Investigation and Formal Grievance Meeting
These Investigation and Formal Grievance Meeting templates cover the operational stage of the employee grievance process: Investigating the complaint, arranging the formal grievance meeting, dealing with attendance problems, keeping records and communicating the outcome.
The letters and form cover the key steps after a grievance has been raised and assessed, including inviting an employee or witness to an investigatory meeting, arranging the formal grievance meeting, rescheduling the meeting where necessary, writing to an employee who has failed to attend, recording the grievance process and confirming the outcome in writing.
Grievance Procedure Legal Compliance
These templates 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.
The investigation and grievance meeting templates support a fair, consistent and well-documented grievance procedure. They help employers give employees a full opportunity to explain their grievance, consider relevant evidence, make reasonable arrangements for companions, deal with remote or in-person meetings, maintain confidentiality and confirm any decision or action taken following the grievance meeting.
Prior to applying these documents employers should ensure that they are fully prepared to deal with employee grievances within a legal framework by downloading the Grievance Procedures & Guidance templates and have carried out the first stage in the process by downloading and applying the relevant templates from Raising, Receiving and Assessing Grievance.
This selection of templates provides:
Invitation to Investigatory Meeting Letter
This Invitation to Investigatory Meeting Letter template is for employers who need to invite an employee or other relevant person to a meeting as part of a grievance investigation. It explains the purpose of the investigatory meeting, gives an outline of the grievance, identifies who will chair and note-take at the meeting, and confirms that the meeting is a fact-finding exercise.
Grievance Meeting Letter
This Grievance Meeting Letter template helps employers formally invite an employee to a grievance meeting after receiving a grievance letter. It confirms the date, time and place of the meeting, or remote meeting arrangements, and explains that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the grievance and any possible action the employer may take to resolve it.
Rescheduling Grievance Meeting Letter
This Rescheduling Grievance Meeting Letter is for employers who need to rearrange a grievance meeting because the employee could not attend or failed to attend the original meeting. It confirms the original meeting details, explains why the meeting is being rescheduled and provides the new meeting date, time and location or remote meeting arrangements.
Letter to an Employee Who Has Failed to Attend a Grievance Meeting
This Failure to Attend Grievance Meeting Letter template is for employers to use where an employee does not attend a scheduled grievance meeting. It records the missed meeting, refers to any reason given for non-attendance and confirms that the employer still wishes to investigate the employee’s concerns and resolve the matter.
Formal Grievance Record Form
This Formal Grievance Record Form template helps employers keep a structured record of a formal grievance. It provides fields for the employee’s name, job title, department or team, date of receipt of the written grievance, grievance hearing date, hearing manager, companion, summary of grievance, decision, reasons, agreed actions and appeal information.
Grievance Meeting Decision Letter
This Grievance Meeting Decision Letter template helps employers confirm the outcome of a grievance meeting in writing. It records the decision reached, any action the employer intends to take to resolve the grievance and the circumstances considered when making the decision.
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Frequently Asked Questions
A grievance has been raised and I need to start investigating it. Which templates do I need and in what order? +
The typical sequence is: invite the relevant person to an investigatory meeting (Invitation to Investigatory Meeting Letter), formally invite the employee to the grievance meeting (Grievance Meeting Letter), deal with any rescheduling or non-attendance using the corresponding letters, record the process throughout (Formal Grievance Record Form) and confirm the outcome in writing (Grievance Meeting Decision Letter). This sub-folder contains the six letters and the record form covering this operational investigation stage. Beforehand, download the Grievance Procedures and Guidance templates and complete the raising and assessing stage using the Raising, Receiving and Assessing Grievance templates.
Does an employee have the right to bring a companion to the investigatory meeting, and how is that different from the formal grievance meeting? +
The statutory right to be accompanied under section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 applies to formal grievance meetings (where the grievance concerns a duty owed by the employer to the worker), not to investigatory or fact-finding meetings. At the grievance meeting the companion must be a fellow worker, a trade union representative or an employed trade union official. The Acas Code notes an employer's own procedure may allow accompaniment at investigatory meetings, and doing so is widely regarded as good practice. To keep these stages distinct, use the separate Invitation to Investigatory Meeting Letter and Grievance Meeting Letter.
How quickly should I hold a formal grievance meeting once I have received the employee's written complaint? +
Hold the meeting without unreasonable delay, ideally within five working days of receiving the grievance, as the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures advises. This is guidance rather than an absolute legal deadline, and what counts as unreasonable delay depends on the case's complexity. Unreasonable delay risks a tribunal adjusting any award by up to 25 per cent under section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The Grievance Meeting Letter template helps you document arrangements promptly and correctly.
An employee did not attend the scheduled grievance meeting. What should I do and which letter should I send? +
Write to the employee promptly using the Failure to Attend Grievance Meeting Letter to record the missed meeting, acknowledge any reason they gave for non-attendance and confirm the employer still wishes to investigate and resolve the matter. If rescheduling is appropriate, the Reschedule Grievance Meeting Letter confirms the new date, time and location (or remote meeting arrangements). If the employee persistently cannot or will not attend without good cause, you may need to proceed on the evidence available, but take advice first.
What must I include in the letter that confirms the outcome of the grievance meeting, and when must I send it? +
Confirm the outcome in writing without unreasonable delay, as required by the Acas Code of Practice. Record the decision reached, any action the employer intends to take to resolve the grievance, the reasoning behind it and the employee's right to appeal: the Simply-Docs Grievance Meeting Decision Letter template covers each element. What counts as unreasonable delay depends on the circumstances, but unexplained delays can support a procedural fairness challenge at tribunal.
Why should I keep a formal written record of the grievance process and what does the record form capture? +
Keep a written record because the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures strongly recommends it, and a complete, contemporaneous record is essential protection if the matter later reaches an employment tribunal, demonstrating that the employer followed a fair and consistent procedure. The Simply-Docs Formal Grievance Record Form captures the employee's name, job title, department, the date the written grievance was received, the hearing date, the hearing manager's name, companion details, a summary of the grievance, the decision, reasons for the decision, agreed actions and appeal information.
