The informal stage
Many problems at work are best sorted out informally. The benefit of the informal approach is that it is quicker and less daunting than making a formal complaint, and is less likely to damage your working relationships. See how to resolve problems at work informally.
If it is serious or things have already gone too far it may not be possible to sort out informally. Or if the only person in a position to sort it out is the person causing the problem. In these situations, it may be better to go straight to the formal stage of your grievance procedure.
You might find that if you touch on anything which could be seen as discrimination, your boss might not want to deal with the problem informally. Employers are often wary of dealing with discrimination because it is such a serious issue and if they don’t deal with it properly, they can get in a lot of trouble. Sometimes it is company policy to always deal with potential discrimination in a formal way.
The formal stage
There are three steps in the formal stage.
Step 1 – Tell your employer about the problem in writing
Write a letter to your employer that clearly sets out the problem and, if possible, explains what you want them to do to resolve the problem.
Many larger employers will have a form which they expect you to complete. But they cannot refuse to deal with a letter from you, provided that it is clearly a letter of complaint. If it is easy to get hold of your employer’s grievance form, it is better to use that.
Whether you write a letter or use your employer’s form, you should make sure that it is dated and signed, and that you keep a copy. You may be able to send in your grievance by email.
Your grievance procedure should tell you who to send your complaint to. If it is the person you are complaining about, and the grievance procedure doesn’t give you an alternative, you will need to ask whoever is responsible for personnel to tell you who to write to.
What to put in the letter/form
- Explain what the problem or behaviour is that you are concerned about. Try to maintain a professional and neutral tone. It is ok to say how certain behaviour has made you feel, but remember that attacks on other staff or offensive language will undermine what you are saying. Remember that you want people to read your complaint and want to try to solve it.
- Include enough detail to enable your employer to deal with the complaint. Include the dates of incidents and who was involved. Your employer is unlikely to look at complaints which are more than a few months old, unless they are part of a long chain of events, or there is a very good reason why you are only raising them now.
- If you have more than one complaint, start with the most serious. After your most serious complaint, it is often useful to list your complaints in date order.
- If your complaint is lengthy, use sub-headings, and number your paragraphs and pages to help those reading it.
- If you tried to resolve the problem informally first, explain that and say what the outcome was.
- Try to stay focused on what you want as the outcome - the solution you would like. Say as clearly as you can what steps you would like your employer to take to make things work for you. You may not get everything you want, but you won’t usually get what you don’t ask for.
- Include copies of any supporting evidence with your letter of grievance.
Unfortunately, there is no alternative to putting your complaint in writing. This is what the process requires. If you don’t feel comfortable or very confident about doing this you may be able to get help. You might be able to get help from an advice agency. If you are a member of a union, they may help you. Or you could ask Acas if they can help you. See How to get advice for ideas about where to go for help. Or you could ask a friend or family member to help you - show them this guide.
Step 2 – Having a meeting to discuss your complaint
When your employer gets your letter, they should invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint reasonably quickly. Often the grievance procedure will set a timetable for this meeting, such as within 5 or 10 working days of receiving your letter.
There may be a delay while your employer investigates what you have said, for example by talking to a colleague if you have made a complaint about them.
You must make every effort to attend the meeting. People often stall because it is stressful, but postponing the meeting can be more stressful. If you miss meetings, your employer is less likely to take you seriously. And if you end up going to an employment tribunal later, any compensation you get may be reduced.
Taking someone with you to the meeting
The law requires your employer to allow you to bring a colleague or trade union representative to the meeting. If you are going to do this, let your employer know in advance so they can make any necessary arrangements such as ensuring the colleague or trade union representative can attend.
You do not have a right to take anyone who isn’t from your workplace or trade union, for example a friend or partner. If you would prefer that (or have a strong reason for such a request, for example you need help with a disability) you will need to ask if it‘s okay.
If the person you have asked to come with you cannot attend the meeting, you have a right to move the meeting by up to 5 working days so that they can come.
Witnesses and evidence
Think about what you will need to prove the facts of your case (the law calls this ‘evidence’).
- If you have documents you want to use, find them and sort them into date order so that you can use them at the hearing.
- Check if your grievance procedure says that you need to provide copies to your employer in advance. If it does, then you need to do this.
- If there are documents you think are relevant and that only your employer has (for example, an occupational health report on you which you haven’t seen) ask your employer for a copy.
- If you want a colleague to be a witness, you should ask them, and get them to give you a short written witness statement. Tell your manager the names of any witnesses you want at the meeting so they can arrange for them to be released from work.
Taking notes at the meeting
It is a good idea to ask for a note-taker to be present. This is very helpful as it means there will be a proper record of the meeting. If your employer has a note-taker, before the meeting ask them to confirm that you will be given a copy.
If there isn’t a note taker, ask the person accompanying you to take notes. If you are alone, ask for a pause to make a note yourself.
During the meeting if you or your employer says something that you think is important, ask the note-taker to record that point.
You should be given a copy of the notes after the meeting. If you are not, make sure you ask for them. When you get the notes taken by a note taker, check them to make sure they are accurate as soon as possible. If you took a companion with you, you may also want to discuss the notes with them. Tell your employer about any inaccuracies quickly.
You can ask if you are allowed to record the meeting, but many employers will not agree. Generally, it is not a good idea to make a secret recording of the meeting. Although employment tribunals often do allow these recordings to be used - if your employer finds out, they might dismiss you for doing this.
Other top tips
- Before you go to the meeting, think about what you want to say, and how your employer might respond. Make a list of issues you want to cover, the questions you want to ask, and the outcome you are looking for.
- If you or the person accompanying you will need help because of a disability, ask your employer to arrange it.
- If English is not your first language and you sometimes have difficulty saying what you want to say or understanding things, consider asking your employer to arrange for an interpreter.
- Try not to panic or feel intimidated – it is your right to have your complaint heard.
- Try and stay calm.
At the grievance meeting
At the meeting, your employer should give you the opportunity to discuss your problem and to say how you want them to sort it out.
When they have heard what you have to say, they may end the meeting to give them time to investigate your complaint before meeting with you again.
After the meeting
After the meeting your employer should let you know what they have decided to do about your grievance in writing.
They should also tell you that you have a right to appeal if you are unhappy with their decision. If they don’t, check whether your procedure gives you a right of appeal.
They shouldn’t tell you their decision at the end of the meeting, as they should take time to think it over.
Your grievance procedure may set out a timetable for when they must let you know and they should give you their decision within this timescale. If they don’t, you should follow it up with them.
If they don’t give you a decision and yours is the type of grievance that could go to an employment tribunal, decide if you want to do this. Remember you need to stay within the time limits.
Step 3 – appeal
If you are not satisfied with the way your work has dealt with your problem, you can appeal.
If you think you may go to an employment tribunal it is advisable to appeal (as long as there is time). This way you can show that you have used all the internal processes available to you.
If you decide to appeal, you should tell your employer as soon as possible. You must do this in writing and within the deadline set in the grievance procedure. This is often 5 or 10 working days, but check.
You are responsible for staying within the time limit for an appeal. If you receive a response advising you of the decision in letter form only, make sure that you keep the letter advising you of the decision, and the envelope it came in. Make a note of when you actually received the letter (it is best to mark it on the letter or its envelope).This is because the time for an appeal will run from the date you received the decision, and sometimes the date on the letter is not the same as the date it was posted.
Do your best to get your appeal to your employer within the time limit or they may refuse to look at your appeal. If you have to miss the deadline, explain why it is late.
What to put in my appeal letter
Some employers have a two stage appeal process. The first stage is when you tell them you are going to appeal, and the second stage is when you tell them the reasons (the law calls this the ‘grounds’) for your appeal. If you are not certain whether your employer operates a two stage appeal process, it is important that you cover both points in your letter. So tell them that you are going to appeal, and set out all the reasons for your appeal.
Don’t just repeat what was in your original grievance letter. You need to respond to the decision they have made. Highlight what you think the decision-maker overlooked, or didn’t take enough account of, or didn’t understand about your complaint.
You may need to send your employer any additional paperwork that supports your case. Again, there is probably a time limit in the grievance procedure for this.
Make sure you keep a dated copy of your letter of appeal.
Meeting to hear your appeal
Your work should then arrange another meeting to discuss your appeal, with someone more senior if possible. In a small workplace, this could be the owner or a management committee member. In a large organisation it should be someone more senior than the person who heard your grievance, or it may be a panel of perhaps three people. The same rules apply as for the first meeting.
After the appeal meeting, your employer should give you their decision in writing. You are unlikely to have any further rights of appeal in your workplace after this.
