Having a fair and thorough process is key when a grievance is raised by an employee; not only does the complaint need to be resolved but any process followed will be scrutinised by a tribunal if a claim is raised in the future.
It’s important that your client recognises grievances can be raised informally. If this is the case, your client should not ignore this because it hasn’t been raised formally. They should still look in to the issue and attempt to resolve it.
The minimum procedure that your clients are expected to follow is outlined in the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.
The Acas Code requires your clients to:
- Hold a meeting with the employee to discuss the grievance;
- Allow the employee to exercise their right to be accompanied at the grievance meeting;
- Communicate any decision reached to the employee without unreasonable delay;
- Provide the right to appeal any grievance decision; and
- Hear any appeal without unreasonable delay.
Some companies have their own grievance policy contained in an employee handbook. If this policy includes additional timelines or extra procedural steps, for example that a decision will be communicated to an employee within 5 days of the meeting, the policy also needs to be adhered to.
It’s essential that your client keeps a full copy of any documents received from and sent to the employee and takes accurate minutes of any meetings held. These minutes should be dated and signed by all parties present as proof the contents are an accurate record.
