What happens at the end of a grievance?

[Emerald82]

I signed up to the forum yesterday mainly out of desperation and frustration.
I am currently going through a grievance with my now ex employer regarding my manager and the company.
I was signed off sick in July after some issues with my manager. Prior to me being signed off, I had been experiencing panic/anxiety attacks from the stress of what was going on within the business. After my managers actions, it sent me over the edge and I didn't feel I could continue.

Whilst I was off sick I spoke to some external sources regarding what had been happening and I was advised that I should raise a grievance but I felt so low that I didn't think I had the energy to go through with it. I knew then that I couldn't return to the company and I found another job.
My new job is great but I am earning less money and working more hours. The day I was offered the job, I decided that whilst handing my notice in that I would go through with the grievance.

The HR team have been really kind and helpful with me but the issue is still not resolved. I officially raised the grievance on 10th August.
I recieved an email last week telling me that new information had come to light that might be relevant to my grievance and that they needed to conduct more interviews on Wednesday this week, so I thought that I would have had some sort of conclusion. However after asking the question this morning, I have been told that more interviews have to be done next week but that they should have a conclusion by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, I am suffering with my health. I don't know if I can continue in my current job because I'm not coping very well.
I'm finding the whole thing incredibly stressful and worrying. Will this process really help me in the long run?
I've never experienced going through a grievance before, so I have no idea what to expect or know what actually happens?
Is there usually a generic outcome or do these things go further, i.e. Tribunal courts?
I have asked HR a couple of times what to expect but I've never really got a straight answer about it.

Some advice or knowledge on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

[stevemLS]

Re: What happens at the end of a grievance?

Hi and welcome to LB.

I fear you may not get anything that will give you much comfort.

It's very difficult without knowledge of the issue to know what the outcome might have been.

The grievance procedure is purely an internal process. Essentially, an employee (and many employers won't permit former employees to use the grievance procedure) raises a complaint about a particular issue and it is either upheld or not. If it is upheld management should (but don't always) take some sort of action to address it.

To use a very minor example, a manager bans staff from drinking tea/coffee at their desks, a grievance is raised and is heard, it is upheld, staff are permitted to drink tea and coffee.

Onward progression to a Tribunal or Court is by no means automatic and is probably very rare. Possibly the one exception is where an employee raises a grievance, it is not resolved to their satisfaction, they resign and then attempt to claim constructive dismissal (meaning that their working conditions were so intolerable that they had no alternative but to resign). These claims are very rarely successful, someone has a figure but I think it is fewer than 5%.

[Emerald82]

Re: What happens at the end of a grievance?

Thank you.
The main issue of the grievance was surrounding my manager which I think has been looked upon as bullying and harassment.
The business was in trouble and from the start of the year, myself and and 2 others were verbally abused by customers who were venting their anger at the company. It was pretty dire working conditions.
During that time the company restructured and created new jobs and roles. I was promoted in to a customer recovery position but I was being force to cold call on customers that had just weeks before hand sworn at me and threatened me over the phone.
Cold calling wasn't stated in my contract and had it been, I would never have applied for the post.
I voiced my concerns about it several times and on the final time after being ignored on so many other occasions, I said that I wasn't going to do it. I felt that as a lone female worker, it was a bad idea.
My manager then tipped up at my office the next day without any warning and had his admin assistant and another administrator on loud speaker on his mobile, telling me that I had a bad attitude and that I was spreading negativity across the team.
HR weren't aware of what was going on but after I became upset and another manager had to intervene, he back tracked and said it wasn't a disciplinary.

At my grievance meeting, there were other issues involving my manager that were discussed but I would be here all day if I started to post about it.

I feel very angry that all of these things were going on and I'm now left in a bit of a mess.

[Mr $quandaŁot]

Re: What happens at the end of a grievance?

Constructive dismissal ET success rate is low for a reason: many claims have no grounds to start with. Having said that, without knowing full details it's difficult to predict.

Years ago I filed a constructive dismissal claim. I took legal advice on a pro bono basis. I was advised that my case was strong. I had lots of evidence of my former employer's wrong doing. I had kept all my emails and investigated further.

What happened? I attended two post employment grievance meetings. After the second one I was offered a settlement which I accepted.

[stevemLS]

Re: What happens at the end of a grievance?

So, you have had a grievance hearing? What was the outcome?

[Emerald82]

Re: What happens at the end of a grievance?

So, you have had a grievance hearing? What was the outcome?

I had a very long grievance meeting a week after I submitted my formal letter. In that they asked lots of questions, some of which were about things I hadn't even disclosed, which led me to believe that they were already aware that my manager hadn't been behaving professionally.
At the end they asked me if there was anyone I would be happy to name at witnesses or for them to speak to, so I provided them with several people who I knew were happy to talk.
They then said they'd speak to people and get back to me when they could.
I know logistics is an issue because the HQ is based 3 hours away from where I was based.

[Emerald82]

Re: What happens at the end of a grievance?

Constructive dismissal ET success rate is low for a reason: many claims have no grounds to start with. Having said that, without knowing full details it's difficult to predict.

Years ago I filed a constructive dismissal claim. I took legal advice on a pro bono basis. I was advised that my case was strong. I had lots of evidence of my former employer's wrong doing. I had kept all my emails and investigated further.

What happened? I attended two post employment grievance meetings. After the second one I was offered a settlement which I accepted.

Was that quite a lengthy process?
One organisation I spoke to had mentioned that they may offer me a settlement to prevent matters going further but that seemed too good to be true really. Although given the circumstances, it would be a fortunate outcome as I am not in a great state to work currently.

[stevemLS]

Re: What happens at the end of a grievance?

I guess they would only offer you a settlement if they thought there was a realistic prospect of you taking ET proceedings.

There is no effective consequence on them for dealing with a grievance.