Raising a Grievance

Before you lodge a claim with the Employment Tribunal you must write a letter of grievance to your employer.  You then have to wait 28 days before you can lodge your claim.  This gives your employer time to respond and also the option of being able to reach an agreement without going to court.

What to include in your grievance

There are no specific guidelines about what you should include in your grievance letter but it should be as detailed as possible.  If you go on to lodge a claim, there should be broadly the same detail on your claim form as there was in your letter of grievance.

What happens next

• Your employer should set up a meeting to discuss the grievance.

• If your employer does not agree with your grievance and you are unsatisfied with this, then you must appeal the decision in writing.

Note: if you are no longer employed by the same employer then you must still lodge a grievance.  The process will be continued in writing, ie: you will have no meeting.

If the matter can not be settled at this stage then you need to lodge a claim with the Employment Tribunal.