Grievances are concerns, problems or complaints that employees raise with their employers. Where possible employees should aim to settle grievances informally. Where grievances remain unresolved employees have the right to formally raise the complaint with their employer.
Employer’s are legally obliged under the Employment Rights Act 1996 to provide employees with a written statement of the
terms of employment including the grievance procedure. Normally the grievance procedure should be set out in the employee’s contract of employment or written statement of particulars or held in a readily accessible place. The Employment Act 2002 states that all employers are required to provide a basic framework for dealing with individual complaints or conflict, which are set out as “Steps” or “Stages” in the grievance procedure:
Step 1 - Statement of Grievance
- The employee informs the employer of their grievance in writing
Step 2 - Meeting
- The employer must invite the employee to at least one meeting to discuss the grievance and inform the employee of the decision (in writing).
- Under the employment relations act 1999 employers must permit workers to be accompanied at a grievance meeting by either a trade union official or a colleague
- Failure to allow an employee to be accompanied at the grievance meeting can result in a complaint to an employment tribunal and a compensation award
The employee must be given a right of appeal
Step 3 - Appeal
- A meeting must be held and the result of the Appeal notified to the employee
Employers must follow the statutory minimum grievance procedure otherwise any resultant dismissal may be automatically unfair and increased compensation of up to an additional 50% will almost certainly be awarded
Policy and Procedure
- Set out minimum statutory requirements and essentially makes provision for the employer to have flexibility in managing the process, with clearly defined and well explained steps throughout the process
- Details the process for dealing with employee’s complaints informally through mediation and conciliation
- Where formal action is required, the procedure takes the employer and employee through every stage of the grievance procedure
- This procedure, with the aid of the supporting letters, has helped many employers and managers stay out of tribunal
APS letters
- Cover every stage from receiving the employee’s written complaint through to the employer’s final decision. The employer can easily pick out a letter at any stage of the process with clear guidelines for completion
APS Modified Grievance Procedure
- In the event that an employee has left the company, the employer is still legally obliged to deal with any grievance that an employee raises
- Modified procedure allows the employer and employee to deal with the grievance in writing (subject to mutual agreement)
