At first, a grievance can appear challenging to resolve. How do you conduct a grievance investigation correctly? What is considered best practice?
Do you have a written grievance procedure?
If so, this will make it much easier to get the principles of good grievance management right. Therefore, we’d recommend that all companies have a grievance procedure in place. This procedure should be in line with the ACAS code of practice. The benefit is that both the company and employees are aware of what a grievance is and what will happen if a grievance is raised. So, if you have one, ensure you follow your grievance procedure.
Grievances can be very damaging, particularly if they are handled badly. If everyone involved in the grievance is committed to achieving a solution, that is a huge advantage. Occasionally, however, an employee may raise a grievance against another employee and this type of situation can become emotional for both of them. Therefore, it is best for us to take a focused but understanding approach when dealing with these situations. So, if one of your managers has excellent interpersonal skills, consider using him/her to investigate the grievance.
The grievance hearing
In terms of process, the first thing to do is arrange a meeting with the employee who has raised a grievance, often referred to as a Grievance Hearing. It is best to arrange this hearing without unreasonable delay, ideally within five working days of receiving the complaint. The purpose of the hearing is to establish exactly what the problems are and how they have disadvantaged the employee. It’s often important to get exact details of incidents and their impact on the employee.
Use neutral language when you write to the employee to invite them to the hearing. Provide the employee with details of the manager who will investigate the grievance and the date and time of the meeting. If it’s more practical, you may ask the employee to suggest a few suitable dates before you send the letter.
The employee who raised the grievance also has the legal right to be accompanied to the hearing by a colleague or trade union representative. Therefore, remember to include this in the letter.
How do you get the grievance investigation right?
An important, but often overlooked, question to ask the employee during the hearing is what they believe the solution to their grievance is? What do they expect the outcome will be? While a good investigation is about establishing the facts around a particular issue, it is useful to know what the employee wants in terms of a resolution.
You may find that the right solution is easily achievable – for example, changing a policy to reflect better practice. However, after investigation, you may find your employee’s expectations are unrealistic or their perceptions are mistaken. You will need to bear this in mind when making recommendations as part of your investigation.
Be aware that some employees use the grievance procedure to raise complaints of bullying behaviour or other types of misconduct. In this case, you will need to establish initially:
- (a) whether the situation merits suspension or removal in some other way of the employee who is accused of the behaviour, and
- (b) whether you have an alternative policy that’s more appropriate to follow (bullying and harassment, discipline etc).
Tips for conducting a fair and thorough grievance investigation:
Make written records
Make sure that written records are taken of all investigation meetings that you need to undertake. In addition, allow each individual employee to check the content of the record relevant to them. Then, ask them to state that they believe the record is correct and sign it. Everyone involved in the investigation must clearly understand how written records and statements will be used throughout the process.
Take care to ask the right questions
Prepare your questions in advance. Ensure that they are not leading or suggestive in any way. Moreover, it’s important that you don’t form a view until you’ve gathered all of the evidence that you need, particularly if a complaint of bullying or harassment is raised.
Verify information
Verify details against records or other pieces of information. For example, if an employee says that they have been denied training opportunities, check their training records and the relevance of the courses to their role.
Sometimes, you may need to test the credibility of one person’s account over another if the evidence is contested, contradictory or reduced to one person’s word against another. In these circumstances, the balance of probabilities, i.e. whether an incident is more likely to have occurred than not, is applied.
Conduct a thorough investigation
Employees who are upset or angry may not always give an accurate account of what happened. So, it’s important to find ways to make you feel satisfied that you know, as far as is possible, what actually did happen.
Time management
Time is often a problem in terms of investigating grievances. For example, the manager who is undertaking the task is often required to fit this in alongside all of their other responsibilities. You may find that the process takes longer than anticipated. In those circumstances, a phone call to the employee who raised the grievance to update them will go a long way. However, don’t allow grievance investigations to drag out. Therefore, if you don’t have the time or experience internally to conduct a thorough investigation, we recommend you outsource it.
How do you know when a grievance investigation is complete?
This has to be a matter of judgement. However, a good rule of thumb is: if the investigating manager is still unclear on certain aspects of the grievance, the investigation isn’t complete. The manager should be confident that relevant employees and witnesses named in the grievance have been interviewed and that each aspect of the grievance can be addressed fully.
Once the grievance investigation is complete, the next stage is to inform the employee of the outcome in line with your grievance procedure. Put the outcome of the grievance in writing and include the right of appeal in the letter.
When should you outsource a grievance investigation?
Grievance investigations and outcomes need to be reached following a fair, thorough and timely process. There are times when this is difficult to deliver in-house due to a lack of a independent resources or experience. Using an outsourced and experienced investigator can be an effective option in these cases. External support allows the grievance to be handled promptly and thoroughly.
If you need support with carrying out a workplace investigation, please do contact us.
What can we learn from a grievance?
Grievances, although difficult, often present a learning or takeaway for us to improve on in the future.
As mentioned, grievance investigations can also be very damaging. It’s important that employers make a written commitment to investigating grievances and improving practices where needed. Other positive initiatives can include an emphasis on dealing with issues informally, three-way meetings to resolve differences and mediation.
If you would like advice on managing the Grievance Procedure, please do get in touch with Carrie!