Raising a grievance at work: how to do it properly

A grievance is the formal way to get a workplace problem on the record and dealt with: bullying, discrimination, a broken promise about pay, a manager's behaviour, unsafe conditions. Done properly, it forces your employer to investigate and respond. Done badly, or not at all, it can weaken your position later, because tribunals expect you to have raised the problem before resigning or claiming.

Here is how to do it properly.

When a grievance is the right move

Use the grievance procedure when something at work is wrong and informal conversation has not fixed it, or when the problem is serious enough that informal steps are not realistic. Common triggers:

• Bullying or harassment by a colleague or manager (our guides on workplace bullying and harassment at work explain the legal tests)
• Discrimination linked to a protected characteristic
• Pay, hours or contract terms not being honoured
• Being treated unfairly in a process, including a disciplinary
• Health and safety concerns being ignored

One exception: if you are responding to a disciplinary, that is usually handled as your defence or an appeal within the disciplinary process itself. A grievance about something unrelated can still be raised, and your employer may run the two processes in parallel.

Step 1: try to resolve it informally

ACAS expects both sides to try informal resolution first. Raise it with your line manager, or their manager or HR if they are the problem. Keep a note of the conversation: date, what you said, what they said.

If informal resolution fails, or the issue is too serious, move to the formal stage. Do not sit on it for months. Grievances about pay have their own time limits, and most employment tribunal claims must be started within three months of the act you are complaining about (six months from October 2026 under the Employment Rights Act 2025), so delay costs you options.

Step 2: put it in writing

A formal grievance is a letter or email to the person named in your employer's grievance procedure, usually HR or a senior manager. A strong grievance letter:

• Says it is a formal grievance. Those exact words. Without them, employers sometimes treat it as a grumble and never follow the process.
• Sets out the facts in order. Dates, times, places, what was said or done, who was there. Specifics, not generalities.
• Explains the impact. On your work, your health, your ability to do your job.
• Says what outcome you want. An investigation, the behaviour to stop, a transfer, an apology, a policy applied properly.
• Stays professional. Angry, sweeping letters are easier to dismiss. Factual ones are not.

Keep a copy of everything you send and everything you get back.

Step 3: the grievance meeting

Your employer should hold a meeting without unreasonable delay, normally within a couple of weeks. You have a legal right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative where the grievance concerns a duty owed by your employer, which covers almost all workplace grievances.

At the meeting: take your letter, your evidence and your companion. Answer questions directly. If new allegations or documents appear that you have not seen, ask for time to consider them.

Afterwards you should get a written outcome. If the grievance is not upheld, the letter should explain why and offer you an appeal.

Step 4: appeal if the outcome is wrong

Appeal in writing, quickly, and say exactly what is wrong with the decision: evidence ignored, process not followed, conclusion not supported. The appeal should be heard by someone more senior who was not involved in the original decision.

If your employer ignores the grievance

This is more common than it should be, and it has consequences for them:

• Tribunal uplift. Unreasonable failure to follow the ACAS Code can increase any compensation you are awarded by up to 25%.
• Constructive dismissal. A serious grievance brushed aside can be the final straw that breaches the implied duty of trust and confidence. If you are thinking of resigning in response, read our guide to constructive dismissal first, because timing and evidence are everything.
• Time limits still run. Your employer's delay does not pause the tribunal clock. Starting ACAS early conciliation protects your position while the internal process grinds on. Time limits are explained in our tribunal time limits guide.

A well-run grievance either fixes the problem or builds your case. Either way, putting it in writing, properly, is the move.