Table of contents
Handling grievances 2
Introduction 2
Grievance procedures and the employment
contract 2
Setting out your grievance procedure 3
The statutory grievance procedures 4
Preparing for a grievance hearing 6
Holding a grievance hearing 6
Appeals against grievance decisions 7
Helplines 9
Related guides on businesslink.gov.uk 9
Related web sites you might find useful 9
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Handling grievances
Setting out your grievance procedure Therefore it's crucial that you have written
grievance procedures. If problems do arise,
The statutory grievance procedures these procedures should help you and your
employee resolve them within the
Preparing for a grievance hearing workplace. They should also ensure that
you deal with employees' grievances fairly.
Holding a grievance hearing
Appeals against grievance decisions Your rules and procedures should be set out
in writing and follow the good-practice
Helplines principles set out in the Acas code of
practice on disciplinary and grievance
Related guides on businesslink.gov.uk procedures.
Related web sites you might find useful
Failure to meet either of these requirements
may result in extra compensation for the
employee if they succeed in a tribunal claim.
You can find this guide by navigating to: This guide outlines what you need to put in
your procedures and how to handle
Home > Employing people > Disciplinary grievances issues in practice.
problems, disputes and grievances >
Handling grievances
Grievance procedures and the
employment contract
By law, you must inform each employee of:
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Handling grievances
Preparing for an appeal hearing shouldn't be the same person that heard the
initial hearing, eg a more senior manager
Before you hold an appeal hearing: who has not been involved with the
grievance process at all. They will be able to
• Familiarise yourself with your hear any appeal without having any
grievance procedure to ensure that assumptions.
you are applying it correctly.
• Make sure you have all relevant However, where the person hearing the
facts and documents, especially if appeal is the same person who heard the
you have come across new evidence first hearing, they should act impartially and
since the first hearing. make sure they review the original decision
• Arrange for someone to take notes. carefully.
• Arrange for another manager to
attend the hearing to act as a witness
to the proper conduct of the hearing. You should write to the worker with your
• Arrange a suitable time, date and decision and the reason for it as soon as
venue for the hearing. possible after the hearing. Make it clear, if
• Inform the employee in plenty of this is the case, that the decision is final.
time so they can prepare their case
and consult any representatives. Dealing with delays
Remind them that they have the right
to be accompanied at the hearing by If the employee is genuinely unable to
a colleague or trade union official. attend the appeal hearing, eg because they
• Inform any manager and are ill, offer them an alternative at a
witnesses who may need to attend. reasonable date and time.
• Obtain witness statements from
any witnesses who will be unable to If the employee's companion cannot make
attend the hearing and share them the re-arranged hearing, the employee must
with the employee. propose another date and time no more
than five days after your proposed date.
Holding an appeal hearing
If the employee fails to attend the
The principles for holding an appeal hearing rearranged hearing, this stage of the
are generally the same as for the initial procedure is complete and you can make
grievance hearing – see the page in this your decision there and then. Don't forget
guide on holding a grievance hearing. that you will still have to tell them in writing
of the decision.
However, at the appeal hearing, you should
also consider: Note that if you cannot make the hearing,
you must offer the employee an alternative
• the reasoning behind the appeal at a reasonable date and time.
• any new evidence since the earlier
decision It is important that you notify the employee
as soon as possible of any delays to the
Ideally the person hearing the appeal appeal process. If you fail to do so, a
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Handling grievances
tribunal could increase any compensation Use our interactive tool to create a
awarded against you. written statement of employment - Opens
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