Grievance Policy & Procedure

Table of contents

Read alongside

Anti-Bullying & Harassment Policy

Whistleblowing Policy

Information Governance and Data Protection Policyarchived

1.0 Statement

1.1 Clinical Partners seeks to encourage a working environment where everybody is able to contribute as fully as possible.  The main purpose of the grievance procedure is to encourage a climate of positive employee relations and an effective, speedy mechanism for the resolution of employment related disputes.

 This policy does not form part of any employee's contract of employment, and it may be amended at any time.

2.0 Scope of policy

2.1 This policy applies to all employees regardless of length of service. It does not apply to agency workers or self-employed contractors.

2.2 We expect all managers and employees to comply with their obligations under equality legislation and ensure that all reasonable adjustments or supportive measures are considered to allow equal access to the policy and procedure regardless of age, gender reassignment, race, including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief, gender identity, being pregnant or on maternity leave, being married or in a civil partnership.

3.0 The Policy

3.1 Using this policy

Issues that could cause grievances may include but are not limited to:

• Terms and conditions of employment

• Health and safety

• Work relations

• Bullying and harassment

• New working practices

• Working environment

• Organisational change

• Discrimination

3.2 This Grievance Procedure should not be used to complain about dismissal or disciplinary action. If you are dissatisfied with any disciplinary action, you should submit an appeal under the appropriate procedure as found in the disciplinary policy.

3.3 Grievances raised while you are subject to disciplinary proceedings will usually be heard concurrently. Insofar as a grievance has any bearing on the disciplinary proceedings, it can be raised as a relevant issue in the course of those proceedings.

3.4 We have a separate Anti-Bullying & Harassment Policy that may be useful if you have been the victim of bullying or harassment or wish to report an incident of bullying or harassment involving other people.

3.5 We operate a separate Whistleblowing Policy to enable employees to report illegal activities, wrongdoing or malpractice. However, where you are directly affected by the matter in question, or where you feel you have been victimised for an act of whistleblowing, you may raise the matter under this Grievance Procedure.

3.6 It may be appropriate for the matter to be dealt with by way of mediation, depending on the nature of your grievance. This involves the appointment of a third-party mediator, who will discuss the issues raised by your grievance with all of those involved and seek to facilitate a resolution. Mediation will be used only where all parties involved in the grievance agree.

3.7 This policy only applies whilst you are employed by the company. If you leave our employment and then raise a grievance, we will consider your grievance but would not normally follow the full procedure.

3.8 If you have difficulty at any stage of the Grievance Procedure because of a disability or because English is not your first language, you should discuss the situation with your line manager as soon as possible.

3.9 Written grievances will be placed on your personnel file along with a record of any decisions taken and any notes or other documents compiled during the grievance process. These will be processed in accordance with our Information Governance and Data Protection Policy.

4.0 Raising grievances informally

4.1 Most grievances can be resolved quickly and informally through discussion with your line manager. If you feel unable to speak to your manager, for example, because the complaint concerns them, then you should speak informally to a more senior manager or a member of the People Operations Team. If this does not resolve the issue, you should follow the formal procedure below.

5.0 Formal written grievances 

5.1 If your grievance cannot be resolved informally you should put it in writing and submit it to your line manager, indicating that it is a formal grievance. If the grievance concerns your line manager, you may submit it to their line manager or the HR Team instead.

5.2 The written grievance should contain a brief description of the nature of your complaint, including any relevant facts, dates, and names of individuals involved. In some situations we may ask you to provide further information.

6.0 Investigations 

6.1 It may be necessary for us to carry out an investigation into your grievance. The amount of any investigation required will depend on the nature of the allegations and will vary from case to case. It may involve interviewing and taking statements from you and any witnesses, and/or reviewing relevant documents. The investigation may be carried out by your line manager, or someone else appointed by us.

6.2 You must co-operate fully and promptly in any investigation. This may include informing us of the names of any relevant witnesses, disclosing any relevant documents to us and attending interviews, as part of our investigation.

6.3 We may initiate an investigation before holding a grievance meeting where we consider this appropriate. In other cases, we may hold a grievance meeting before deciding what investigation (if any) to carry out. In those cases, we will hold a further grievance meeting with you after our investigation and before we reach a decision.

7.0 Right to be accompanied 

7.1 You may bring a companion to any grievance meeting or appeal meeting under this procedure. The companion may be either a colleague or a trade union representative (who must be certified in writing by the union as having experience of, or having received training in, acting as a worker's companion at disciplinary or grievance hearings) or an official employed by a trade union as a companion to the meeting.  You must tell the person holding the grievance meeting who your chosen companion is, in good time before the meeting.

7.2 At the meeting, your companion may make representations to us and ask questions, but should not answer questions on your behalf. You may talk privately with them at any time during the meeting.

7.3 Acting as a companion is voluntary and your colleagues are under no obligation to do so. If they agree to do so they will be allowed reasonable time off from duties without loss of pay to act as a companion.

7.4 If your chosen companion is unavailable at the time a meeting is scheduled and will not be available for more than five working days afterwards, we may ask you to choose someone else.

7.5 We may, at our discretion, allow you to bring a companion who is not a colleague or union representative (for example, a member of your family) if this will help overcome a disability, or if you have difficulty understanding English.

8.0 Grievance meetings 

8.1 We will arrange a grievance meeting, normally within one week of receiving your written grievance.

8.2 We may commence an investigation into your grievance prior to meeting with you.

8.3 You and your companion (if any) should make every effort to attend grievance meetings. If you or your companion cannot attend at the time specified, you should inform us immediately and we will try, within reason, to agree an alternative time.

8.4 The purpose of a grievance meeting is to enable you to explain your grievance and how you think it should be resolved, and to assist us to reach a decision based on the available evidence and the representations you have made.

8.5 After an initial grievance meeting, we may carry out further investigations and hold further grievance meetings as we consider appropriate. Such meetings will be arranged without unreasonable delay.

8.6 We will write to you, usually within one week of the final grievance meeting, to inform you of the outcome of your grievance and any further action that we intend to take to resolve the grievance. We will also remind you of your right of appeal. Where appropriate we may hold a meeting to give you this information in person.

8.7 We reserve the right to allow third parties to chair any formal hearing.

9.0 Appeals 

9.1 If the grievance has not been resolved to your satisfaction you may appeal in writing to the appeal manager, as confirmed during the grievance outcome, stating your full grounds of appeal, within one week of the date on which the decision was sent or given to you.

9.2 We will hold an appeal meeting, normally within one week of receiving your written appeal. This will be dealt with impartially by an independent manager who has not previously been involved in the case (although they may ask anyone previously involved to be present). You have a right to bring a companion to the meeting .

9.3 We will confirm our final decision in writing, usually within one week of the appeal hearing. This is the end of the procedure and there is no further appeal.

10.0 Guidelines 

10.1 At all formal stages of this procedure, the person chairing a grievance meeting is advised to be accompanied by a suitable management representative who will act as a witness and take full notes of everything that is said. Where no internal person of sufficient seniority or confidential status is available, or where preferred, an external party may be invited to attend in this capacity.

10.2 The employee or worker raising the grievance should tell the person conducting the meeting in advance who they have chosen as a companion. If the employee does not wish to be accompanied this should be noted. Fellow workers may not be compelled to attend as a companion. The companion is there to act as a witness to what was said, to provide moral support and to assist and advise the person in presenting their case. He or she may address the meeting (provided the person wishes this), ask questions on their behalf and confer with the individual raising the grievance but not answer questions on their behalf. The companion is also not permitted to prevent us from explaining our case.

10.3 The individual raising the grievance should make every effort to attend the meeting. If, however they or their chosen companion is unable to attend any meeting under this procedure for a reason which was not foreseeable at the time the meeting was arranged, we will attempt to rearrange the meeting for a date within five working days of the original scheduled date.

10.4 The timing and location of meetings will be reasonable, and we will aim to ensure that the procedure is followed without unreasonable delay. Meetings will be confidential, and wherever possible will be held in a private location and without interruptions.

10.5 At the grievance meeting, the individual raising the grievance will be invited to re-state the grievance and explain how they would like it to be resolved. Full opportunity will be provided to present any information and answer questions before any decision is made.

10.6 The person conducting the meeting may adjourn it at any stage to calm a tense situation, to investigate further or take advice. We will not tolerate abusive or insulting behaviour from anyone taking part in or conducting grievance procedures and may treat any such behaviour as misconduct under the disciplinary procedure.

10.7 Reasonable adjustments will be made to ensure that any employee with a disability is not disadvantaged in any way at the meeting. They should inform us of any requirements (e.g., for a signer or other support) where necessary. Arrangements may also be made to assist any person who does not have English as his or her first language and who may need an interpreter.

10.8 To ensure that any issue raised is resolved effectively, all parties should aim to:

• focus on the facts and ignore rumours or hearsay

• limit the issue to those involved and show discretion at all times

• work only to resolve the issue and actively pursue a positive outcome

• be honest about their own role and involvement

• demonstrate understanding, empathy and flexibility to ensure that the other person's perspective is accommodated

• strengthen relationships once the outcome is known and positively apply any learning points for the future.

10.9 When considering a suitable resolution, the person chairing the grievance meeting will consider whether similar grievances have been raised before, how they have been resolved and any follow-up action that was taken.

10.10 Notes will be made of all meetings held under the grievance procedure, with one copy being given to the person raising the grievance and one being kept on file. Such documents will be regarded as confidential.

10.11 If a grievance made against another employee is proven to have been frivolous or raised without good cause, the disciplinary policy will apply.

11.0 Absence during the procedure 

11.1 We recognise that grievances can be stressful for both the person raising the grievance and for any other employees against whom a complaint is made. However, we believe that in most cases this stress is best alleviated, and working relationships maintained, by completing the grievance procedure quickly.

11.2 Where an employee or worker is unfit for work, this does not necessarily mean they are unfit to attend an investigatory meeting or a grievance meeting and employees must make every effort to co-operate with us in completing the grievance process.

11.3 If the employee or worker is absent due to illness or other reasons such as maternity/adoption/paternity/shared parental or other leave, we will consider, in consultation with the employee (and/or his GP, as appropriate, in the case of illness), whether there are any reasonable adjustments that can be made to enable the case to be progressed (eg by allowing the employee to make further written submissions, by conference call or by holding the meeting at a different venue).

11.4 If, after an attempt to contact the employee or worker, we reasonably believe that they are unlikely to be able to attend a meeting in the near future or to provide any further information, we may decide the matter without the employee or worker's further input, based on the evidence and information available to us. Unless the employee has already been informed of this, we will write to inform the employee of our intentions to proceed in their absence before taking any decisions.

12.0 Mediation 

12.1 Mediation may be considered as an appropriate alternative method of resolving any differences between employees. Where mediation is introduced before or during the grievance process, all parties will be asked to confirm in writing that they agree to the grievance process being adjourned whilst mediation is being undertaken. Should mediation prove unsuccessful, the grievance process will be resumed; where it is successful, the grievance will be regarded as resolved.

13.0 Data protection 

13.1 Clinical Partners processes personal data collected during informal complaints and the formal grievance procedure in accordance with its data protection policy. In particular, data collected as part of informal complaints and the grievance procedure is held securely and accessed by, and disclosed to, individuals only for the purposes of responding to the complaints or conducting the grievance procedure. Inappropriate access or disclosure of employee data constitutes a data breach and should be reported in accordance with the data protection policy immediately. It may also constitute a disciplinary offence, which will be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure.

14.0 Review of policy 

14.1 This Policy will be reviewed as required.