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Policies, contracts, letters, guidance and HR support tools for UK employers.
View full libraryPolicies, contracts, letters, guidance and HR support tools for UK employers.
View full libraryManage employee grievances with a complete, practical set of HR templates covering investigation, meetings, mediation, appeals and outcomes — helping you follow a clear, consistent and defensible process.
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Managers guide to handling workplace appeals, covering appeal grounds, preparation, meetings, impartiality, outcomes, documentation and HR support for UK employers.
This guide provides employers with a clear roadmap for handling employee grievances, promoting fairness, compliance, and a positive work environment.
Use this guide to understand the law and good practice on employee grievances, including the effective management of grievances and the practicalities of dealing with grievances.
Managers guide to managing workplace conflict through mediation, covering early intervention, mediation, manager responsibilities, informal resolution and HR support.
Grievance policy for UK employers covering informal and formal grievances, investigations, hearings, employee representation, outcomes and appeals.
Whistleblowing policy template for UK employers covering protected disclosures, reporting concerns, confidentiality, investigations and protection from detriment.
Our Employee Appeal Letter Template provides a structured format for employees to appeal decisions, ensuring clarity and fairness in the process.
Our Employee Appeal Acknowledgment Letter Template confirms receipt of employee appeals, ensuring transparency and procedural fairness in the resolution process.
Facilitation meeting outcome letter for confirming discussions, agreed actions, workplace expectations and next steps following a facilitated meeting.
If an employee wishes to raise a grievance about a workplace issue, they can submit this model letter template to you.
Grievance appeal letter template to help employees formally challenge a grievance outcome.
If a grievance appeal hearing has been held, send this model letter template for confirmation of the outcome.
Our Grievance Decision Appeal Letter template empowers employees to present well-structured appeals, facilitating a fair and efficient grievance resolution process.
Grievance hearing invitation letter template for UK employers.
If a grievance hearing has been held, send this model letter template for confirmation of the outcome, and a right of appeal.
Our Grievance Investigation Confirmation Letter ensures a transparent process, confirming receipt and initiation of grievance investigation promptly.
Our Mediation Meeting Invitation Letter Template facilitates conflict resolution by inviting parties to engage in a structured dialogue process.
Our Outcome of Mediation Meeting Letter Template streamlines documenting mediation outcomes, preventing disputes, and ensuring clear understanding for both parties.
Notice of a Dispute letter template for UK employees or representatives to formally set out a workplace dispute, concerns, requested action and response.
If an employee wishes to raise a grievance about a workplace issue, they can submit this model form template to you.
If an employee has appealed against the outcome of a grievance, use this model script in an appeal hearing.
Grievance Hearing Script for UK employers to conduct fair grievance meetings, explore complaints, question evidence, hear responses and establish next steps.
Mediation meeting script for managers and HR covering workplace conflict, ground rules, employee perspectives, agreed actions and improving working relationships.
More than just templates, the Grievance Knowledge Hub brings together practical HR guidance, real-world experience and tried-and-tested resources to help you understand the subject, manage it effectively and make informed decisions.
A grievance is a formal way for an employee to raise a concern, problem or complaint about work, their treatment or an aspect of the employment relationship. The subject covers grievances, employee complaints, workplace concerns, grievance meetings, investigations, outcomes and appeals, and forms an important part of effective people management and, where relevant, workplace compliance.
For employers, getting this area right involves more than having a policy or form in place. Employers should take concerns seriously, investigate appropriately and give employees a fair opportunity to explain their position. Following a clear process can help resolve issues early and reduce the risk of prolonged disputes or escalation. The process should be proportionate to the circumstances, applied consistently and supported by accurate records so that managers understand what to do and employees understand what is expected of them.
The Grievance Templates Toolkit brings these requirements together in a practical collection of HR documents covering grievance submissions, acknowledgement letters, investigation arrangements, meetings, outcomes and appeal records. The templates are designed to support the key stages of the process, from planning and communication through to meetings, decisions, follow-up actions and record keeping.
This approach can help employers improve consistency between managers, reduce avoidable administration and create a clearer audit trail. It can also help organisations identify issues earlier, make better-informed decisions and manage the employee experience more effectively.
HRDocBox templates are developed from practical UK HR experience and are designed around the processes employers and HR professionals actually need to manage. The content takes account of relevant UK employment law, ACAS guidance and established HR practice, while recognising that individual circumstances and organisational policies will determine how a particular situation should be handled.
HRDocBox regularly reviews and updates its template library as employment law, ACAS guidance and practical HR requirements develop. This means employers have a professionally considered starting point that can save the time and effort involved in creating, maintaining and continually reviewing their own HR documentation from scratch. Templates should still be tailored to the organisation's circumstances and used alongside its own policies, procedures and appropriate professional advice where required.
A grievance process provides a structured way for an employee to raise concerns about their work or treatment. It will typically follow these key stages:
Grievances should be taken seriously. The process should be fair, impartial and proportionate to the issues raised.
Understand the common mistakes employers can make when managing this area of HR, helping you reduce risk, prevent unnecessary costs and ensure the process is handled fairly, consistently and correctly.
Here we show you which resources to use to effectively resolve an employee grievance, taking into account the different decisions and directions that are likely / possible.
Following this flowchart will ensure that you factor in all eventualities, follow legal / code of conduct or best practice processes, communicate effectively, and reduce the risk of things going wrong.
An employee raises a formal grievance about their manager. An impartial investigator gathers evidence and witness accounts, issues a reasoned outcome and provides an appeal route.
The manager and HR then follow the relevant grievance process, making sure the facts are established, responsibilities are clear and the employee or other parties involved understand what is expected. Key decisions, evidence and actions are recorded so that the business has a clear and proportionate record of how the matter was handled.
The position is reviewed afterwards rather than treating the initial action as the end of the process. Any outstanding actions, training, support, adjustments, payments, documentation or follow-up meetings are given clear ownership and timescales. This helps the organisation demonstrate consistent practice, identify recurring issues and reduce the risk of the same problem happening again.
A grievance procedure is the process an employer uses to deal with an employee's concerns, complaints or workplace issues. It should provide a fair and structured opportunity for concerns to be considered.
Where appropriate, the employer should investigate the issues raised before reaching an outcome. The extent of the investigation should be proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the grievance.
Yes. Some workplace concerns may be resolved through an informal discussion or management action. Employees should not, however, be discouraged from raising a formal grievance where appropriate.
Employees have a statutory right to be accompanied at a formal grievance meeting by an appropriate companion where the statutory conditions are met.
Employees should normally be given an appropriate opportunity to appeal a formal grievance outcome. The appeal should be considered impartially.
HRDocBox combines real-world HR experience, subject-matter expertise and commercial understanding to support effective grievance processes with practical, tried-and-tested resources. With instant access, editable documents, ongoing updates and 12 months' access, you get practical HR support when you need it.
How this content is developed and reviewed
The Grievance templates toolkit is developed using a practical HR methodology that considers current UK employment legislation, ACAS guidance, CIPD good practice and the real-world HR process it supports. Templates and supporting information are regularly reviewed and updated, with additional reviews triggered by significant changes to legislation, guidance or established HR practice, helping ensure each document remains practical, relevant and suitable for UK employers.
Darryl Horn, Chartered HR Director
Darryl is a Chartered HR professional with over 25 years' experience in senior HR and employee relations roles.
He has extensive practical experience of managing grievance HR processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.
HRDocBox has been creating practical UK HR documents since 2009.
"Darryl provides support and advice with excellent judgement, and has a strong understanding of people, policies and UK employment legislation."
"He is someone I trust; consistent, dependable, and committed to doing things properly."
Whether you employ 5 people or 50, hrdocbox gives you the structure, documents and expertise needed to manage employees professionally and legally.
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