An employee has given me a letter which says it is a formal grievance. What do I do now?



Upon receipt of the written grievance, you must invite the employee into a meeting giving the employee reasonable notice and the right to be accompanied by either a fellow employee or a trade union representative.

The grievance hearing would be start of the investigation process.  Each point raised in the grievance letter must be discussed at length whilst establishing the facts of the complaint, along with identifying any evidence that supports the complaint.  The party who conducts the meeting must not have any previous involvement within the process and must carry out reasonable investigation into the complaint raised.    You must then provide a written outcome letter and in it, offer the employee the right to appeal the outcome.  Grievances must be taken seriously and acted upon in a timely manner.   ACAS have issued an advisory Code of Practice which must be followed.  Failure to do so may result in up to a 25% compensation uplift at an Employment Tribunal should the employee prove to be successful in arguing that the procedure has not been followed fairly.