The Grievance Outcome And Appeal

The Grievance Outcome

After attending your grievance hearing, your employer is likely to produce a grievance outcome, which is a letter explaining their decision in relation to your grievance.

Most grievances are not upheld.

The grievance outcome will usually set out that you have a right to appeal the decision and how you should do this. Cross reference this with the company grievance policy.

It is common to be given 5 working days to appeal the grievance outcome, by writing to a person more senior than the person that dealt with the grievance and who was not involved (this may not be feasible, depending on the size of the company).

When reading the grievance outcome, make sure you understand the decision and if any elements of the grievance were upheld. Some employers will uphold some aspects of the grievance, usually the less serious aspects, to reduce any criticism that the grievance was not dealt with fairly. Also check that all aspects of the grievance were dealt with, as some complaints may have been missed out.

In relation to the aspects of the grievance that were not upheld, understand the reasoning given and if it was supported by evidence or not.

The Grievance Appeal

The Acas Code

In relation to a grievance appeal, the Acas Code of Practice states:

“41. Where an employee feels that their grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved they should appeal. They should let their employer know the grounds for their appeal without unreasonable delay and in writing.
42. Appeals should be heard without unreasonable delay and at a time and place which should be notified to the employee in advance.
43. The appeal should be dealt with impartially and wherever possible by a manager who has not previously been involved in the case.
44. Workers have a statutory right to be accompanied at any such appeal hearing.
45. The outcome of the appeal should be communicated to the employee in writing without unreasonable delay.”

It is important to bear the above in mind when making your appeal. For example, if you feel the manager dealing with the grievance appeal is not impartial, you can make this point and request that it is heard by someone else. The same applies if the person dealing with the grievance appeal is not more senior than the person that delivered the grievance outcome.

Only request someone else deal with the grievance appeal if this is really necessary and there may be limits depending on the size of your employer.

Writing the Grievance Appeal

You may have a fairly short period of time to submit your grievance appeal. If you need more time, request this as soon as possible, and before the original deadline has expired, but only ask for more time if you really need it.

Writing the grievance appeal is similar to the original grievance – see our guidance on that here.

However, in the grievance appeal, your focus should be on the grievance outcome and the aspects of the grievance that were not upheld. This is not an opportunity to raise new complaints and it does not make sense to address (at least in any detail) points that have already been upheld.

You should address the complaints that were not upheld in turn, focussing on why the decision not to uphold the grievance was incorrect and refer to the evidence you have to support this. If you have any new evidence, make specific reference to it and send it to your employer in advance of the grievance appeal hearing, making sure to keep copies for yourself.

If the grievance outcome rejects your request to resolve the grievance, then you can address that in the appeal. If there was not a reasonable attempt to resolve the grievance, that can also form the basis of your appeal. As stated, your employer is obligated to try and find a resolution to your grievance, but many just write back and say that the points raised were not upheld and make no attempt to resolve the issues.

The Grievance Appeal Outcome

After the grievance appeal hearing, your employer will write to you with its outcome. Under most grievance procedures, this will be the final outcome.

The grievance appeal officer may conduct further investigations after speaking with you at the grievance appeal hearing.

If you feel the grievance appeal was unfair or still did not resolve your issues, then you will have to consider your options, which may be negotiating your exit or a Tribunal claim, although for both of these we suggest taking professional advice.

Going through a grievance process is a big step at work and employees are reluctant to go through the process. There are pros and cons of raising a grievance, which are fact specific, so think carefully (or even better, take advice) beforehand.