Grievances
Managing an employee grievance can be an incredibly time-consuming task. While some complaints may be addressed informally, others may call for a formal procedure. In some cases, grievances may escalate into a disciplinary process or uncover another issue.
No matter the nature of the grievance or degree of support required, we offer a full range of Employment Law and HR solutions to help you tackle these difficult situations confidently.
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How we help
Make light work of employee issues
Respond to employee grievances the right way and prevent unnecessary strain on management time with our pragmatic Employment Law and HR support.
From setting up a grievance procedure to holding a hearing and managing appeals, we’re here to walk you through the process so that you can resolve issues quickly, compliantly and with minimum disruption to your business.
- Ensure best practice with advice from a dedicated team of Employment Law experts
- Set out your approach to employee complaints with a robust grievance policy
- Save time with bespoke document drafting and expert-created templates
- Not confident or time-poor? Let us conduct the investigation, hearing and appeal for you
- Protect against claims with our optional, FCA-regulated Legal Expenses Insurance
Related Information
Reduced management burden, quicker resolutions
Grievances can greatly disrupt your business – impeding productivity, taking time away from important projects and generally destabilising your workforce. It’s therefore essential to tackle these issues head-on, but mismanagement can be costly.
With step-by-step support from legally-qualified experts, you can quickly identify the best course of action, avoid legal pitfalls and secure the best possible outcome for your organisation, safe in the knowledge that you have conducted a fair procedure.
Whether you need help developing policies and procedures, support drafting meeting invites and outcome letters, on-site assistance with investigations and hearings or just an expert second opinion, our qualified team can help you get to grips with all kinds of grievance so that you can maintain engaged, high-performing teams.
"Your support is absolutely invaluable to us and gives us the confidence we need in resolving any staffing issues. Your response is consistently appropriate, helpful and superfast!"
Young Somerset
Popular FAQs
Common grievance queries and questions about our service, answered by our Employment Law and HR specialists.
Can an employee withdraw a grievance at work?
Yes, a grievance can be withdrawn by the complainant at any time.
How can I resolve workplace grievances?
It’s important to have a grievance procedure, set out in your Employee Handbook, that explains how any workplace complaint should be resolved, whether that be on a formal or an informal basis. A formal procedure will usually involve meeting with the complainant to discuss their grievance in detail, investigating the complaint before giving an outcome. It is also best practice to offer the right of appeal.
Can I ignore a grievance?
This would not be a good idea. If someone has complained about their treatment at the hands of a colleague or manager, ignoring the problem will not make it go away. In fact, it will probably make things worse. If the complaint is not dealt with properly, it could lead to a resignation and then a constructive dismissal claim or, depending on the subject matter, a claim for discrimination.
What is the Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures?
Acas have set out procedures which should be adopted by all employers when dealing with a disciplinary or grievance issue. It involves investigating any issue, holding a meeting with those involved, providing an outcome and offering the chance to appeal. If an employer fails to comply with the Acas Code of Practice, it can lead to employees receiving uplifts in compensation of up to 25% following a successful claim.
What is the grievance process at work?
Most companies will have a grievance procedure set out in their Employee Handbook. If not, they should follow the Acas Code of Practice.
What should I do if an employee raises a grievance against me?
Refer to your Employee Handbook to determine the process you should use. If there is no handbook or procedure, then you should refer to the Acas Code of Practice. If the grievance is against you personally, you should refer it to a colleague to independently investigate.
How long should a grievance investigation take?
That will depend on the subject matter of the grievance or how many allegations are made. There is no legal time limit on how long the investigation should take and the Acas Code of Practice says that an investigation should be completed within a reasonable time frame.
Can you provide grievance training?
Yes. Our Grievance & Disciplinary training course has been designed by HR specialists to give managers and supervisors the skills and confidence needed to manage these essential processes. It can be delivered exclusively to you on site or at a location of your choice.
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Disciplinary
From persistent lateness and social media misuse to complex fraud and allegations of sexual harassment, our HR and Employment Law specialists can provide much-needed support and expertise through difficult disciplinary matters.
Can employees resign during a disciplinary?
Yes. Employees resigning during the disciplinary process is a fairly common tactic adopted by someone facing serious allegations. Resignation is a unilateral act, and employers cannot choose to accept or reject the resignation. If someone resigns with immediate effect, their employment ends straightaway. If they resign with notice, then it may be that you can conclude the disciplinary process before the notice period ends
Can you offer on-site support with investigations and hearings?
Yes. If you’re not confident tackling the situation alone, we can provide on-site HR Consultancy support with disciplinary investigations, hearings and appeals. We can conduct the meetings for you or, if you prefer, attend them with you to offer professional, experienced support. We can also provide similar assistance with employee grievances.
Investigations, Hearings and Appeals
A formal grievance, disciplinary or capability procedure can be tricky and time-consuming. With Ellis Whittam by your side, you can take the stress out of complicated HR procedures, minimise management burden and reduce legal risk.
Why might I need HR Consultancy support with investigations, hearings and appeals?
HR Consultancy can offer invaluable support when faced with people problems that you don’t feel capable of tackling yourself, or that you would prefer not to tackle yourself for whatever reason. For example, you might be dealing with a particularly complex issue that haven’t come across before, such as suspected fraud, or it may be a sensitive issue that is better dealt with my an independent professional. As well as helping to ensure these matters are managed appropriately, thereby reducing legal risk, leaning on an expert can greatly reduce the significant burden they can incur on management time.
How long would an investigation typically take?
If you would like Ellis Whittam to conduct the investigation stage for you, a basic grievance or disciplinary investigation will normally take three days to complete, though more complex matters may take five days. We can normally give you an estimate of how long the investigation stage will take during the initial fact-finding conversation.
Upskilling Managers
Whether you’re keen to upskill in essential HR topics and legal compliance or looking for ongoing support in the form of a responsive helpline, we offer a range of solutions designed to help managers carry out their role confidently and effectively.
What types of management training do you offer?
We offer a range of interactive and engaging HR training courses designed and delivered by professionally-qualified, highly-experienced HR practitioners. Popular courses include Manager Essentials, Discipline & Grievance and Equality & Diversity, all of which are delivered exclusively to you on site or at a venue of your choice.
Will you support managers, or just HR teams and business owners?
Typically, for smaller employers, we support managers, directors and owners, essentially becoming a high-quality outsourced HR function. For large employers, we provide specialist support to their in-house HR Team.
Contracts and Handbooks
Up-to-date, flexible, robust. Whatever contract or policy you’re drawing up, make sure these essential documents work for you by getting them drafted by a legally-qualified professional.
What policies should be included in an Employee Handbook?
There are no hard and fast rules but as a matter of best practice all handbooks should contain information on disciplinary and grievance procedures, absence management, holiday rules and entitlement, performance management, family friendly rights and policies, guidance on equal opportunities and data protection.
I’m not sure whether my contracts are up to date or not. Can you help?
Absolutely. Employers often use the same contracts and policies for years, only realising they’re out of date when an issue arises. We can conduct a full MOT to assess any areas where they are outdated or fall short, then either replace or revamp them for maximum cover and effectiveness.
Legal Expenses Insurance
An optional component of our Employment Law and HR support, by underpinning our advice with Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI), you have maximum reassurance that your business is protected against unfair dismissal and other costly employee claims.
I’ve never had a claim before – why would I need to take LEI?
For the same reason you take out any insurance policy – to guard against the high cost of defending an Employment Tribunal claim. The premium cost is very low compared to the potential payout, especially as it covers the cost of representation as well as any potential compensation. You don’t have to have LEI, but it could significantly impact your bottom line if something goes wrong, given that the cost of even the most basic unfair dismissal claim could be £20-25,000 when legal costs are factored in. Unfortunately, the latest Tribunal statistics suggest that employers now are more vulnerable than ever.
What are the benefits of the insurance being independent from EW?
Unlike some of our competitors, our LEI is placed with an independent insurer, i.e. we don’t self-insure or insure with a company in any way related to us. The benefit of this is that there’s no conflict of interest, enabling us to provide advice that is genuinely commercial, not overly restrictive, and has only your best interests in mind.
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Experts in Employment Law & HR
Why choose us?
At Ellis Whittam, we’re known for our bespoke service and the quality of our support. Not only is our expertise unmatched, but we take the time to know you so that we can function as a true extension of your team.
- Your own small team of dedicated experts
- Commercial, pragmatic advice tailored to you
- Bespoke contracts, policies and handbooks
- Trusted by over 35,000 organisations
- Recognised as a leading firm by the Legal 500
Who you'll be working with
James Tamm
Director of Legal Services
Kim Clarke
Head of Team
Toyah Marshall
Principal Employment Law Adviser
Colleague Spotlight
Adele Blinkhorn
HR Consultancy Manager
Client Stories
The Works
“I’ve taken Ellis Whittam into every organisation that I’ve worked with. I’ve introduced them to many teams and many colleagues and referred them with absolute pleasure because I genuinely trust in the service that we get.”
Debbie Jamieson, People Director
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Culina Group
“We get a great deal of comfort and satisfaction knowing that we have support as and when we need it, in a decisive and responsive way.”
Richard Berry, Group HR Director
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Bluestone National Park Resort
“What we recognised in Ellis Whittam is the background that they have. They are able to supply knowledge and experience in a number of disciplines, which enables us to develop our business in a way that’s safe, to do it on time and with a quality to it.”
Debbie Rainbow, Director of Human Resources and Health & Safety
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BeaverFit
“As the company started to get larger, we knew we had to protect our employees and our contractors both onsite and in the offices. Ellis Whittam is exactly what we needed to move the company forward.”
Joanne Beaver, Operations Director
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Choice Care
“We have found Ellis Whittam to be responsive and aligned with our business in terms of our processes and expectations. Their pragmatic approach has proven to be a great fit – nobody wants to be fighting their adviser on basic employment decisions.”
Jonathan Green, COO
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Catalyst Choices
“Ellis Whittam supports our 280 staff members with Employment Law and Health & Safety and has provided quality management training too.”
Lisa Best, Head of Service Delivery
Resources
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