Grievance

What this policy covers

This policy applies to employees and workers.

A grievance is any concern, problem or complaint that you have in relation to your employment.

Where possible, you should try to settle any grievance informally with your manager at the earliest opportunity. Where any grievance is unable to be resolved informally, this policy sets out the Organisation's Grievance Procedure.

Your responsibilities

You have a responsibility to raise any grievances promptly and reasonably, assist the Organisation, if required, in any investigation of the matters raised in your grievance, follow the grievance procedure and attend all meetings arranged under it.

You may raise grievances either informally or formally. If you raise a grievance informally first, you may still raise the grievance formally subsequently if it is not resolved to your satisfaction.

The Organisation aims to deal with all grievances promptly and impartially, and to make all reasonable efforts to achieve a satisfactory outcome.

You have the right to appeal against a decision the Organisation makes in respect of a grievance raised by you. In these cases, the Organisation will make every effort for the grievance to be dealt with by a different manager to the person who dealt with the grievance initially.

The Organisation's decision at the appeal stage is final and there is no further right of appeal.

Procedure

Dealing with grievances informally

If you have any grievance, you should discuss this with your manager in the first instance, who will then attempt to resolve the situation on an informal basis.

If you feel unable to approach your manager directly, you should approach another manager or a more senior member of the Organisation, who will discuss with you ways of dealing with the matter.

If attempts to resolve the matter informally do not work, it may be appropriate for you to raise a formal grievance under the following formal procedure.

Your right to be accompanied at Grievance Meetings

At all formal stages of this procedure, you are entitled to be accompanied by a fellow worker or by a trade union official. If you are under 18, your parent or guardian will be allowed to accompany you.

Should you wish to be accompanied, you must notify the Organisation of the name and position of your chosen companion as soon as possible.

Trade union involvement at Grievance Meetings

If you are a member of a recognised trade union you have the right to be accompanied at formal meetings by your trade union representative regardless of whether the Organisation recognises a trade union.

Your trade union representative has the same rights as any other companion in that he or she is permitted to put forward and summarise your case, respond on your behalf to views expressed in the meeting, ask questions and confer with you but will not be entitled to answer questions directly on your behalf. A trade union representative who is not an employed official must have been certified by their union as being competent to accompany a worker.

The Organisation will request your trade union representative provides their identity card to prove they are permitted to accompany you to the meeting.

Formal procedure

The Organisation will make all reasonable efforts to deal with formal grievances in a fair and consistent manner. While the Organisation will make every effort to settle any grievance within the time limits detailed in this procedure, this may not be possible on some occasions.

You must set out the nature of the grievance, and the full particulars of it, in writing. The written grievance should be submitted to your manager in the first instance, or to the person identified in your contract of employment. If your grievance is against your manager, you should submit it to another manager or a more senior member of the Organisation.

Attending the Grievance Meeting

You will be invited to a meeting to discuss the grievance, normally within five working days of the Organisation receiving your grievance. You must take all reasonable steps to attend this meeting.

Prior to the meeting, you should ensure that you are fully prepared to present your grievance, share any supporting evidence and answer any questions relating to the incident/circumstances in question.

You must notify and obtain the consent of all those present at the meeting if you intend to record it.

Notification of the outcome

After the Grievance Meeting, an appropriate period of time may be taken to allow for any further investigation and/or the consideration of all the facts before a decision is reached. The Organisation will then, normally, inform you in writing of its decision regarding the raised grievance without unreasonable delay. The letter will also explain your right to appeal against any decision taken.

Recording of meetings

The Organisation will normally arrange for summary minutes to be taken at any formal meeting. It is not the policy of the Organisation to record meetings by any other means (e.g. digital, audio recording and photographs). You (or any party accompanying you) must not record any meeting without the express permission of the Organisation in advance. Where a meeting is to be recorded then parties must agree to it in advance. If requested, a copy of the minutes/recording will be provided (in line with data protection principles).

Appeals against grievance outcomes

If you are dissatisfied with a decision made regarding a grievance you have raised, you have the right of appeal. Whenever possible, the appeal will be dealt with by a different manager to the person who dealt with the grievance.

Your appeal must be made in writing, stating the reasons for the appeal, to the individual identified in the decision letter. This should be submitted no later than the end of the fifth working day after you received written notification.

The Appeal Meeting

The Organisation will arrange and hold an Appeal Meeting as quickly as possible, normally within five days. You will be entitled to attend the Appeal Meeting and will be given an opportunity to state your case.

You must take all reasonable steps to attend this meeting. If you feel that you have a legitimate reason as to why you cannot attend the meeting on the proposed date, you must contact the person named on the invitation letter to inform them of this fact immediately. The meeting may then be delayed to facilitate your attendance, if this is considered reasonable.

You must notify and obtain the consent of all those present at the meeting if you intend to record it.