Grievance Appeals Letter Templates
These Grievance Appeals Letter Templates should be used after the initial grievance decision, where the employee challenges the outcome. These documents help employees appeal against a grievance outcome and help employers acknowledge the appeal, arrange an appeal meeting, reschedule the meeting where necessary and confirm the final appeal decision in writing.
The templates cover the key steps after a grievance meeting decision has been issued, including the employee’s written appeal, the employer’s appeal meeting invitation, a rescheduled grievance appeal meeting letter and the final grievance appeal decision letter.
Grievance Procedure Legal Compliance
These documents have been drafted and maintained up-to-date by experienced employment solicitors and HR professionals, and have been/are applied successfully and consistently by thousands of employers and HR consultants. Appeal is a distinct stage after the grievance decision. Even very small employers should provide at least one level of appeal.
The Grievance Appeals Letter Templates are designed to support a fair, consistent and well-documented appeal process, helping employers confirm the grounds of appeal, arrange the meeting, deal with companion arrangements, manage attendance issues and bring the internal grievance procedure to a clear conclusion.
Employee Grievance Appeal Letter
This Employee Grievance Appeal Letter template is for employees who wish to appeal against a grievance decision or against action taken by their employer following a grievance meeting. It enables the employee to identify the original grievance, refer to the decision or action being challenged and set out the grounds of appeal.
Grievance Appeal Meeting Letter
This Grievance Appeal Meeting Letter template helps employers acknowledge an employee’s grievance appeal and arrange an appeal meeting. It confirms the decision or action being appealed, identifies who will hear the appeal and gives the date, time and place of the meeting, including optional wording for a remote appeal meeting.
Rescheduling Grievance Appeal Meeting Letter
This Letter Rescheduling Grievance Appeal Meeting template is for employers who need to rearrange a grievance appeal meeting because the employee could not attend or failed to attend the original appeal hearing. It confirms the original appeal meeting details, explains why the appeal meeting has been rearranged and sets out the new date, time and place, or remote meeting arrangements.
Grievance Appeal Decision Letter
This Grievance Appeal Decision Letter template helps employers confirm the outcome of a grievance appeal meeting in writing. It records the decision or action originally appealed against, confirms when the appeal meeting was held and states the appeal decision reached by the manager who heard the appeal.
Prior to applying these appeal letters employers should ensure that have been fully prepared to deal with employee grievances within a legal framework by downloading the Grievance Procedures & Guidance templates and have carried out the earlier stages of the grievance process by downloading and applying the relevant templates from Raising, Receiving and Assessing Grievance and Investigation and Formal Grievance Meeting.
The grievance appeal letter summarised above and listed below are suitable for employers who need practical documents for handling workplace grievance appeals in line with a structured grievance procedure:
Grievance Appeals Letter Templates is part of Employment. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
An employee has rejected my grievance decision and wants to appeal. What letters do I need, and in what order? +
You need four documents in sequence. First, the employee sends an Employee Grievance Appeal Letter setting out the grounds of challenge. You then issue a Grievance Appeal Meeting Letter acknowledging the appeal and confirming the date, time, place and who will hear it. If the employee cannot attend, a Rescheduling Grievance Appeal Meeting Letter confirms the revised arrangements. After the hearing you issue a Grievance Appeal Decision Letter recording the outcome in writing. Simply-Docs supplies a ready-made template for each stage.
Do I have to offer an appeal after a grievance decision, even in a small business? +
Yes. The Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures says employers should allow employees to appeal against any formal grievance decision, and this applies regardless of organisation size. Failing to offer an appeal can count against you if the case reaches an employment tribunal, where compensation may be adjusted by up to 25 per cent for unreasonable non-compliance with the Code. Simply-Docs's Grievance Appeal Meeting Letter helps you acknowledge the appeal and arrange the hearing in a way that meets this expectation.
What should an employee's written grievance appeal letter contain? +
Under the Acas Code, the employee should set out the grounds for appeal in writing without unreasonable delay. In practice the letter should identify the original grievance, specify the decision or action being challenged and explain why the outcome is considered wrong or unfair. New evidence can also be included. The Simply-Docs Employee Grievance Appeal Letter template guides the employee through each of these elements so the employer receives a clear, structured appeal that can be addressed at the hearing.
Can the employee bring a companion to the grievance appeal hearing, and what should the invitation letter say? +
Yes, provided the employee makes a reasonable request. Workers have a statutory right to be accompanied at any grievance appeal hearing by a colleague or a trade union representative, under section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999, but to exercise this right the worker must make a reasonable request to be accompanied (and, for grievances, the right only applies where the complaint concerns a legal or contractual duty owed to the worker). The employer's Grievance Appeal Meeting Letter should therefore confirm the right to be accompanied, the date, time and place of the hearing (or remote meeting arrangements) and who will hear the appeal. Simply-Docs's Grievance Appeal Meeting Letter template includes optional wording for a remote appeal meeting and covers companion arrangements.
The employee missed the appeal hearing. Can I reschedule, and is there a letter for that? +
Yes, you can reschedule: the Acas Code expects appeals to be heard without unreasonable delay but recognises that attendance problems arise. Where the employee could not attend or failed to attend, use the Simply-Docs Rescheduling Grievance Appeal Meeting Letter, which confirms the original meeting details, explains why the hearing has been rearranged and sets out the new date, time and place (or remote arrangements). Document the reason carefully, as a pattern of unexplained non-attendance can affect how the process is assessed if a dispute later reaches tribunal.
What must the final grievance appeal decision letter include, and is it truly final? +
Yes, it is the final step of the internal procedure, though an employee still retains the right to contact Acas or bring a tribunal claim. After the appeal hearing the employer should confirm the outcome in writing without unreasonable delay, stating whether the original decision is upheld, varied or overturned, the reasons, and, per GOV.UK guidance, that this is the final outcome. The Simply-Docs Grievance Appeal Decision Letter template records the decision or action appealed against, when the hearing was held and the decision reached by the manager who heard the appeal.
