How to make a complaint at work
Navid is based at Blackstone Chambers and specialises in employment and discrimination law. His experience also includes whistleblowing claims and sexual harassment claims.
Raising a grievance can be a difficult and stressful experience – and not always easy to navigate, so we’ve asked barrister Navid Pourghazi to offer some guidance.
If you have a problem at work, there are several ways you can go about resolving it. One of these is to raise a grievance i.e. a formal complaint to your employer. There are many reasons why people raise a grievance, including:
Bullying
Pay and work conditions
Being asked to do things that fall outside their job role;
Being harassed by colleagues, for example due to age, disability, or sexual orientation
Informal resolution
If the issue is not particularly serious, or if you think it might be resolvable by speaking informally to the right person (such as your manager) then you can try to resolve the problem with an informal conversation rather than raising a formal grievance. This might be a less stressful way of tackling the problem, and you may find that a short conversation was all that was needed. An informal resolution might involve something as simple as an apology, or an agreement not to speak or behave in a certain way again.
If you have tried solving a problem or concern informally but you are not satisfied, or if you do not want to take an informal approach (for example, because the issue is very serious), then the next step may be to raise a formal grievance in writing.
If you want advice on what to do before making a complaint, you can consider speaking to someone at work that you trust, a trade union representative, or an equality champion (if you have one at work). If you do intend to raise a formal grievance, it is advisable to do so soon after the issue about which you want to complain.
Grievance procedure and the Acas Code
Your employer should have a written grievance procedure that tells you what to do in order to raise a formal grievance and what happens at each stage of the process. Any written grievance procedure ought to be shared with staff e.g. in an HR manual or the company’s website.
A grievance procedure usually includes information about:
How to set out the details of your grievance in writing;
Who to send your grievance to;
Who to write to if the normal contact person is involved in the grievance;
How your grievance will be investigated and decided;
How to appeal your employer’s decision if you are not satisfied with it;
How long it should take for your grievance to be resolved;
Your employer’s grievance procedure ought to comply with the Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. This Code is worth looking at before you raise your grievance, as it gives you an outline of the sort of things generally expected of a fair grievance process. If your employer unreasonably fails to comply with the Code, and if you take your claim to an employment tribunal, any compensation you might get could be adjusted by up to 25%.
Acas provide a template grievance letter which you may find helpful.
Submitting a grievance and documenting your experience beforehand
Your employer’s grievance process is likely to require you to submit your grievance in writing, including details about what you are complaining about.
It is a good idea to keep your written grievance specific, and to the point. If you are complaining about specific incidents, you need to give your employer enough details to allow them to investigate the issue. The sort of details needed include things like:
Dates and times (if you can’t remember exact dates, but you know roughly when the incidents happened by reference to another event, then just say that e.g. “The day after my manager’s leaving party...”)
What was said and by whom
Whether there were any witnesses to the event
Whether you reported the event (formally or informally) to another colleague
Any response from your employer if you did report it
References to any evidence your employer can consult that will support your grievance e.g. notes of a meeting, or other documents, that they can review.
If your complaint is about a series of events, try to set out the events in the order they happened (i.e. chronologically) so it is easy to follow.
It might help you to prepare a written grievance if you already have a written record or notes (like an informal diary) of any relevant incidents. It will make it easier for you to use your records or notes to prepare your grievance, and this can help build your case and make it as credible as possible. These notes can just be for you until you are ready to share them so do not worry about them being long and very detailed. Include how you were feeling, what happened in the run up to the event and what followed. It is best to have too much information than to leave things out for the sake of brevity. You can update your record if more incidents occur.
Using Mediation
Mediation is when an independent, impartial third party discusses a problem with you and your employer (or between you and another employee) to try and find a solution. The mediator might be someone within your organisation or an external person.
Participation in mediation should be voluntary, and the mediator should not force you or your employer to accept a solution. Instead, the mediator’s aim should be to help the parties to find a mutually agreeable way to resolve the dispute and move forward.
Mediation might be used at any stage in a grievance process, or even before a formal grievance has been raised.
Investigation and grievance meetings
Your employer ought to investigate any formal grievance. This means trying to establish the facts and find a way to resolve the problem. Investigations often involve holding a meeting with you, as the person who raised the grievance. It may also involve meeting with other people to establish the facts. If the grievance is complex, it may involve more than one meeting with the same person.
Your employer will run these meetings. In any meeting with you, they will often work through your grievance and give you the chance to explain your grievance or answer any questions they have about your grievance. This is your chance to explain your grievance and show any evidence you have in support. When attending a grievance meeting, it may help to bring any notes or supporting documents you may have.
You are entitled by law to be accompanied to grievance meetings by a colleague, a trade union representative, or an official employed by a trade union. It is up to the employer to agree if you want to be accompanied by anyone else.
Your employer should consider whether reasonable adjustments are needed for you if you have a disability.
It is usual for employers to have someone at grievance meetings taking a note of what is said. If you bring a companion with you to your grievance meeting, it can often be helpful if they take a note as well. That way, you can ensure that your employer’s note is accurate because you will have your own note to compare it to.
Throughout the investigation, your employer should do their best to understand your feelings, go through the evidence impartially, and take care in deciding on any actions. Your employer should consider information or evidence from all sides during the investigation.
Grievance outcome
After the investigation, your employer should write to you setting out their decision along with reasons, details of any action they intend to take, and information about how to appeal in case you are not satisfied.
Appeals
Even if it is not included in the grievance outcome, your employer’s grievance procedure should set out who you should submit your appeal to, and the time limit within which an appeal must be made.
In your appeal, you should explain in writing why you feel the grievance outcome was wrong, where (if at all) you feel the proper procedure was not followed by your employer, and outline any new evidence you have to offer since your original grievance.
Whoever is appointed to deal with the appeal should be independent of the person who took the original decision. They will need to investigate your appeal, and this may involve further meetings with you or others. Again, you have the right to be accompanied during any appeal meetings.
After your appeal has been investigated, your employer should then communicate the final outcome to you, in writing, as soon as possible.
Seeking legal advice
If you are still unsatisfied after any appeal, and you are considering taking your claim to an employment tribunal, you may want to consider obtaining independent advice to understand the strength of your case and the support you can access during the legal process.
You can find a solicitor through the Law Society in England and Wales and in Scotland.
You also might be able to get legal support through your trade union if you are a member, Citizens Advice, or your local law centre. Some personal and home insurance policies may cover legal expenses, so it is worth checking your policies.
Although it is advisable to seek out legal advice, you are not obliged to instruct a lawyer in order to bring an employment tribunal claim.
Deadlines to bring an employment tribunal claim
There is usually a tight deadline within which to bring claims to the employment tribunal, so if this is something you might want to do, you should consider taking legal advice from an early stage – including potentially even before you raise a grievance. You can bring an employment tribunal claim before having exhausted your employer’s grievance process but it is worth taking legal advice on what the consequences of that might be on your claim.
If you want to take a claim to a tribunal you must tell Acas first. Acas will offer you the chance to try and settle the dispute without going to tribunal by using Acas’ free ‘Early Conciliation’ service. If this does not work, you will receive an early conciliation certificate which you will need to use when you make a claim to the tribunal.
You do not need to pay a fee to make a tribunal claim.
Criminal offences
If the incidents about which you are complaining might amount to a criminal offence, then you should consider reporting the issue to the police. If you are a member of a trade union, or if you instruct a solicitor, they may be able to offer you support and advice to make an informed decision about going to the police.
Helpful links
Citizens Advice guides to problems at work