Employee Grievance Management Templates
These Employee Grievance Management Templates are designed to help employers and HR teams manage employee grievances in a fair, consistent, and well-structured way. This portfolio/sequence of documents brings together the key templates needed to handle grievances from start to finish, including guidance, procedures, letters, meeting documents, and appeal paperwork. The templates support employers through the practical stages of the grievance process, from acknowledging a complaint and investigating it to holding meetings, confirming outcomes, and dealing with any appeal.
A grievance is a concern, complaint, or problem raised by an employee in relation to their work, working conditions, or treatment at work. Although grievance procedures are not generally prescribed by statute, employers should still follow a proper process and have regard to the ACAS Code of Practice. If a concern or complaint raised by an employee involves reporting public interest wrongdoing that affects others, whistleblowing procedures should be followed as provided in the Whistleblowing Policy.
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.
This selection of grievance related templates is sub-divided in the following four sections to facilitate navigation and ease of application:
Grievance Procedures, Guidance and Legal Framework
These Grievance Procedures & Guidance templates explain how employers should handle grievances fairly, consistently and in line with recognised practice, helps set up the legal framework for managing workplace grievances.
Raising, Receiving and Assessing a Grievance
This selection of Raising, Receiving and Assessing Grievance templates provides for the first stage of the process: the employee raises a grievance, the employer acknowledges it, and the employer decides whether it should be handled formally, informally or alongside an existing grievance.
Investigation and Formal Grievance Meeting
These Investigation and Formal Grievance Meeting templates cover the operational stage of the grievance: investigating the complaint, arranging the meeting, dealing with attendance problems, keeping records and communicating the outcome.
Grievance Appeals
This final section of documents, Grievance Appeals Letter Templates, should be used after the initial grievance decision, where the employee challenges the outcome. Appeal is a distinct stage after the grievance decision and even very small employers should provide at least one level of appeal.
A Practical Grievance Process for Employers
The documents in this collection are designed to help employers follow a fair internal process, keep an appropriate written record, and communicate properly with the employee at each stage.
They also cover related situations that often arise in practice, such as rearranged meetings, non-attendance, overlapping issues, and appeals against grievance decisions.
Taken together, these documents provide a solid framework for dealing with employee grievances in a way that is organised, fair, and easier to administer.
Employee Grievance Management Templates is part of Employment. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
An employee has raised a complaint at work. What documents will I need to handle it properly from start to finish? +
You will need documents covering every stage of the process: a written grievance procedure that sets out how complaints are handled, acknowledgement letters, investigation notes, invitations to a formal meeting, outcome letters and, if the decision is challenged, appeal paperwork. The Employee Grievance Management Templates collection organises these into four sections: Grievance Procedures, Guidance and Legal Framework Templates; Raising, Receiving and Assessing Grievance; Investigation and Formal Grievance Meeting; and Grievance Appeals Letter Templates. Working through the sections in order ensures you have the right document at each stage.
Do I have to follow a formal grievance procedure, and is the Acas Code of Practice legally binding? +
No statute prescribes exactly how every grievance must be handled, but all employers must give employees written information about their grievance arrangements in the written statement of employment particulars under the Employment Rights Act 1996. The Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures is not itself legally binding, but tribunals must take it into account, and where an employer unreasonably fails to follow it a tribunal can increase compensation by up to 25 per cent under section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. If a procedure is written into the contract, the employer must follow it or risk a breach of contract claim, so following a fair process in line with the Code is strongly advisable for every employer regardless of size.
What is a grievance, and how does it differ from a whistleblowing complaint? +
A grievance is a personal complaint by an employee about their own work, working conditions or treatment, handled through the employer's internal grievance procedure. Whistleblowing reports wrongdoing in the public interest affecting others beyond the individual, with separate protections under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. The test is scope. Where a complaint contains both, the employer may need to run both procedures. The Simply-Docs collection covers the grievance process in full; use the separate Whistleblowing Policy Template where whistleblowing procedures apply.
Can I deal with an employee's complaint informally rather than starting a full formal grievance process? +
Usually, but not every situation is suitable to handle informally. Many workplace complaints can and should be resolved informally through a quiet word or open conversation, and the Acas Code of Practice encourages this where appropriate, as it is faster, less adversarial and better for working relationships. However, you should use a formal process where the matter is serious, for example sexual harassment or serious bullying or discrimination, where the employee is not willing to try to resolve it informally or raises the matter formally in writing, where your organisation's policy says the type of situation must be dealt with formally, or where you are in any doubt about the right approach. If informal discussion fails to resolve it, a formal process must follow. To decide whether to handle a complaint formally, informally or alongside an existing grievance, use the Simply-Docs Raising, Receiving and Assessing Grievance sub-folder. Using templates at the informal stage also keeps a record should the matter escalate.
What stages does a fair employee grievance process cover, and in what order? +
A fair grievance process follows four broad stages. First, the employee raises the grievance and the employer receives and assesses it, deciding whether to handle it formally, informally or alongside another grievance. Second, the employer investigates: gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses and keeping records. Third, a formal grievance meeting is held at which the employee can put their case and has the statutory right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative under the Employment Relations Act 1999, after which the employer communicates the outcome in writing. Fourth, if dissatisfied, the employee has the right to appeal, heard by someone not previously involved where possible. The Simply-Docs collection maps onto these stages across its four sub-folders.
Does an employee always have the right to appeal a grievance decision, and does this apply to very small employers? +
Usually, but not as an absolute legal right. The Acas Code of Practice states that employees should be given the opportunity to appeal against any formal grievance decision, and it applies to all employers regardless of size. A failure to follow the Code does not, in itself, make an employer liable to proceedings, but employment tribunals will take the Code into account and can adjust any award by up to 25 per cent for an unreasonable failure to comply. Tribunals will also take the size and resources of an employer into account, and it may sometimes not be practicable for all employers to take every step set out in the Code. The Code does not apply to dismissals due to redundancy or the non-renewal of fixed-term contracts on their expiry. Even a business with only one or two employees should provide at least one level of appeal, ideally heard by someone not previously involved, though a very small organisation may require some flexibility. The Simply-Docs Grievance Appeals Letter Templates sub-folder contains the documents needed to run the appeal stage, including letters inviting the employee to an appeal meeting and communicating the outcome.
Which Simply-Docs template or sub-folder should I use at each stage of the grievance process? +
Match the sub-folder to the stage. Before any grievance arises, use Grievance Procedures, Guidance and Legal Framework Templates to set up your procedure and understand the legal framework. On receiving a complaint, use Raising, Receiving and Assessing Grievance for acknowledgement and the decision on how to proceed. For investigation and the hearing, use Investigation and Formal Grievance Meeting, covering evidence gathering, arranging the meeting, non-attendance and recording the outcome. For appeals, use Grievance Appeals Letter Templates. Where a complaint involves reporting public-interest wrongdoing, follow the separate Whistleblowing Policy Template instead of, or alongside, the grievance process.
