A grievance procedure is the formal process an employer follows when an employee raises a complaint about their treatment at work, such as unfair decisions, bullying, discrimination, or working conditions. It sets out how to raise the grievance, who hears it, how it is investigated, how the employee is told the outcome, and how they can appeal. A written procedure makes sure complaints are handled consistently and on the record, rather than depending on who the employee happened to tell.
Typical Stages
- Informal resolution, where the employee raises the issue with their manager and it is settled without a formal process.
- A written grievance, submitted to HR or a named person when informal resolution fails or is not appropriate.
- Investigation, in which HR gathers facts, speaks to the people involved, and reviews any evidence.
- A grievance meeting, where the employee sets out the complaint and may be accompanied.
- A written decision with the reasons, followed by a right of appeal to someone not previously involved.
Why It Matters
A grievance procedure turns a complaint into a case with an owner, a record, and an outcome. Without one, complaints are handled differently depending on the manager, lost when someone changes role, and hard to defend if they turn into a legal claim. It also affects trust: employees who see grievances handled fairly and on time are more likely to raise the next problem early, when it is cheapest to fix.
Best Practices
- Publish the procedure in plain language, including who to go to when the grievance is about a manager.
- Set response times for acknowledging a grievance and for reaching a decision, and keep to them.
- Keep the case record in one place so it survives a handover if the person handling it leaves.
- Separate grievances from misconduct reports only where it helps the employee; many organizations run one channel and route by category.
- Offer an anonymous route for concerns an employee is not ready to raise under their own name.
CultureMonkey
Handle employee concerns as cases, not emails
CultureMonkey's Speak Up module puts every concern in one queue sorted by risk, assigns it to the people who handle that category, and keeps the full record on the case so nothing is lost in a handover.
Explore HR case management →