How UK Employers Should Handle Workplace Grievances

Even in a well-run small business, workplace grievances can pop up.

Sometimes it’s a misunderstanding between colleagues. Other times it’s a serious complaint about pay, workload, bullying, discrimination, or how a manager has behaved. Either way, how you handle grievances matters – not just for morale and retention, but also for legal risk.

If you get it right, you can resolve issues early, protect your culture, and avoid escalations into formal disputes or Employment Tribunal claims. If you get it wrong (or ignore the issue), you can accidentally create bigger problems – including claims for discrimination, constructive dismissal, or whistleblowing detriment.

Below, we break down what a grievance is, when it becomes “formal”, and the practical steps UK employers should take to manage grievances fairly and confidently.

What Is A Grievance (And What Counts As A Workplace Grievance)?

A grievance is a concern, problem, or complaint raised by an employee (or worker) about something happening at work.

In practice, grievances can cover almost anything affecting the employment relationship, including:

• Pay issues (incorrect pay, unpaid overtime, deductions, commission disputes)
• Working hours (excessive hours, lack of rest breaks, scheduling disputes)
• Workplace behaviour (bullying, harassment, humiliation, inappropriate comments)
• Discrimination or bias (age, disability, race, religion, sex, pregnancy/maternity, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics)
• Health and safety concerns (unsafe working practices, inadequate risk assessments)
• Management decisions (disciplinary action, performance management, shift allocation, promotion decisions)
• Contract issues (changes to role, duties, or location without consultation)
• Workplace policies (internet monitoring, CCTV, privacy concerns, complaints about investigations)

It’s worth remembering that a grievance doesn’t have to be “well written” to count. A team member might raise it in an email, a WhatsApp message, or even verbally in a meeting. What matters is the substance: are they telling you there’s an issue at work that they want addressed?

Informal Complaints Vs Formal Grievances

Not every complaint needs a full formal process.

Many issues can be resolved informally with a calm conversation, a clarification of expectations, or a quick fix (for example, correcting a payroll error). For small businesses, informal resolution is often the fastest and least disruptive option.

But a complaint is more likely to need the formal grievance process where:

• the employee puts the complaint in writing and calls it a “grievance” (or similar wording)
• the issue is serious (e.g. bullying, harassment, discrimination, whistleblowing-type concerns)
• informal attempts haven’t worked
• the employee requests a formal meeting or investigation
• the complaint could affect someone’s job, reputation, or legal rights

If you’re unsure, it’s usually safer to treat it as a grievance and follow a fair process. A consistent approach is also easier to defend later if the matter escalates.

Why Handling Grievances Properly Matters For Small Businesses

For many small business owners, a grievance feels personal – especially if the grievance is about you, or about a manager you trust.

But from a legal and operational point of view, a grievance is a process issue: you’re being asked to fairly consider a concern and respond reasonably.

Getting grievance handling right matters because:

• You reduce legal risk – poor handling can feed into claims like unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal, discrimination, or whistleblowing detriment.
• You protect productivity – unresolved issues often spread into team conflict, sickness absence, or resignations.
• You build trust – staff are more likely to raise concerns early (when they’re fixable) if they believe you’ll take them seriously.
• You create a paper trail – clear notes, letters, and outcomes help you show you acted fairly if challenged later.

Which Rules Apply To Workplace Grievances In The UK?

There isn’t one single “grievances law”, but several legal frameworks shape what you should do:

• ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures – this sets the expected standard of fairness. Tribunals can adjust compensation (often up to 25%) if an employer unreasonably fails to follow the Code.
• Employment Rights Act 1996 – relevant for dismissal-related risks if grievances are ignored and the employee resigns or is dismissed.
• Equality Act 2010 – critical if the grievance involves discrimination, harassment, or victimisation.
• UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 – relevant when collecting, storing, and sharing grievance information.

Most importantly, your handling needs to be reasonable, timely, and consistent.

How Should UK Employers Handle Grievances? A Step-By-Step Approach

If you don’t already have a written grievance procedure, now is the time to put one in place. It can sit within your staff handbook, workplace policy pack, or as a standalone policy.

In general, a fair grievance process includes the steps below.

1) Acknowledge The Grievance Promptly

Once a grievance is raised, confirm you’ve received it and explain the next steps.

You don’t need to “agree” with the grievance to take it seriously. A short acknowledgement helps reduce anxiety and signals that you’re acting responsibly.

Keep an eye on timing too. Delays can make the employee feel dismissed, and they can also make evidence harder to collect.

If you’re unsure about timing expectations, it helps to set clear timeframes in your policy and stick to them as closely as possible. For practical guidance on limits and delays, your grievance procedure time limits should be realistic for your business size and management capacity.

2) Decide Whether Informal Resolution Is Appropriate

Ask yourself:

• Is this a simple misunderstanding that can be resolved quickly?
• Is this about a fixable operational issue (like rosters or pay)?
• Or does it involve allegations that need evidence and impartiality (like bullying or discrimination)?

If informal resolution is appropriate, document what was discussed and what actions were agreed. If it’s not appropriate (or the employee wants a formal route), move straight to the formal process.

3) Appoint An Impartial Manager To Handle It (Where Possible)

Ideally, the person dealing with the grievance should not be the person accused within it.

In a small business, true independence can be hard. If you only have one manager, consider:

• bringing in an external HR consultant to support the process
• having a director handle it if the line manager is involved
• splitting roles so one person investigates and another decides the outcome

This is also where having clear documentation upfront helps. A well-drafted Employment Contract and policies can reduce ambiguity about expectations, reporting lines, and workplace behaviour standards.

4) Investigate Fairly And Proportionately

Many grievances require some level of investigation, even if it’s brief.

A fair investigation might include:

• interviewing the employee who raised the grievance
• interviewing relevant witnesses
• reviewing emails, rota records, messages, CCTV (if you use it lawfully), or relevant documents
• considering whether any interim steps are needed (e.g. temporarily separating colleagues)

The investigation should be proportionate. Not every grievance needs a weeks-long process, but you do need to take reasonable steps to understand what happened before deciding an outcome.

If you want a structured framework for gathering facts without jumping to conclusions, it helps to model your approach on good practice for workplace investigations, even where the issue is “only” a grievance.

5) Hold A Grievance Meeting

A grievance meeting is your opportunity to hear the employee’s concerns properly and give them a fair chance to explain what outcome they’re seeking.

In most cases, you should:

• invite the employee in writing
• give reasonable notice of the meeting time
• consider any request to be accompanied (for example, by a colleague or trade union representative), and follow your policy and the ACAS Code
• take notes and keep the tone calm and professional

During the meeting, focus on understanding:

• what happened (their version of events)
• when and where it happened
• who was involved
• what evidence exists
• what they want you to do to resolve it

It’s easy to make avoidable missteps in meetings (especially when emotions are high). If you want to pressure-test your approach, it’s worth checking common grievance meetings pitfalls, like pre-judging the outcome, taking a defensive tone, or not keeping adequate notes.

6) Decide An Outcome And Confirm It In Writing

After the meeting and investigation, decide on an outcome based on the evidence.

Grievance outcomes commonly include:

• upholding the grievance (in full or in part)
• not upholding the grievance
• recommending changes (training, mediation, reporting line changes, updated policy)
• starting a separate process (for example, disciplinary action if misconduct is identified)

Put the outcome in writing and include:

• what was considered (in general terms)
• the key findings
• any actions you will take
• any actions expected of the employee (if relevant)
• the right to appeal and how to do it

Be careful with detail. You want to be clear, but also mindful of privacy and confidentiality (especially where other staff members are involved).

7) Offer An Appeal

A right of appeal is part of a fair process under the ACAS Code.

If possible, the appeal should be handled by someone not previously involved. In smaller businesses, you may need to consider an external reviewer if you can’t achieve separation internally.

Common Grievance Scenarios (And What To Watch Out For)

Every workplace is different, but some grievance themes come up again and again for SMEs. Here are a few and the key issues to keep in mind.

Grievances About Poor Performance Management

Sometimes employees raise grievances because they feel they’re being unfairly managed, singled out, or “pushed out”.

If you’re managing performance, your best protection is a consistent process with clear expectations and evidence. A properly run Performance Improvement Plan can help show you acted reasonably and gave the employee a genuine chance to improve.

Grievances That Involve Discrimination Or Harassment

If the grievance touches on a protected characteristic (e.g. sex, race, disability), treat it as high priority.

Key tips:

• act quickly and avoid “brushing it off” as personality conflict
• document every step
• avoid retaliatory treatment (even unintended), as that can create victimisation risk
• consider whether interim measures are needed to protect the employee

Even where you don’t uphold the grievance, the process needs to be demonstrably fair.

Grievances Raised During (Or After) Disciplinary Action

Employees sometimes raise grievances once they’re already in a disciplinary process. This can be for genuine reasons, or as a way to delay proceedings.

You’ll usually need to assess whether the grievance is connected to the disciplinary allegations. If it is, you may need to pause the disciplinary process while you address the grievance, or deal with both in a coordinated way.

If the underlying issue could amount to misconduct by someone else, you may also need to switch into a disciplinary framework using a clear gross misconduct checklist approach (where relevant) to ensure fairness and consistency.

Collective Or “Multiple Employee” Grievances

Sometimes several employees raise the same concern (for example, workload, health and safety, or a particular manager’s conduct). At that point, it may be more efficient to manage it as a collective issue rather than duplicating separate grievance processes.

Even then, it’s important to:

• record each complaint clearly
• avoid treating it as “team drama”
• address root causes (resourcing, training, systems), not just symptoms

How To Protect Your Business: Policies, Training, And Record-Keeping

A good grievance outcome often depends on what you already have in place before the complaint is raised.

For small businesses, the following foundations make grievance handling much easier:

Have A Clear Staff Handbook And Policies

Your grievance policy should explain:

• how to raise a grievance
• who it should be raised with
• the steps you’ll follow
• expected timeframes
• confidentiality expectations
• the appeal process

This is often included within a broader staff handbook and workplace policy suite, so your standards are clear “from day one”.

Train Managers To Respond Calmly And Consistently

In SMEs, managers are often promoted for technical skill, not people management experience.

A simple internal training session can go a long way, covering:

• how to receive a complaint without getting defensive
• when to escalate to a formal process
• how to take notes and keep communications professional
• how to avoid accidental retaliation (like cutting shifts after a complaint)

Keep Records (But Be Sensible About Privacy)

Good record-keeping is critical, but so is confidentiality.

As a general rule:

• limit access to grievance files to those who genuinely need to know
• avoid sharing information widely within the team
• keep meeting notes, letters, and decisions organised and dated
• be mindful that grievance records may later be requested in a subject access request (SAR)

Also remember: how you monitor emails, devices, or CCTV can raise privacy issues if it’s not handled correctly. If your investigation relies on monitoring, it needs to be lawful, proportionate, and aligned with your policies.

Key Takeaways

• A workplace grievance is any complaint or concern raised by an employee about their work, treatment, or workplace environment – and workplace grievances can escalate quickly if ignored.
• UK employers should follow a fair process aligned with the ACAS Code, including a prompt response, proportionate investigation, a grievance meeting, a written outcome, and an appeal.
• Not every complaint needs a formal procedure, but serious allegations (especially discrimination, bullying, or whistleblowing-style concerns) should be handled formally and carefully.
• Small businesses should plan for grievances by having clear policies, trained managers, and consistent documentation to reduce legal and operational risk.
• If you can’t ensure impartiality internally, consider external support so your process remains fair and defensible.

This article is general information only and isn’t legal advice. If you’d like advice on your situation, speak to an employment law specialist.

If you’d like help putting the right grievance process and workplace documents in place, or you’re dealing with a tricky grievance right now, you can reach us at 08081347754 or team@sprintlaw.co.uk for a free, no-obligations chat.