Grievance and Disciplinary Matters

It is vitally important for employees to take advice as early as possible in grievance and disciplinary matters, and to fully understand their circumstances.

Mishandling the situation may give rise to a claim in the employment tribunal by either party, and frequently these cases are difficult and complications arise. As well as having expertise in employment tribunal proceedings, our team is well versed in advising during the process of an internal investigation, and advising on the process of disciplinary and grievance procedures (including performance management), to support you through the same.

At TV Edwards, we ensure that we understand your requirements together with the issues at hand, advising you on the best strategy available in order to put your best case forward and to protect your interests.

What is the ACAS Code?

The ACAS Codes of Practice is a documented policy, provided by ACAS, which provides guidance as to how formal disciplinary and grievance matters should be handled in the workplace. It, effectively, sets the minimum standard of fairness that workplaces should follow, providing guidelines for employers to use to ensure they conduct a disciplinary procedure that is sufficient.

It is important for employers to follow the ACAS Code as the guidance is used by employment tribunals when deciding on relevant cases (and, if the Code is not followed, it can potentially lead to an increase in damages awarded by the tribunal).

How do I raise a grievance?

There is no specified legal process or procedure for raising a grievance. The first step is to consider whether your employer has any documented grievance policy, for example, in any staff handbook. If they do, you will need to raise your grievance in accordance with that policy.

There is also the ACAS Code which applies to grievance procedures. The Code sets out various principles that should be followed by both employee and employer, in order to ensure both adhere to a reasonable standard of behaviour during the grievance process.

You should, generally, expect a grievance procedure to cover all of the following steps:

If your employer’s internal process does not deal with your grievance satisfactorily, then it is open to you to commence any employment tribunal claim in respect of the same.

What happens if I raise a grievance during a disciplinary?

Should you raise a grievance during the course of a disciplinary process that you are being taken through, your employer will first need to decide what they wish to do about the disciplinary process. Effectively, their options will be one of the following:

1. To put the disciplinary on hold
2. To continue with the disciplinary, and dealing with the grievance separately
3. To deal with both the disciplinary and grievance together.

The ACAS Code states that employers may put a disciplinary on hold to deal with a grievance, and as such, from an employer’s perspective, putting the disciplinary on hold is likely to be the safest and most risk-averse option. However, it will add delay while the grievance (and possibly any subsequent appeal) is considered, which can be unattractive for both parties.

The ACAS Code also provides some examples of where it may be appropriate for a disciplinary procedure to be put on hold to deal with a grievance. These are as follows:

1. There is a complaint of discrimination

2. Where the grievance raises a potential a conflict of interest in respect of the manager dealing with the disciplinary

3. Bias is alleged during in the conduct of a disciplinary meeting

4. Selective evidence has been supplied, by the employer, to the manager dealing with the disciplinary.

It will depend upon the facts of the relevant case as to what is most appropriate.