The word grievance can send shudders down the spine of any employer, let alone a small/medium business owner. How both the employee and employer approach a grievance will significantly influence how the process unfolds.
Taking swift and appropriate actions can help to reassure the aggrieved employee, demonstrating your commitment to fairness and resolution. Even if you have doubts about the underlying rationale for an employee’s grievance, it is essential that you address their concerns promptly, so they don’t fester or lead to issues that may be more difficult to resolve.
Whilst in theory grievances are a good opportunity to address employee concerns, in practice they can also be a mechanism for negotiating exit from a business, or for diverting attention away from, or delaying, a disciplinary matter.
This article explores the key steps involved in handling an employee’s grievance, highlighting the importance of following a fair process to ensure concerns are addressed effectively. By unpacking the types of situations that give rise to grievances, the processes, key considerations, and how to move forward after a grievance, we demonstrate how we help navigate these stages with our HRExpress clients.
What kind of situations might this come up in?
A grievance can transpire in a whole host of scenarios. Whether it’s from pay to discrimination, or harassment to a promotion decision; whatever it is an employee has come to you to complain about, you should take it seriously.
You should also be aware that an employee may raise a grievance through a range of mediums. They may approach you with a concern or complaint during a meeting, or alternatively, through a letter or email, which doesn’t necessarily have to be labelled as a ‘grievance’. Our advice is, if it reads or sounds like a grievance, you should treat it like a grievance! If what has been presented to you is unclear, you can ask the employee to set out more details in writing, with as much detail as possible so you can understand what their concerns are.
Where do I start?
The Acas Code of Practice for Disciplinary & Grievance Procedures is a really helpful and important document – have it to hand when you’re going through any grievance process. Acting in line with the Code goes to the fairness of any subsequent dismissals and can result in an increase to compensation by up to 25% if not followed.
In the first instance we encourage employers to see if this is an issue that can be address at the informal level (via line management) – but ensure managers are trained in how to respond. Other options include using an external mediator – Mark Roby in our team is an accredited mediator.
Through an open and honest dialogue, employers can typically resolve grievances quicker and with less stress and conflict, ultimately improving the likelihood of preserving amicable working relations.
However, if an employee submits a grievance, they may already be past the point of considering more informal options.
Taking things further – the formal process
If informal resolution isn’t possible, the employee needs to set out their grievance in writing, with as much detail as possible so you can understand what the concerns are.
A common issue is a disciplinary case that overlaps with a grievance, or a grievance raised in response to a disciplinary. Give careful thought (or take advice) if this happens to you – it may be right to pause the disciplinary while you deal with the grievance first; or if the facts of the cases are largely the same it may be right to deal with both at the same time.
There are two main aspects in handling a grievance: formal meetings and investigation. Unlike a disciplinary, it can be helpful for the same person to do both parts.
An initial meeting will need to be held to hear the employee’s grievance. In practice this is to ensure the person hearing the grievance fully understands the complaints, any evidence the employee has already put forward or lines of investigation they are suggesting, and what the employee is seeking as an outcome.
Investigations can take place both before and after the initial meeting. The purpose of the investigation is fact-finding exercise for you to collect all relevant information, to allow you to come to an informed decision about the grievance. You’ll need to include the employee and any witnesses to events they’re complaining about.
In most cases, once you have completed your investigation, the grievance meeting will be reconvened and your findings and recommendations presented to the employee.
Grievance meetings should be held in good time to avoid unreasonable delay. However, having said this, you should be pragmatic and flexible. For example, if an employee’s attendance to the meeting is proving difficult you may need to consider arranging the hearing in more suitable location or conducting it remotely.
Who should be running the grievance?
Many small employers choose to out-source aspects of dealing with a grievance: whether investigation, meetings or the appeal stage. On occasion, if you are running a small business the grievance could be about you and there may be no one else more senior to chair the meeting. If this is the case and you would like further information on how to handle this, please see the link here.
Sometimes directors, financial teams or senior managers are diverted from their main responsibilities to sorting out an HR mess or even spending disproportionate time managing the day-to-day HR function. But an expert can cost less than you think and can save you time and money overall. We can ensure compliance and minimise risks.
What else should you be considering?
There are a number of factors that our HRExpress team would recommend you consider while undergoing the grievance process:
• An employee’s right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative at the meeting;
• To ask them to be really clear what they’re seeking by way of resolution, before you reach any decision;
• To confirm the outcome in writing, but take care regarding confidentiality if those outcomes involve another employee (e.g. disciplinary action).
• To confirm the right of appeal (including timeframes) – ideally this will be led by someone not previously involved. An appeal can be done as a complete re-hearing, or a review of the original decision.
How can we help?
Our team is knowledgeable and approachable with an enviable track record. And as an SME ourselves, our team at Stephens Scown is well-versed in the challenges faced by businesses across the region.
We were the first B Corp™ law firm in the South West and with only a handful of UK law firms to have been certified, where managing people in an ethical manner is part of our commitment. We are also again ranked in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025.Our CIPD qualified HR consultants can help you with:
• HR consultancy and on-site or remote support, including leading meetings and investigations, increasing your HR capacity, and helping you to deal with the pain of an unexpected employment issue. Benefit from the support of expert employment lawyers on a flexible basis – with your confidence protected by legal professional privilege.
• Bespoke HR training packages tailored to meet your specific circumstances and business challenges, including upskilling managers to avoid future issues.
We offer our clients the flexibility of expert HR support without the expense of employing a full-time HR manager. You’ll also get the extra reassurance of knowing that our guidance is backed up by highly regarded solicitors. In addition, many of our team have both legal and HR qualifications.
If this is something that your organisation needs help with then get in touch with our HRExpress team.
You can also find out more in our HRExpress brochure below:
