As an employer in a small business, navigating the complexities of employee grievances can be a challenging aspect of your role. Grievances, when raised, must be handled with utmost professionalism and care to maintain a positive work environment and ensure legal compliance.
Get this wrong and you could end up in an employment tribunal.
Even if you get this right, you could end up in an employment tribunal, but at least you have a defence and are giving employees less ammunition with which you fight you.
1. Upholding Confidentiality and Professionalism
The first step in addressing a grievance is to ensure confidentiality. It’s vital to respect the privacy of all involved parties. Professionalism is key; approach the situation calmly and objectively, avoiding any bias or preconceived notions.
2. Adhering to Internal Processes
Every business should have a formal grievance procedure in place. This typically involves a written policy outlining the steps to be taken when a grievance is raised. Familiarise yourself with these procedures and follow them meticulously to ensure fairness and legal compliance.
If you don’t have a formal process, use the one laid out by ACAS. This is a code of conduct and sets the minimum levels which employers must meet. If you have your own procedure, it should at least meet, if not exceed the process laid out by ACAS.
3. Organise a Formal Meeting
Arrange a meeting with the employee who has raised the grievance. This meeting is an opportunity for them to explain their concerns in detail. Ensure that the environment is conducive to open and honest communication. Be aware, an employee may be raising a grievance on behalf of others. You must still take their concerns seriously and hold a meeting to understand their concerns.
4. Maintaining Impartiality and Objectivity
As an employer, it’s crucial to remain impartial and objective throughout the process. Approach each case with an open mind, focusing on gathering facts rather than forming judgments.
You may not be the best person to hear the grievance. In a micro business, you may have no choice, but if you have managers or a fellow director, it is important that the right person is involved at the right stage. You may need to hold someone back to hear an appeal.
To ensure impartiality and objectivity, you may need to appoint an external person to hear the grievance and / or carry out an investigation.
5. Fact-Finding: The Core of the Process
Establishing facts is a critical part of addressing a grievance. Listen attentively to the employee’s concerns and gather all relevant information. This may involve reviewing documents, emails, CCTV, text messages or other forms of evidence. It may also involve interviewing any witnesses. Again confidentiality and professionalism are required at all times and if you have any doubts, seek advice.
6. Understanding the Impact
Recognise the emotional and professional impact the situation may have on the individual(s) concerned. Empathy is important, but it should not cloud your judgment or decision-making process. Think about whether people should still be working together or reporting to each other on a temporary or permanent basis. Think about whether you need to stand someone down from duties (on full pay) or ask someone to work from home.
Extreme care needs to be exercised when assessing the impact. You could damage someone’s reputation…. Or they could damage yours. You could put someone at risk from your actions …. Or your inactions.
7. Interviewing Involved Parties
If the grievance involves another employee, it’s important to interview them to understand their perspective. Be sure to approach this conversation with the same level of impartiality and professionalism.
The other parties may be witnesses or an alleged perpetrator. Keep an open mind, be factual and remember your empathy.
8. Speaking with Witnesses
If there are witnesses to the events in question, their accounts can be invaluable. Ensure that these interviews are conducted in a manner that respects their privacy and willingness to participate.
You can’t guarantee them anonymity. If the grievance process leads to a disciplinary process, the alleged perpetrator has the right to see the evidence against them. However, think about how you can give any witnesses the confidence in the process and assure them that they will not be victimised as a result of their statement.
Can you anonymise the statements? Can they be written in such a way that the identity of the witness remains confidential. Each situation will be different. As a business owner, you need to take a judgement and seek specific advice as required.
9. Conducting Additional Research
In some cases, further investigation may be necessary. This could involve reviewing CCTV footage, emails, text messages, or other relevant documents. Such research should be conducted ethically and in accordance with data protection laws.
Timing may be a factor. You may need to secure evidence quickly. You must also take care not to contaminate any police investigation if there is any risk of criminal process also taking place.
10. Communicating the Outcome
Once you have gathered all the necessary information, it’s time to decide on the outcome. Write to the employee who raised the grievance, detailing your findings and conclusions. This document should be clear, concise, and free of jargon.
11. Discussing the Outcome Personally
It’s beneficial to sit down with the employee and talk through the outcome. This personal approach shows respect and consideration for their feelings and can help in maintaining a positive working relationship.
12. Offering an Opportunity to Appeal
If the employee is dissatisfied with the outcome, they should have the option to appeal. This is a fundamental part of ensuring fairness and transparency in the process.
13. Following Up with Disciplinary Action if Necessary
If the grievance is upheld and it involves misconduct by another employee, your company’s disciplinary policy should come into play. Ensure that any disciplinary action is fair, proportionate, and in line with your established procedures. Again, if you don’t have anything specified, refer to the ACAS guidelines. Failure to comply with these will result in an uplift in any award against you, should you end up in an employment tribunal.
Handling employee grievances is a delicate aspect of HR management, especially in a small business setting. By following these steps, you can ensure that grievances are dealt with in a manner that is fair, legal, and conducive to a positive workplace culture. Remember, the way you handle such situations can significantly impact employee morale and your company’s reputation.
