Grievance Advice / Statements

[Sarahlbx]

Hi, I’m hoping someone might be able to help me and offer some advice on next steps.

i raised a grievance which wasn’t upheld. I have evidence to support my claim but they have dismissed it giving poor excuses as reasons why. They haven’t given me any option to appeal ?

there’s a couple of points in the response which are really concerning, the manager has made reference to a meeting and made an allegation about my conduct in the meeting and alleged that I threatened him with physical violence and that was his reason for shouting and being aggressive towards me, the other manager present has corroborated this. However I secretly recorded the meeting on my phone and at no point did I make any threats. There was only me and the two other managers there so it’s their word against mine.

I raised in my grievance about my hr manager and general manager pressuring me to come back Into work - this hasn’t been upheld as they both denied it and said they offered me three days off. Again I recorded this conversation and I was being pressured, I had to cry to get them to agree to give me the 3 days holiday that they owed me.

some of my colleagues were interviewed as witnesses and in the response it states that they haven’t supported me infact told the complete opposite in favour of the company. Two of my colleagues who I am personal friends with have advised me that they did tell the truth but they were never given or have seen a copy of the notes from the statement they gave.

the hr manager who formed part of my grievance, has carried out the investigation meetings. But part of my grievance raises concerns about her - also they have not even acknowledged or responded about the issues I raised about her completed ignored it. Even though it’s in my actual grievance notes.

I have evidence rightly or wrongly so in the recordings which shows they are lying. Can I use this?

can I also request copies of the notes from the witness investigation meetings and the typed minutes?

thank you in advance x

[ULA]

Firstly there needs to be an appeal procedure if this is not contained within any company grievance procedure then the ACAS Code sets out that you should be given the right to appeal the outcome of a grievance.

In terms of the recordings you have made then in any contract of employment there is an implied duty of mutual trust and confidence. This duty is implied into all contracts of employment and is a necessary part of any employment relationship. In other words, there is no need for this term to be expressed within the contract, either verbally or in writing. The duty of mutual trust and confidence implies a duty on the part of both employer and employee not to act in such a way that is likely to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust and confidence between them. In the context of an employee taking a covert recording at work, as you have done, it is easy to see how the duty of trust and confidence could be breached so I would seriously consider divulging this information. It may actually make matters worse and bring disciplinary action against you amounting to misconduct or even gross misconduct.

I would therefore suggest you set out your grievance appeal (either state that are able to do this in accordance with the company grievance procedure or the ACAS Code) based on your version of events and if there is any evidence you have to support this (other than the recordings) you include this. You also need to ensure that someone completely impartial and not involved in the investigation or the grievance are involved in the appeal meeting.
Do not delay too long in submitting this appeal.

Also insist on getting the notes of the meeting as soon as possible to help you prepare for the appeal meeting.

Hope this helps but any further questions please come back to this thread.

[Sarahlbx]

ULA Thank you for your reply

i have already resigned and left, I resigned in the midst of the grievance because of further issues.

i did take the covert recording because managers who have lied and accused me of making threats of violence are prone to lies and that was part of my grievance and why I took the recording.

Should I ask them for the appeals procedure and for copies of the witness statements & notes?

thank you again x

[ULA]

The extra piece of information that you have already resigned and left is interesting as this now makes you an ex-employee.

The ACAS code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures does not expressly state that it applies to grievances raised by employees who have already left the organisation, albeit this relates to an appeal, the principle is the same you are an ex-employee. However, the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, under which the code is issued, does apply to former employees. Therefore, it is arguable that employers should follow the code when they receive a grievance/appeal from an ex-employee, however they are not obliged to do so.

So, the question that comes from this is are you likely to bring an Employment Tribunal claim against your employer?

[Sarahlbx]

I was still an employee when I raised the grievance.

i think likely that I will look to progress this issue to ET

[ULA]

If you were not still employed when they sent you the confirmation of the outcome of the appeal, then I would suppose they view that as you are not an ex-employee that they did not need to give you the right to appeal.

You have not said when your raised the grievance, when you left and when you received notification of the outcome so I am not sure what timescales you are dealing with. It would be useful to know to help advise on your next how to proceed.

Also how long were your employed at the company?

[Sarahlbx]

Hi Ula,

I raised my grievance at the end of March and resigned two days later as I had been made aware of comments by the owner - who has made comments about me in the past which I had put in my grievance. I received the outcome of the grievance last week. And then two colleagues advised me that their response in the grievance is not what they said, and also that they didn’t see or receive the copy notes from their witness meeting to read and sign.

thank you x

[ULA]

You have not said how long you were employed there.

[Sarahlbx]

Sorry, 5 years I was there for

[ULA]

Thank you for that information I needed to make sure that you had more than 2 years service.

So, if you have resigned and left the business, having given the correct level of notice and are thinking of making an Employment Tribunal (ET) claim then you would need to prove a case of constructive unfair dismissed (the legal term). Constructive dismissal is where an employer has committed a serious breach of contract, which leaves the employee no option but to resign in response to the employer’s conduct.

It can be fact difficult to prove constructive dismissal - not many claims win. First, you must prove a fundamental (rather than minor) breach of contract by the employer. You must also show that your decision to terminate your employment was in response to the breach and not, for example, because you had been offered a more attractive job elsewhere. An ET will also need to satisfy itself that you did not delay too long in resigning. In addition, the Tribunal will usually expect that you have tried to resolve the complaint through the grievance procedure before resigning.

In regard to this latter point, you have gone though a grievance process (minus the appeal) however, what you raised in your greivance needs to be considered against my point above about proving a constructive dismissal case. In addition, did you make any reference in your resignation about you believing that due to the conduct of your employer you feel that they have breached your contractual terms and that you have been left with no option to resign? If you have not made mention of this then again you are going to have to prove to a Tribunal why you did not do so at the time.

In summary I would advise that you consider what you would need to do to prove a constructive unfair dismissal claim and whether you feel you can substantiate such a claim. Based on that decision then you need to decide whether to try to get your ex-employer to hear an appeal although they may not want to. If they don't and you do make an ET claim then this would be worth mentioning as part of that claim i.e. you attempted to appeal but this was denied referring back to the Act I have given in post #4.

Sorry there is no hard and fast answer here, instead a bit of a "decision tree" approach is needed.

Hope that has helped. Any more questions just come back and ask.