In 2023, a HR survey confirmed that 37% of employers reported an increase in grievances in the past 12 months. The top three reasons for grievances being bullying or harassment, relationships with managers and relationships with colleagues.
Some have referred to this as the unprecedented ‘rise of the grievance’. This is borne out by our own experience as we are seeing an upward trend in grievances being raised in the workplace and the issues being raised becoming more complicated or used as a distraction or delaying tactic during disciplinary or poor performance management processes. This poses yet another challenge that schools and the MAT community face.
It has been suggested that this trend is linked with various catalysts including the Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. The resulting stresses often erupt in the workplace, causing conflict and disputes. The recent teachers’ strikes provide evidence of this within the education sector.
Most schools and Trust Boards will at some stage need to deal with a grievance lodged by a staff member. This can be any complaint, concern or problem about any aspect of work or in relation to a colleague.
Always encourage your staff to attempt to settle their grievances informally through discussion with their direct line manager or, if the grievance is about them, the line manager above that or another appropriate person as set out in your Grievance Policy.
Managers should:
If informal discussion is unsuccessful, the member of staff may set out their formal grievance, ideally in writing. If in doubt, it is safer for the school to treat any such matter as a formal grievance unless the staff member makes it clear that this is not their intention. Managers should approach the formal grievance with an open mind and in a non-discriminatory way.
Be cautious of resignation letters, the contents of which can often form part of a formal grievance and should be handled accordingly.
Don’t rule out that senior leaders and even the CEO or CFO may raise a grievance. Ensure that your policies cover for this as many do not. If for example the CEO raised a grievance, it would usually be appropriate to be dealt with by the Chair of the Trust.
You should check your Grievance Policy and ensure this is followed and that any process is fair and reasonable. It is important that the staff member feels heard and is encouraged to speak freely.
Managers should:
Following the formal process, the chair should consider all the evidence available and decide on an outcome. Sometimes it may be necessary to undertake further investigations and/or request other documents before a decision can be reached. Most school policies provide for an outcome to be provided within five working days of the hearing. If this is the case but further investigations are required, you will need to be clear on what this may involve and on proposed timelines; any decisions should be made without unreasonable delay.
The outcome should confirm:
If there are recommendations and/or actions, it is vital to ensure that these are fully considered and appropriate actions taken.
If the decision is appealed, it will then be necessary to appoint an appeal chair, invite the staff member making the grievance to an appeal hearing and follow the above process in relation to any points of appeal only.
An appeal is not usually an entire re-hearing but this may be appropriate in some cases. Any appeal should be held in accordance with your Grievance Policy and without unreasonable delay. Once the appeal is decided, the outcome should be set out in writing and it should be confirmed that there is no further internal right of appeal.
Grievances can become a considerable distraction to your school, taking up valuable time of staff, governors and trustees. The process can be administratively burdensome and, if mishandled, they can become all-consuming and potentially very expensive.
It is important that grievances are taken seriously and investigated fully to avoid a breakdown in the employment relationship and successful claims.
It is important that every school has a clear Grievance Policy/set of policies in place.
Senior staff must be fully trained to recognise grievances and know how to deal with them swiftly and reasonably and in accordance with both your procedures/policy and the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinaries and Grievances.
An unreasonable failure to follow the ‘ACAS Code’ can lead to an employment tribunal awarding an uplift of up to 25% to any compensation awarded to the staff member.
Louise Brenlund is a Partner and Head of Employment at Warners Solicitors. If you are looking for advice, support or training on flexible working contact Louise on 01732 375325. Her email is [email protected].
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published. We do not accept responsibility or liability for any actions taken based on the information in this article.
