Disciplinary & Grievance Procedures - Acas

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Special considerations85. Complaints about discrimination, bullying and harassment in theworkplace are sensitive issues, and large organisations often haveseparate grievance procedures for dealing with these. It is importantthat these procedures meet the statutory minimum requirements.86. Organisations may also wish to consider whether they needa whistleblowing procedure in the light of the Public InterestDisclosure Act 1998. This Act provides protection to employeeswho raise concerns about certain kinds of wrongdoing inaccordance with its procedures.Keeping records87. It is important, and in the interests of both employer and employee,to keep written records during the grievance process. Recordsshould include:• the nature of the grievance raised;• a copy of the written grievance;• the employer’s response;• action taken;• reasons for action taken;• whether there was an appeal and, if so, the outcome; and• subsequent developments.88. Records should be treated as confidential and kept in accordancewith the Data Protection Act 1998, which gives individuals the right torequest and have access to certain personal data.89. Copies of meeting records should be given to the employeeincluding any formal minutes that may have been taken. In certaincircumstances (for example to protect a witness) the employermight withhold some information.Drawing up grievance procedures90. When employers draw up grievance procedures, it pays to involveeverybody they will affect, including managers, employees and,where appropriate, their representatives.91. <strong>Grievance</strong> procedures should make it easy for employees to raiseissues with management and should:• be simple and put in writing;• enable an employee’s line manager to deal informally with agrievance, if possible;• keep proceedings confidential; and• allow the employee to have a companion at meetings.92. Issues that may cause grievances include:• terms and conditions of employment;• health and safety;• work relations;• bullying and harassment;• new working practices;• working environment;• organisational change; and• equal opportunities.93. Where separate procedures exist for dealing with grievances onparticular issues (for example, harassment and bullying) these shouldbe used instead of the normal grievance procedure.228 CODE OF PRACTICE 1 – DISCIPLINARY AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES SECTION 2 – GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES 29
94. It’s important to ensure that everyone in the organisation understandsthe grievance procedures including the statutory requirements andthat, if necessary, supervisors, managers and employeerepresentatives are trained in their use. Employees must be given acopy of the procedures or have ready access to them, for instance ona noticeboard. Large organisations can include them with disciplinaryprocedures as part of an induction process.95. Take the time to explain the detail of grievance procedures toemployees. This is particularly useful for people who do not speakEnglish very well or who have difficulty with reading.Section 3A worker’s right tobe accompanied30 CODE OF PRACTICE 1 – DISCIPLINARY AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES 31
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Page 3 and 4: 1234ContentsSection 1: Disciplinary
Page 5 and 6: Core principles of reasonable behav
Page 7 and 8: First formal action - unsatisfactor
Page 9 and 10: Dealing with gross misconduct35. If
Page 11 and 12: 55. Rules should be specific, clear
Page 13 and 14: At a glanceGuidanceDrawing up griev
Page 15: Grievance meetings77. On receiving
Page 19 and 20: 101. For instance, an individual’
Page 21 and 22: Annex A: Standard statutorydismissa
Page 23 and 24: Step 3Appeal• If the employee doe
Page 25 and 26: (b) Situations in which the Statuto

Disciplinary & Grievance Procedures - Acas

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