Grievance & Disciplinaries

SUMMARY OF WHISTLEBLOWING LAW HOW TO WRITE A GRIEVANCE LETTER ABOUT DISCRIMINATION OR WHISTLEBLOWING DETRIMENT

Summary

1. Ask your employer for a copy of the Grievance Procedure.

2. Draft a grievance focussing on facts in chronological order :

• What happened.
• How it happened.
• Why you believe it happened.
• Who was involved.
• When it happened.
• Where it happened.
• Whether you have suffered any loss (and explain)
• How you felt.

3. If you want to make claims of discrimination or unfair treatment due to whistleblowing (for example) then make this clear.

Grievance procedures

Your employer should have their own ‘Grievance Procedure’ which will explain how to make your complaint. It usually involves a written complaint as a starting point.

The Grievance Procedure should be set out in your contract of employment, employee handbook or on your intranet. 

Some employers have specific grievance procedures for tackling discrimination, equality, bullying and harassment issues, whistleblowing as well as a grievance procedure so you should ask your employer for a copy of that procedure as well.

If you cannot find a copy you should ask Human Resources. 

If you work for a small firm you could ask management for a copy. 

If your employer does not have a grievance procedure or fails to send you one then you should still submit your grievance in writing anyway.

There is also an Acas Code of Practice on discipline and grievances which explains what you and your employer should do to deal with problems at work. There is more detail in the accompanying Guide which provides additional valuable guidance.

What is a grievance?

A grievance is a letter or email in which you make a complaint to your employer about your treatment at work, working conditions or terms and conditions. Examples would be the unfairness in your treatment at work (including for example bullying, harassment and discrimination), a failure to promote, less favourable treatment and disparity of pay.

It should start a formal procedure, in which your employer :

• Asks you to a meeting to clarify and discuss your complaint (the grievance meeting)
• Investigates your complaint
• Gives you a written decision
• Gives you a right to appeal if you disagree with their decision

You can also use it to gather evidence that will help you understand your employer’s defence. This might be useful if you wish to pursue an Employment Tribunal claim.

If you are self-employed or an agency worker, or no longer work for your employer, they do not have to follow this procedure. You should still put your complaint in writing in any event. Some employers will deal with it in a similar way to a grievance.

Grievance meeting

You can ask your employer if you can record the meeting — they might only agree if you give them a copy of the recording. This will ensure the meeting is properly recorded. It is not uncommon for minutes of such meetings to be only partially accurate.

In the UK there is no general law prohibiting the secret recording of meetings. You may even be able to use this recording in an Employment Tribunal. However, you should obtain detailed legal advice on this.

How to write your grievance letter

There are different approaches to writing a grievance letter : 

• an informal and conciliatory approach which tries to protect your relationship with your employer (avoiding threatening legal action); or

• a more formal approach, referring to your legal rights but at the same time expressing a desire to avoid any legal action, if possible. Use your words – rather than cutting and pasting large amounts of legal text or case law. It is not useful.

There is not a “correct” way – each case will vary according to the facts. Both approaches will ensure that you have done enough to put your complaint in writing. However one may be more likely to achieve what you want, depending on your situation.

You may have a good insight to which approach is the best. However, it can be very useful to discuss this with a third party (such as an employment law specialist) to give independence guidance and an objective viewpoint.

When deciding on the best approach think about:

• Whether you want to try and ensure a good working relationship are still employed and want to remain employed. It can be harder to continue with a good working relationship if you threaten to take legal action Larger employers will be more used to receiving grievances and may feel less defensive about it.
• Who will be reading the letter and how will they react to what you are writing.
• How to outline the facts clearly (in chronological order):
• The tone of your letter – it should always be polite and logical. Do not make inflammatory comments or insulting/personal attacks on anyone. Obviously if you have been unfairly treated by individuals then you should make this completely clear. However, you should avoid insulting them or making far-fetched/illogical allegations.

• You should state your case clearly and firmly — being clear about what has happened.

Informal grievance template

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[Employer’s name and address]

[Date]

Dear [insert name – probably Human Resources]

I would like to pursue a grievance under the Company’s grievance procedure.

I have set out below the facts in summary form and would welcome a meeting with you as soon as possible to explain and expand upon this.

Please note that I would my preference is to try and resolve this as amicably and sensibly as possible. I would like to stay with the Company and progress my career.

However, if this matter is not resolved fairly then I will need to consider further action.

[Set out in chronological order what has happened to you :

• What happened.
• How it happened.
• Why you believe it happened.
• Who was involved.
• When it happened.
• Where it happened.
• Whether you have suffered any loss (and explain)
• How you felt.

Make your grievance easy to understand :

• Use short sentences rather than long complex ones.
• Use short paragraphs.
• Avoid using lots of capital letters, underlining, exclamation marks or different colours. It looks like you are ranting.]

I have tried to resolve this matter by taking the following steps [insert any steps you have taken to try and resolve this matter].

I would like you to resolve this matter in the following way [set out what you would steps you would like your employer to take (make sure you are realistic but also set out your losses)].

I would like to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss my grievance and would like to be accompanied by [trade union representative or work colleague].

Yours sincerely.

[Insert your name]

—

Formal grievance letter template

This style of letter can be appropriate when

• You need to refer to the law to get your employer to deal with the problem
• Your problem needs dealing with quickly and you think your employer is more likely to respond to this type of letter in a positive way
• You are asking your employer for compensation and need to show you have a good legal case

Formal grievance template

—

[Employer’s name and address]

[Date]

Dear [insert name – probably Human Resources]

I would like to pursue a grievance under the Company’s grievance procedure.

I have set out below the facts in summary form and would welcome a meeting with you as soon as possible to explain and expand upon this.

Please note that I would my preference is to try and resolve this as amicably and sensibly as possible. However, I have raised very serious matters that must be investigated in detail. If this matter is not resolved fairly then I will have no hesitation in taking legal action.

[Set out in chronological order what has happened to you :

• What happened.
• How it happened.
• Why you believe it happened.
• Who was involved.
• When it happened.
• Where it happened.
• Whether you have suffered any loss (and explain)
• How you felt.

Make your grievance easy to understand :

• Use short sentences rather than long complex ones.
• Use short paragraphs.
• Avoid using lots of capital letters, underlining, exclamation marks or different colours. It looks like you are ranting.]

I have tried to resolve this matter by taking the following steps [insert any steps you have taken to try and resolve this matter].

I have suffered discrimination on the grounds of my sex, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age, marriage, civil partnership, age.

I have suffered unfavourable treatment because I reported facts (whistleblowing)].

[the below are examples – you should take detailed legal advice]:

• Direct discrimination;
• Discrimination arising out of my disability;
• Due to you failing to make reasonable adjustments;
• Harassment;
• Victimisation;
• Unfavourable treatment because I made protected disclosures;

I would like you to resolve this matter in the following way [set out what you would steps you would like your employer to take (make sure you are realistic but also set out your losses)].

I would like to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss my grievance and would like to be accompanied by [trade union representative or work colleague].

Yours sincerely.

[Insert your name]

—

Grievance appeal letter

If you are not happy with your employer’s response to your grievance you can appeal. 

There is usually a deadline for appealing – it is often just a few days so you should act quickly. Make sure you check your employer’s grievance procedure for the deadline for appealing and who you should appeal to. 

Even if your employer does not set out an appeal procedure doesn’t say that you have a right to appeal you can still try to — write to someone more senior in the company than the person who dealt with your appeal if possible.

Grievance appeal template

—

[Employer’s name and address]

[Date]

Dear [insert name – probably Human Resources]

I have read the grievance decision and would like to appeal.

In summary, the reasons I would like to appeal are as follows :

• evidence was not obtained from relevant people.
• insufficient investigation was conducted.
• You did not consider key evidence.
• You did not consider key arguments.
• You reached illogical/unfair conclusions.
• The justifications you have advanced are not fair because you have not considered these points ….

I have set out below the decisions I disagree with and the points I wish to make in response in more detail [set out detailed responses].

I regard the grievance appeal decision as a further act of [discrimination on the grounds of my sex, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age, marriage, civil partnership, age].

I regard the grievance appeal decision as a further act of [unfavourable treatment because I blew the whistle].

I would like to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss my grievance and would like to be accompanied by [trade union representative or work colleague].

Yours sincerely.

[Insert your name]

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