Do you need a grievance procedure, and what should it contain?

The grievance procedure is the formal process by which an employee may raise any complaints about the behaviour of the employer towards them. Employees have a statutory right to access a grievance procedure and there is an implied duty for employers to reasonably and promptly afford a reasonable opportunity to their employees to obtain redress of any grievance they may have. Employees therefore are entitled to have their grievances dealt with, and any failure on the employer's part to deal with a genuine grievance would potentially give the employee the right to resign and claim constructive dismissal.

Since the statutory discipline and grievance procedures were repealed in April 2009, guidance should now be sought from the new Acas code and guidelines which apply to discipline and grievance situations. The new Acas code is used as a benchmark by employment tribunals when considering the fairness or otherwise of an employer's procedure and actions.

It is in the interest of all concerned to try and resolve any problems informally in the first instance and managers should be trained in how to deal with problems at an early stage to stop them escalating.

If any problem is unable to be resolved informally then employees should be given the opportunity to submit a formal grievance in writing and the employer must respond by arranging a meeting with the employee at which the employee has a right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union official. The employee’s complaint should be fully investigated by the employer before a response is given in writing to the employee along with the right to appeal against the decision.

If an employee appeals against the decision then the same process should take place but with a more senior manager hearing the appeal. Any decision made as a result of the appeal is the final stage of the grievance procedure.