Grievances: the next steps

Handling employee grievances can sometimes be more confusing than dealing with a disciplinary matter. Although every grievance will be personal to the individual raising it, having a framework to follow will make things smoother. It is also useful to have as part of any paper trail should things go awry.

First, familiarise yourself with the formal grievance procedure. This explains who to contact, what the process involves and the response times for each stage. Once you are in receipt of a grievance, you should begin with an informal discussion to understand the issue and minute this meeting to help you keep track of all complaints, actions and reactions. Outline how long the investigation will take and contact all mentioned parties.

If, after considering and discussing alternative options, there is no resolution, the employee will need to initiate the formal process by submitting a grievance in writing. If the issue involves other members of staff, you’ll need to spend equal time with each member, while of course remaining objective, as they explain their positions or provide evidence.

Once you have completed your investigation, you can arrange a grievance hearing. You should normally hold the meeting within five working days. Your employee will set out their grievance and provide any evidence to back up their case. They have the right to be accompanied by a colleague or union representative.

You should ask your employee how they would like this matter resolved and what you can do as an employer to help and what outcome they are seeking. Although it is a formal meeting, it is not disciplinary in nature. It is easy to fall into the mindset that this is a criticism of you as an employer and become defensive as a result.

The employer should remain impartial and do their best to understand the feelings of the employee raising the grievance. Go through all the evidence and summarise the main points at the end. Record these formally and send them to all parties within the timeframe agreed in the meeting.

After the meeting, you will make your decision. You may decide to uphold the staff member’s grievance either in full or in part. You may also reject it. The employer should decide on the best outcome based on the findings from the meetings and investigations, what is fair and reasonable and what the workplace has done in similar cases previously.

If you uphold the grievance, or parts of it, you will need to identify the action that will be taken. Write to the employee, telling them what your decision is and explain the reasons behind it. You should advise them of any actions that need to be taken.

If the action, or part of it, is disciplinary against another member of your team, this is the result of your investigation – it is not necessarily the outcome of the grievance. For that reason, and for confidentiality, you should not include the details of any disciplinary action in your outcome but explain that appropriate action will be taken.

If the employee does not accept your decision, they have the right to an appeal. Your policy should outline the appeals process that will be followed when an employee wishes to appeal. The employee should request their appeal in writing and inform you what their grounds for appeal are. Where possible, the appeal should be heard by a different person who was not present at the first meeting to provide impartiality.

At the hearing you can examine any new evidence and examine the reasons for the appeal. After the appeal hearing, you should write to your employee informing them of your decision and the reasons for it in the same way as above.

It’s never nice to have to deal with a workplace grievance, whatever the cause. Grievances can cover a variety of issues and will inevitably involve a range of emotions. Following a framework to deal with them will help you to resolve the conflict and will give you the confidence to manage a grievance and resolve any problems as quickly and as simply as possible.