Dealing with Grievances

Providing a means through which employees can freely raise complaints about aspects of their employment is key to achieving a good employer/employee relations.

However, at the same time, employee grievances can be a major drain on resources and can represent an abuse of process by an employee - for instance, where they are seeking to retaliate against action taken against them, or take a pre-emptive strike to deflect attention away from a problem that an employer may wish to raise with them.

In the first instance, we can provide you with a comprehensive written grievance procedure to ensure that you have the framework in place to deal with any staff complaint that may arise.  Similarly, we can assist with education and training for your managers, to whom responsibility for dealing with grievance issues may be delegated. 

Employees who raise grievances invariably want the issue to be addressed and resolved as quickly as possible - a wish often shared by employers.  We can offer you help and guidance, reviewing the grievance in question and setting you off on the right track, so that you deal with the grievance in the most appropriate and sensitive fashion.  Thereafter, you can call upon us as the process unfolds, to assist with the conclusion and decision once all appropriate discussion and investigation has been conducted.

We will ensure you follow and understand the principles of any applicable statutory grievance procedures, and provide you with any relevant written guidance and documentation that you may need, to ensure that there is little or no prospect of recourse from the employee concerned.

Whilst of course having to follow the lead of the employee who has raised the grievance, we will endeavour to achieve your desired result, whether that be a review of relevant procedures and practice or seeking to achieve a Compromise Agreement.