Appendix 2 - Formal Grievance Procedures

1. Grievance Hearing (Stage 1)

1.1 The People Directorate will acknowledge receipt of a formal grievance in writing and within five working days.

1.2 An impartial resolution manager will be appointed (see section 5.7 in the policy) and any respondents or witnesses contacted by the link people manager.

1.3 A grievance hearing will be arranged with the grievant, normally within five working days from the date of the acknowledgement letter, or as soon as reasonably possible. The grievant must be provided with two working days’ notice and the right to be accompanied.

1.4 An impartial notetaker will be present (see section 8.5 in the policy), or a transcription will be made if the hearing is online.

1.5 The purpose of the hearing is to allow the grievant to fully explain the issues that concern them, and how they feel it should be resolved.

1.6 After the hearing it may be appropriate for the resolution manager to carry out further investigations and/or hold further meetings to better establish a fair and balanced view of the facts. This may require interviewing witnesses or reviewing further documentation. Where further meetings are required, attendees will normally be provided with two working days notice, the right to be accompanied, and consideration should be given to their support needs in line with the policy.

2. Formal Resolution (Stage 2)

2.1 At the conclusion of Stage 1, both the grievant (and any respondents) will be informed in writing of the outcome(s) reached. The outcome(s) will either be upheld, upheld in part, or not upheld, and must detail any resulting recommendations relevant to the recipient(s), with clear timeframes and accountability for any actions.

2.2 In some cases the grievant may be invited to a meeting to inform them of the resolution. Depending on the circumstances of the case and recommendations made, it may also be appropriate to meet with any respondents. In this instance they must be provided with two working days’ notice of the meeting and the right to be accompanied.

2.3 Where a meeting is held, a notetaker will be present, or a transcription will be made if the meeting is online. Where a notetaker is present, normally, and where possible, this should be the same person as in 1.4 above, but must be from outside of the immediate School/Directorate and wholly uninvolved with the matters raised in the grievance.

2.4 The decision will be communicated in writing to the grievant (and any respondent(s)), without unreasonable delay, and providing the grievant with the right to appeal the decision.

2.5 Anyone interviewed as part of the investigation as a witness will not be informed of the outcome, unless any of the allegations made are against them.

2.6 Only where it is necessary to support recommendations, will the written outcome of the grievance be copied to, and/or specific findings discussed with, other relevant parties.

3. Appeal (Stage 3)

3.1 The grievant has the right to appeal the outcome if they feel::

The grievance outcome is wrong.
The grievance procedure was wrong or unfair.
New evidence has become available.

3.2 The grounds for the appeal (as per section 3.1) should be set out on the appeal form in Appendix 5, and sent to the People Directorate within 10 working days of the outcome letter.

3.3 The People Directorate will acknowledge receipt of the appeal within five working days.

3.4 An appeal manager will be appointed as per section 5.7 of the policy, and the grievant will be invited to attend an appeal hearing, normally within 5 working days of the acknowledgement. The grievant must be provided with at least two working days’ notice of the appeal hearing and the right to be accompanied.

3.5 Any respondents will be advised that an appeal has been submitted, and kept informed as per section 7.15 of the policy.

3.6 A note taker will be present, or a transcription will be made if the hearing is online. Where a note taker is present they must also be from outside of the immediate School/Directorate and wholly uninvolved with the matters of the grievance so far.

3.7 The purpose of an appeal hearing is to enable the grievant to explain the grounds for their appeal, rooted in the criteria given in section 3.1 of these procedures. The hearing is not intended to be a re-run of the initial grievance, nor a re-investigation, but to fully understand the specific areas of appeal and review the fairness of the original findings, consider any new evidence presented, and review adherence to the policy and procedures.

3.8 If any further investigation is required, this will be concluded by the appeal manager as soon as reasonably possible.

3.9 The final decision of the appeal manager will be set out in writing to the grievant within 10 working days of the appeal hearing, unless additional investigation is required. The final decision must also be confirmed to any respondents in writing, normally within the same timeframe, and communicated to the resolution manager.

3.10 This concludes the formal grievance procedures and there is no further right of appeal.