decisions made by management.

Having a structured grievance process in place should help employers to identify any unacceptable or unlawful gaps in their current approach to grievances, working in line with employee contracts and helping to enforce the terms of company contracts.  Having an agreed and approved process will also help to protect the brand or company image by avoiding the ‘bad press’ associated with a mishandled grievance.

 

Let us help you

At Dêmos HR Solutions, we can offer advice and support for all disciplinary and grievance issues, helping you to implement a user-friendly and lawful structured grievance policy and process of your own. Contact Debbie on 07974 695 365 or complete our enquiry form to find out how you and your employees can benefit from our HR support.