Grievance policy and procedure

1.1 RoS is committed to providing a positive working environment where employees are treated fairly and with dignity and respect.

1.2 Grievances are concerns, problems, or complaints that employees may have at work. RoS recognises that sometimes grievances arise and that employees may need support to resolve them.

1.3 This policy and procedure applies to all employees and relates to issues or incidents that have occurred in work or in a work-related situation. It does not apply to those who are no longer working at RoS.

1.4 The policy does not apply to matters collectively agreed with our recognised trade union.

1.5 This policy and procedure explain how grievances should be managed and the steps that will be taken to find a resolution as swiftly as possible.

1.6 This grievance policy and procedure should be used when raising a formal complaint under the dignity at work policy.

1.7 Concerns that constitute protected disclosures in the public interest should be raised under the Whistleblowing and Raising a Concern Policy. RoS may reroute issues accordingly.

1.8 Where concerns raised under this procedure suggest that any form of criminal activity (e.g. fraud, theft, assault, or unlawful data access) may have occurred, RoS reserves the right to report the matter to the police or other appropriate external authorities. Any decision to make such a report will follow an internal risk assessment considering legal, regulatory, operational, safeguarding, and confidentiality factors. The grievance process will continue where appropriate, but RoS may pause or modify internal processes where police involvement requires.  On this topic, the Police Referral and Risk Assessment Protocol accompanies this procedure.

2.1 Employees and line managers have a responsibility to try to resolve any concerns or issues at work as early as possible through informal discussion. Early informal resolution of problems at work supports positive professional working relationships.

2.2 HR must be contacted for advice and support where informal resolution is not possible, and the formal procedure is envisaged.

2.3 An employee who has a grievance will be encouraged to identify resolutions, without escalation to the formal procedure where possible. Where appropriate, mediation may be considered as a means of early informal resolution.

2.4 Everyone involved in a grievance will be treated fairly and with dignity and respect. Those involved are entitled to be listened to and put forward their points of view.

2.5 All grievances must be raised within three months of the event or series of events that have caused concern or difficulty unless there are exceptional reasons to merit an exception.

2.6 The grievance will be kept as confidential as possible. Information about a case will only be shared with those directly involved or affected. Those involved must not talk about proceedings with anyone else at work other than those assigned to deal with the grievance and any chosen companion. This includes complying with data protection obligations under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2.7 Employees raising a grievance have the right to be accompanied by RoS’ recognised Trade Union Representative or a workplace companion only, at all stages of the grievance procedure.

2.8 All genuine grievances, raised in good faith, will be dealt with promptly and fairly. Vexatious or trivial complaints will not be considered by the investigating officer. If grievances are found to be malicious, vexatious or disingenuous then disciplinary action under RoS’ disciplinary policy may be taken.

2.9 Those raising a grievance and those who have given evidence in their support will be protected against victimisation. An allegation of victimisation will be dealt with under the relevant disciplinary procedures.

2.11 This grievance policy and procedure complies with the ACAS Code of Practice. Employees have the right to appeal.

2.12 Reasonable adjustments will be considered for employees with a disability or health condition to ensure equal access to the grievance process, including alternative formats and support where necessary. Employee Relations can support with this upon employee’s request.

2.13 Employees who raise a grievance have the right to receive a written outcome, reasons for the decision, and information on their right to appeal.

2.14 If the grievance involved other people in the organisation and it is upheld, then RoS may need to follow their Disciplinary Policy and Procedures.

2.15 If required the employee’s manager may receive information relating to the outcome to ensure they can support their team member.

3. Informal procedure

3.1 Concerns, problems and complaints can often be raised and settled as a matter of course through open communication. Many problems can be settled quickly and informally through informal discussions between employees and / or line managers. The employee should explain their concern, problem, or complaint informally to those involved and explain how they would like to see it resolved.

3.2 Mediation or supported conversations may assist in resolving a grievance informally and HR should be consulted at an early stage to support these interventions where appropriate.

3.3 Where an employee has raised a grievance informally with their line manager, the line manager should respond to the grievance as soon as possible but normally no longer than three working days after it was first raised.

3.4 If the complaint concerns the immediate line manager, the grievance should be raised with a more senior manager or by contacting HR.

3.5 Line managers involved in supporting informal resolution of a grievance can contact HR for advice and support. The outcome of any informal meeting, supported conversation or mediation should be confirmed in writing to the employee who raised the grievance.

4. Formal procedure

4.1 If it is not possible to resolve a grievance informally the employee should complete the formal Grievance Form, which can be obtained from the ER Team and then send the form to their line manager. This should be done in writing and without unreasonable delay.

4.2 The Grievance Form should set out the nature of the grievance, relevant facts, dates, and names of individuals involved, and the remedy or resolutions sought. The employee may be asked to provide further written details.

4.3 If the formal grievance relates to the employees’ line manager, then the employee should send the form to their senior manager or HR. The employee can also contact HR for advice and support.

4.4 In all cases HR advice and support should be obtained within three days of a line manager receiving a formal Grievance Form.

5. Grievance meeting/fact finding investigation

5.1 A grievance meeting will be arranged, normally within ten working days of receiving the written Grievance Form. The employee’s manager or another appropriate manager will hold the grievance meeting and conduct a fact-finding investigation.

5.2 The manager due to hold the grievance meeting will write to the employee, giving at least 5 days’ notice detailing the date and time of the grievance meeting; the name of the manager holding the meeting and advising of the employees right to be accompanied.

5.3 The purpose of the grievance meeting is to enable the employee to explain their grievance and how they think it should be resolved, and to assist in reaching a decision and/or resolution based on the available evidence and the representations made.

5.4 If the employee feels unable to attend for a reason related to their health, they should inform the manager holding the meeting. Consideration will be given to appropriate alternative arrangements according to the circumstances of the case.  Reasonable adjustments will be considered for employees with a disability or health condition to ensure equal access to the grievance process, including alternative formats and support where necessary. Employee Relations can support with this upon employee’s request.

5.5 Failure to attend a grievance meeting without good reason will result in the meeting proceeding in the absence of the employee and a decision made on the information available.

5.6 After the grievance meeting, further fact-finding investigations and further meetings may be required as considered appropriate. Such meetings or fact finding will be arranged without unreasonable delay to establish the facts. The amount of fact finding required will depend on the nature of the grievance and will vary from case to case. It may involve interviewing and taking statements from the employee and any witnesses and reviewing relevant documents.

5.7 If external agencies, including the police, become involved, RoS may need to limit internal fact finding to avoid prejudicing a criminal investigation. Employees will be informed (where possible) of any adjustments required. RoS will follow police instruction in these circumstances. 5.8 The employee raising the grievance is expected to co-operate where further fact finding is required. This may include informing the manager considering the grievance of the names of any relevant witnesses, disclosing any relevant documents, and attending interviews.

5.9 The outcome of the grievance will be confirmed in writing without unreasonable delay and, where appropriate, will set out any further action that RoS intends to take to resolve the grievance. The employee will also be advised of their right to appeal the grievance outcome.

5.10 The possible outcomes of the grievance meeting(s) are:

• the grievance is upheld
• the grievance is not upheld
• the grievance is partially upheld
• a mutually agreeable resolution may be identified by all parties
• facilitated conversations or mediation may be recommended.

5.11 If the grievance process raises or reveals a potential misconduct issue on the part of an employee, this will be dealt with under RoS disciplinary policy.

5.12 If an employee raises a grievance during an ongoing disciplinary or capability process, RoS will consider whether to pause that process, address the grievance first, or run processes concurrently with different decision‑makers, depending on the connection between the issues.

5.13 The details of any outcomes applied to other individuals because of the grievance will be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed to any other parties of the formal grievance.

6. Appeal

6.1 Employees have the right to appeal against the outcome of the grievance meeting.

6.2 The appeal must be in writing and submitted within ten working days of the date of the decision letter and state the reason for their appeal:

• They feel the grievance outcome is wrong
• Any part of the grievance procedure was wrong or unfair
• New evidence to present

6.3 If the employee wishes to present additional evidence to support their case, then this must be provided to the Appeals Chairperson at least 2 working days in advance of the appeal hearing.

6.4 An appropriate senior manager will hold the appeal. To ensure an impartial approach the Chair of the appeal and the Chair of the original grievance meeting cannot be the same person.

6.5 The employee will be notified in writing of the proposed date, time and location of the appeal hearing and of their right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or work colleague.

6.6 If the chosen companion is unable to attend on the proposed date, then the employee (or their RoS recognised Trade Union rep) is entitled to request a postponement. The rearranged date should be within 5 working days of the initial date proposed.

6.7 At the appeals meeting the employee will be asked to present their case to the Appeals Chair.

6.8 At the appeal stage, the appeal hearing manager will have the power to withdraw, vary, or uphold the original decision.

6.9 The decision of the appeal meeting is final. The employee will be notified in writing of the decision, typically within 10 working days.

6.1 This procedure will be reviewed and approved by the Strategic People Authority (SPA), unless earlier review is appropriate.

7. Roles and responsibilities

7.1 The Strategic People Authority is responsible for the content of this policy, its approval and review. They are responsible for ensuring its implementation in practice and for monitoring this over time. They are responsible for ensuring that appropriate procedures, guidelines, or standards are maintained and ownership for these assigned appropriately.