6-STEP GUIDE | How to expertly handle workplace grievances

1. Try to resolve the issue informally

2. If the issue can’t be dealt with informally

If informal means are inappropriate or ineffective, the employee should submit a written complaint, which will trigger a formal procedure. They should provide as much information as they can about their grievance so that it can be investigated thoroughly.

3. Arrange a grievance hearing

At this stage, once a formal complaint has been submitted, you should arrange to meet with the complainant to discuss the grievance in more detail. This should be done as quickly as possible, without any unreasonable delay, in a private setting where there will be no interruptions.

A grievance hearing is an opportunity to put flesh on the bones of the complaint or, in cases where a grievance is very long, try and narrow down the issues into something more manageable. When preparing the meeting, you should consider:

1. Whether any reasonable adjustments are necessary (if the employee has a mental or physical disability)
2. Whether you will need to arrange an interpreter (in cases where English is not the employee’s first language)
3. Organising somebody with no involvement in the case to take notes
4. How similar grievances have been dealt with in the past (this will help ensure that grievances are dealt in a fair and consistent way)

You should then write to the employee to invite them to the grievance hearing and inform them of their right to be accompanied by a fellow colleague or a trade union representative.

4. Hold the meeting and carry out an investigation

At the meeting, the employee should be given the opportunity to fully explain their grievance and how they wish the matter to be resolved.

Following an open discussion of the issue, the manager chairing the meeting will need to consider whether the matter can be resolved immediately or whether the hearing should be adjourned so that an investigation can be carried out to establish all the relevant facts.

If further investigation is necessary, steps may include talking to all parties involved, interviewing witnesses, acquiring documents and gathering evidence. If the investigation is particularly complex or lengthy, you may wish to hold a second meeting with the employee so that they can comment on the evidence. However, it is rare that this will be necessary.

5. Decide what action to take

Once you have completed the grievance investigation, you will usually be in a position to make a decision on the grievance. It may be necessary to speak to the complainant again to clarify an issue before making your decision; however, that is the exception rather than the norm.

The action you decide to take will depend on the nature of the grievance and the outcome of your investigation. If the grievance is upheld, the next step may be to amend the employee’s employment terms, move them to another department or team, or take disciplinary action against the perpetrator of the misconduct.

Your decision on the grievance must be communicated to the complainant in writing, giving as much detail as is reasonably possible to support your conclusions. The employee then has the right to appeal.

6. Manage the appeal

The process of grievance handling may continue if an employee decides to appeal a decision. If this is the case, you’ll need to arrange an appeal hearing. This should be conducted by an appropriate person in the senior management team, ideally somebody who has not been previously involved in the case. As with the initial grievance meeting(s), the employee has the right to be accompanied.

The purpose of the appeal meeting is to explore the employee’s grounds of appeal and consider each in turn. You may be required to investigate some additional points following the appeal if there are elements you cannot confirm or questions you cannot answer based on the evidence already gathered.

Once the appeals process is complete, the decision of the appeal must be confirmed in writing to the employee. The outcome of any appeal will be final.