Many employers are unsure of the process to follow when they receive a formal grievance from an employee. Below is a summary of what you will need to do if you receive a grievance from an employee.
The key thing to remember is that grievances should be dealt with as quickly as possible. The longer a grievance drags on the harder it will become to resolve amicably.
If you fail to deal with a grievance fairly and appropriately an employee could resign and claim constructive unfair dismissal (if they have two years continuous service) on the basis that you have breached your obligations to them of trust and confidence.
Before embarking on the grievance process it is important to consider if the matter can be resolved by way of mediation.
This is particularly important where the grievance is about the conduct or relationship with colleagues or managers, as there is rarely any ‘winner’ in a grievance process.
If the relationship can be repaired via mediation it would be prudent to ask the aggrieved if they would consider mediation and if they say yes, then ask the other party.
Mediation must be voluntary and the parties must be willing to engage.
The first step is to check your internal grievance procedure, as this will set out how you should deal with a formal grievance and the timescales involved. It is important to ensure that you complete the process within the timescales set within your policy or communicate with the employee why you have been unable to do so. This will minimise the risk of the employee arguing that their grievance has not been dealt with correctly.
If your grievance procedure is contractual (as opposed to non-contractual) it is extremely important that you follow the procedure fully, otherwise the employee may have a claim for breach of contract.
If you do not have a grievance procedure, you should refer to the ACAS code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Again, this sets out how best to deal with a formal grievance.
Please note, if you fail to follow the ACAS Code of practice and an employee brings a claim in the Employment Tribunal, the Tribunal can adjust any compensation awarded by up to 25%.
After checking your policies (as set out above), you should appoint someone to investigate the grievance. Preferably this should be someone who has not been involved in the substance of the grievance and who can be said to be reasonably impartial.
If this is not possible because of the size of your business or the nature of the grievance you may consider getting someone external to deal with it for you.
Contrary to popular belief you do not have to appoint an external investigator, but if there is no-one in your business who can be considered as impartial or removed from the substance of the grievance you should give serious consideration to doing so. In our experience this is often one of the arguments used by employees, who consider their grievance has not been dealt with fairly.
Write to the employee and inform them of the grievance process, sending a copy of any internal grievance procedure. Also inform them of the name and job title or status of the person who will be investigating and an idea of the likely timescale for completion or if not possible at that point, the timescale for the next contact.
The investigator needs to approach the investigation in a fair and objective manner with a view to establishing the key facts and reach a conclusion on what did or did not happen.
When investigating the grievance, it is important to ensure that you look at both evidence in support and evidence against the grievance. Try not to reach a conclusion from the outset.
It is recommended that you plan how you are going to investigate the grievance. Although you certainly should not delay in investigating the issue it is important to balance speed with giving the issues due consideration and reflection.
If it is a complicated issue with numerous parties involved, then it could reasonably take several weeks to complete whereas a straightforward issue could be resolved more quickly.
If there are going to be delays in the completion of the grievance investigation then it is important to notify the employee as soon as possible, informing them of the new likely timescale and if appropriate the reason for the delay.
It can be very hard for the investigator to keep matters confidential but as much as possible the substance of the grievance and investigation should be kept confidential and only disclosed as necessary to persons involved.
Once the substance of a grievance becomes public knowledge or the subject of office gossip it can be very hard for the person who raised the grievance to deal with and may make the resolution of, for example, issues between staff much harder.
Even if you are interviewing a witness to the issues, they do not have to be given a full run down of the substance of the grievance. The investigator should therefore take care and consideration to what information they are going to disclose.
Again, contrary to popular belief, at the grievance investigation stage you do not have to disclose the full detail of the grievance to the person who is subject of the grievance. You need only disclose enough detail as is reasonable for them to be able to respond and for you to be able to fully investigate the issue.
If you need to obtain advice or support, then this should be obtained from a dedicated person from your HR department or external advisors. You should avoid seeking advice and reassurance from other managers.
The grievance investigator will need to arrange meetings with anyone who may have knowledge of the concerns raised. As this is part of the investigation is extremely important, I will set out guidance for this stage in a separate article on 8th October 2025.
If you have any queries relating to grievances or employee relations in general, please contact a member of the team on 01983 897003.
Appointments are available by telephone or via video call, so no matter where you are in England or Wales we can assist you.
The information contained in this blog post is provided for guidance and is a snapshot of the law at the time it is written. It is provided for your information only and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice that it specific to your particular circumstances.
The guidance should not be relied upon in any decision making process. It is strongly recommended that you seek advice before taking action.
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