Grievances (Employer Perspective)

1. No one enjoys them – most people don’t want to be in a position of conflict, especially not with their employer.  It’s easy to lose sight of that when faced with a “problematic” employee, especially if they have a history of raising issues, but the reality is that most people can’t afford, financially or emotionally, to be in conflict with their (only) income source.  Grievances are usually a last resort – especially where they relate to harassment.

2. They are rarely baseless – whilst the problem you think you are solving is often not the problem you are actually solving there is usually an issue somewhere that needs fixing.   Keep an open mind – both personally and corporately.  Ask yourself, assuming the behaviour complained of has happened, how would I feel? Ask open questions and encourage the individual to speak about wider issues than just the complaint they are making! “Bullying” is often used by individuals too uncomfortable or intimidated to say “harassment”.

3. Move quickly – there is a fine line between being thorough / ensuring a transparent process and causing unreasonable delay. Most employers don’t set out to take their time over dealing with a grievance but often we see claims hit the Employment Tribunal where a grievance has taken many months to conclude.  Often with no good reason.  Those short postponements to individual meetings or because you are trying to find someone who is neutral or has capacity to deal with a grievance add up – and Tribunals hate them!

4. Ask the individual what outcome they are seeking – and be creative in the outcome options you consider.   If a grievance is upheld you are normally going to need to find a solution a) to fix the issue you are dealing with and b) to prevent reoccurring issues (which isn’t just about stopping that issue happening again).  If an individual is complaining about poor treatment from a manager consider whether that relationship has been damaged by the grievance (probably) and whether you should consider workplace mediation or look at alternative reporting lines – for both parties’ sakes.  A manager who is accused of bullying or unfair treatment is unlikely (you hope) to repeat the original behaviour but will almost certainly alter the way they interact with the individual.  This can give rise to allegations by the complainant that they are being ostracised or excluded.  Whilst that “exclusion” or difference in treatment may be nothing more than the manager trying to protect themselves from further allegations by (fairly naturally) limiting interaction, that can lead to further complaints. Remind the manager that their natural instinct to distance themselves could prove problematic and encourage them to be proactive in recognising and addressing that.

5. Retaliatory grievances are increasingly common – but don’t necessarily need to be handled separately from the issue being retaliated against.   An individual subject to performance management or disciplinary proceedings might seek to deflect or delay those proceedings by raising a “grievance”. If  their complaint relates to the process in question it can be addressed as part of that process or on appeal.  You don’t always have to pause the disciplinary process in order to hear the grievance.  Eg “The manager conducting the process didn’t follow procedure” – deal with in process.  “It’s not just me, I’m being singled out” – deal with in process.  “The manager refused to look at / consider…” – deal with in process.  Explain to the complainant that as the issue relates to the process being followed their concern will be addressed in the next meeting or be treated as an appeal.  If the issue is separate – “my manager has only done this because I am [insert protected characteristic]” – deal with that as a separate grievance.  The allegation of discrimination doesn’t relate to the process in hand. It might be about why the process is happening but a manager’s discrimination isn’t about the complainant, their performance or behaviour. It is about the manager’s behaviour and should therefore normally be treated as a separate issue.

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