Rise in Employee Grievances

A survey conducted by XpertHR found that almost one-third of employers have seen a notable increase in employee grievances over the last two years. What should you do if an employee raises a grievance with you?

Acas defines grievances as “concerns, problems or complaints that employees raise with their employers”. When you receive a grievance, the first course of action should be to attempt to resolve it informally. However, if after these attempts the employee still chooses to raise the grievance formally you should follow these steps:

1. Start an Investigation

An investigation is a purely fact-finding exercise. You should collect as much information as you can relating to the grievance. This may involve collecting information from both the employee and any relevant witnesses. This step should be carried out promptly, but you still need to be thorough. An investigation report should be put together detailing all of the findings.

2. Formal Grievance hearing

After completing a fair and thorough investigation, you should hold a formal meeting with the employee to discuss their grievance. It is best practice to hold this meeting within 5 working days of when they raised the grievance. The employee has a statutory right to be accompanied to this meeting by a work colleague or a trade union representative. In this meeting, the employee should explain their grievance and provide suggestions for how they think the issue could be resolved. If further investigation is required, the meeting can be adjourned.

3. After the Hearing

Once the meeting has been held, you must decide what action (if any) will be taken off the back of the employee grievance. You must also inform the affected employee in writing of your decision. Inform them that they are able to appeal your decision if they are dissatisfied.