Grievance Pack

A comprehensive grievance procedure provides a clear framework for dealing with difficulties in the working relationship between employees and their peers or managers, and enables the perspective of both employee and the company to be expressed and understood

This procedure is vital to ensure every employee is treated equally and that issues are dealt with fairly, reasonably, and consistently throughout the company. It also ensures that your company will be fully compliant with UK employment law and follow the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. It will also help to avoid costly and time-consuming tribunal cases

Why is this important?

Conflict is inevitable in some form or another in most businesses, disagreements over issues such as what tasks need to be done and how best to do them can be regular events, but excessive arguments in the workplace can easily damage relationships and lead to wider disengagement and lower morale

Workplace conflict negatively impacts employees, teams and the company. It creates higher levels of anxiety, burnout, depression and reduced self-esteem, and detrimentally effects job satisfaction, performance, and employee retention

A recent CIPD & ACAS survey found that 33% of workers have experienced some form of interpersonal conflict (either an isolated dispute or ongoing difficult relationship) over the past year and 15% report being bullied over the past three years, with over 50% of employees that experienced conflict having suffered anxiety, stress, or depression as a result. The cost to the company of workplace conflict includes:

Lost management time spent dealing with the conflictReduced efficiency & productivity, leading to lower profitabilityIncreased sickness absenceHigher levels of employee turnover and associated recruitment costsThe financial burden (and impact on the company’s reputation in the local market) from costly tribunal claims for constructive dismissal and discrimination

There were 117,926 Employment Tribunal claims in 2021 with constructive unfair dismissal (where the employee claims that the working environment was so bad they had to resign) and discrimination amongst the most common complaints, and 85% of claims found or settled in favour of the claimant

Legal costs to defend a straightforward tribunal claim are on average £9,000 plus the time taken away from the business for the defendant/company owners. Complex cases that include discrimination allegations increase those legal fees to an average of £24,000.

The current maximum compensatory award for constructive unfair dismissal is £93,878 (with the minimum award for some types of unfair dismissals set at £6,959) PLUS a basic award of up to £17,130

Compensation for a successful discrimination claim (which could be brought pre, during, or up to 3 months post-employment) is unlimited, one example being an award of £265,719 in a successful disability discrimination claim in 2021. Tribunals will also be able to adjust any awards made in relevant cases by up to 25% for unreasonable failure to comply with any provision of the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary & Grievance Procedures. This means that if the tribunal feels that an employer has unreasonably failed to follow the guidance set out in the Code, they can increase any award they have made by up to 25%

This pack will ensure that your company operates a robust grievance process to provide proactive early intervention focused on repairing relationships and avoiding serious legal or social costs to the company

Read our Grievance Case Study for more information