Grievance Procedure

We take the concerns of our colleagues seriously. If you have any concerns or problems at work, you can raise these issues with us using our Grievance Procedure.

This Procedure applies to all employees regardless of length of service. It does not apply to agency workers or self-employed contractors. We operate a separate Whistleblowing Policy to enable employees to report illegal activities, wrongdoing or malpractice. However, where you are directly affected by the matter in question, or where you feel you have been victimised for an act of whistleblowing, you may raise the matter under this Grievance Procedure.

If you have difficulty at any stage of the Grievance Procedure because of a disability, please let us know so that we can help.

The grievance procedure does not form part of your contract of employment and it may be amended at any time. We will always try to keep to the given timescales, but this may not always be possible in all circumstances.

What is a Grievance?

A grievance is a concern or problem about any aspect of your work or working conditions which affect you. For example, you may have a concern about your pay, working environment or the behaviour of your colleagues.

Informal Grievance Process

Most grievances can be resolved quickly and easily using an informal approach. In the first instance, you should try to resolve your concerns informally by talking to your manager. If your complaint raises serious issues such as bullying or discrimination, you should raise these issues formally using the Formal Grievance Process.

Managers should make sure that they take time to discuss the issues with the colleague in a confidential space. After looking into the colleague’s concerns, the manager should then tell the colleague how they will resolve the issue or why the issue cannot be resolved at that time. If the issues cannot be resolved, the colleague can decide to use the Formal Grievance Process.

Formal Grievance Process

The Formal Grievance Procedure should be used where the Informal Grievance Procedure has not resolved the issue to the colleague’s satisfaction or the concerns are of a serious nature.

What should you do?

Step 1 - Set out you concerns in writing

You should set out in writing the issue or problem that is causing you concern. This should then be given or sent to your manager or, if the grievance is against your manager, to Matt Halsey (Head of People). You should provide any information or documents which will help us to understand your concerns.

Step 2 – Grievance meeting