Dealing with staff grievances

LAW-CALL

The team at Law-Call, a 24-hour legal helpline available to Alliance members, explains how to deal with staff problems, complains or concerns at your early years setting

A grievance is a concern, problem, or complaint that an employee has about their work, the workplace, or someone they work with. Grievances should be used to bring issues to the employer’s attention for the matter to be investigated and resolved fairly. When an employee raises a workplace grievance, you must take them seriously whether or not you believe that the grievance is valid.

The most common reasons for raising a work- related grievance are related to:

pay and benefits
harassment from other staff members work conditions
workload
health and safety concerns

Sometimes it is not obvious whether an employee is raising a grievance or merely expressing dissatisfaction. If in doubt, it is best to discuss this with the employee to decide on how the matter should be handled.

Employees are usually expected to raise concerns informally at first. In many cases, the issue can be resolved this way. However, if the employee is not satisfied that their issue has been addressed, they have the right to bring a formal complaint. The employer must then respond to the complaint and follow a fair grievance procedure.

Employees are usually expected to raise concerns informally at first.

Grievance procedure

An employee must raise a formal grievance in writing. Employers must then investigate the matter, provide the employee with a written outcome and give them a right to appeal. All employers must have a formal procedure and follow this fully and correctly.

Your policy should provide employees with clear guidance on the steps to make a complaint in writing – including what they can expect to happen and possible outcomes.

Your procedure should include the following steps:

Employees should be encouraged to raise the issue informally in the first instance, if appropriate.
If the matter is not resolved, the employee submits a grievance letter to their employer.
The employer investigates the grievance. A grievance hearing is held.
A decision is made and resulting action taken.
If necessary, the employee makes an appeal.
There is an appeal hearing.
The appeal decision is made.

A fair process requires a full consideration of the facts relating to the complaint. To determine the facts, the employer should investigate. The investigation should be carried out by someone who is not involved in the complaint. A written record should be kept of all information gathered. Any personal information should be kept confidential to protect the rights of all concerned.

At the grievance hearing, all evidence and statements should be examined to allow the employer to decide on the grievance outcome. Copies of all relevant documents, including statements, should be provided to the employee before the hearing and notes should be taken during the hearing. The employee should be asked to review the notes and sign and date a copy at the end of the meeting as a record of their contemporaneous agreement.

The hearing would usually be structured in the following format:

Introduction of those attending the hearing.
The employee states their grievance and how they wish the complaint to be resolved.
The employee submits any evidence to support of their grievance.
Witness statements are reviewed.
In summary, the individual responsible for deciding the outcome of the grievance should outline the evidence and main points to confirm agreement with all parties. If there is insufficient evidence, the hearing may be adjourned until this is resolved.
The decision may be delayed while the evidence is considered. If this happens, the employee will be told when to expect a decision. Alternatively, a decision may be reached at the end of the hearing and made known. If the decision is made to uphold the grievance, the employer’s next step is to take action to resolve the grievance.

After a formal grievance procedure, employers should decide on what is fair and reasonable based on the findings from their investigations and the hearing. If a grievance is upheld, further steps may need to be taken to resolve the matter complained of. If the employer decides that no action is needed, an adequate explanation must be given to the employee.

Finally, the employer must keep a record of the grievance and its outcome, including the employee’s complaint, the decisions made, the actions taken and the reasons for this.

Find out more

All Alliance members can contact the team at Law-Call for legal advice. You can find their contact details in the members area of our website at portal.eyalliance.org.uk.

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