Letter notifying employee of a grievance raised against them

What is a letter notifying an employee of a grievance raised against them and when should you use it?

Use this letter if another employee has raised a grievance (complaint) with you and it concerns, in part or whole, the conduct of another employee.

Our step by step guide on How to handle employee complaints will highlight what you should have done by now, and take you through the appropriate next steps.

We recommend that you have read this guide before continuing and that you and your employee follow the steps closely.

You should follow your grievance policy in handling the complaint from the employee, but it may be that you will also need to invoke your disciplinary policy in relation to the employee who has been complained about.

In tandem with your disciplinary policy, you may also need to consult your bullying and harassment, and potentially other policies.

You can find all our policy templates here

Telling an employee that a formal complaint has been raised about them is not an easy discussion.

Ideally, you would meet with this employee and explain to them what has happened, and then hand them this letter during the meeting.

You may even prefer to have an informal discussion with the employee before deciding to issue this letter – since the circumstances might be such that you decide this letter is not needed at all.

It’s a good idea to get a view from an expert when this kind of situation arises.

They can support you in deciding what is the right approach and when to discuss or send informal or informal communications.

Give an adequate explanation

It must be clear to the employee what is being complained of and the allegations and/or facts as they have been so far presented to you.

You have a duty to ensure that this process is fair, transparent and that everyone involved fully understands the points made and has reasonable opportunity to consider and respond to them.

Keep your explanations factual, absent of any emotion or inflammatory language.

Make clear at this stage that you have not formed any conclusions.

The meeting

This is likely to be one of the meetings held under your grievance procedures.

Subsequent meetings, if needed, may take place under your grievance process and/or later, under your disciplinary policy and procedures – if is transpires that disciplinary action against the employee who has been complained about is necessary.

If you’re not sure how to handle the process, get a quick view from one of our experts.

They’ll be able to help you with both logistics and your approach, as well as any questions or doubts you may have about what you are being told or discovering.

Bringing a companion to the meeting

The employee is entitled to bring someone, whether another colleague, someone else of their choice, or a trade union representative (if relevant).

The companion may assist the employee with understanding questions, and they may ask relevant questions to help with this understanding or ask for reasonable time to allow the employee to step outside the meeting and consult with them briefly.

But they may not answer for the employee, when they are directly questioned by you.