Resolving grievances at work policy

3.1 Issue(s) or Issue(s) at work refers to the specific complaint(s) the employee is seeking resolution for under this policy.

3.2 Grievance refers to the formal raising of an issue(s) in line with the formal procedures in the framework, which are outlined in full in Appendix 2. Whilst not a statutory legal framework, these procedures are in line with the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.

3.3 Collective grievance is when a group of employees formally raise the same issue(s) at the same time.

3.4 Bullying, harassment, and / or discrimination are defined in OBU’s Anti-harassment and Discrimination Policy, and where relevant to the issue(s) being raised, should be read alongside with this policy.

3.5 Grievant refers to the employee who is raising a formal grievance.

3.6 Respondent(s) refers to any employee against whom a formal grievance has been raised.

3.7 Line manager refers to the manager with whom an issue(s) is raised. This may not necessarily be the employee’s direct line manager (see section 5.8).

3.8 Resolution manager refers to the manager who is appointed to hear a formal grievance, carry out any required investigation, and determine the outcome.

3.9 Appeal manager refers to the manager who is appointed to hear and consider any appeal made against an outcome of a formal grievance.

3.10 Malicious intent refers to an issue(s) raised with deliberate intent to harm someone or their reputation, often by fabricating information or exaggeration.

3.11 Vexatious intent refers to an issue(s) pursued without merit, primarily to annoy, harass, or cause distress.

3.12 Spurious refers to an issue(s) that is lacking any substantial evidence, or based on false information.

5.1 All parties are encouraged to view the raising of issues as an opportunity to improve working conditions and morale constructively. Adopting a constructive approach should facilitate satisfactory resolution, without unreasonable delay, and help to restore working relationships. A less constructive approach towards issues can alienate those involved and aggravate the situation. This often results in issues remaining unresolved, and the employee feeling that raising a formal grievance is their only recourse.

5.2 All employees are strongly encouraged to resolve issues through informal approaches where possible. They have the right to use the formal grievance route, and may choose to proceed with that if:

• they are unhappy with the outcome of informal attempts at resolution,
• they feel that the timeframe for resolution is unreasonable, or
• the issue is sufficiently serious to warrant a formal investigation.

5.3 It is not intended that an informal approach should entail a wide-scale investigation of issues. Rather it provides for safe, informal, and constructive dialogue as a means to resolving issues in the first instance. 

5.4 All parties are asked to remember that informal interventions, however well facilitated, can be intimidating for some. The spirit of an informal intervention is one of not apportioning blame. Rather it is one of openness, compromise, and seeking to restore and improve relationships.

5.5 OBU promotes mediation or facilitated conversations as the preferred mechanisms for resolving issues at work. It is expected that all parties consider this at the earliest opportunity, and this can be discussed with a representative of the People Directorate through a case management review. It can also be advised on by OBU’s trained mediators by contacting the PD Operations Team.

5.6 Formal procedures can be paused at any stage to employ mediation or a facilitated conversation to bring about resolution. Formal procedures may resume if a mutually acceptable outcome isn't reached through the informal route.

5.7 Formal grievances (and any appeals) will be considered independently, impartially and objectively, by an appropriate manager with no prior involvement in the matter, who will hear the grievance (or appeal) and carry out any necessary investigations to establish the facts of the case and determine the outcome.

5.8 Issues should be raised with the line manager in the first instance. Where an employee feels they cannot raise an issue(s) with their line manager (or a formal grievance is against their line manager), the employee should raise it with the line manager's manager. Alternatively they can raise it with their link people manager and seek advice from their respective trade union if they are a member.

5.9 Raising issues at work should be timely and recent. Delays in raising issues may limit options available for resolution, or full investigation to be carried out. Issues must be raised under this policy as soon as is reasonably practicable and within the following timeframes:

5.9.1 An isolated event (or a series of unlinked events) must be raised within 6 months of the occurrence.

5.9.2 A series of linked events must be raised within 6 months of the final occurrence in the series of linked events.

OBU reserves the right to reject a formal grievance if it is raised outside of these timeframes. A reasonable view will be applied if a matter outside the control of the person raising the issues prevented them raising it within six months.

5.10 The timeframes detailed in this policy and its appended procedures should be adhered to as far as reasonably possible. However unavoidable delays may arise due to sickness, work-related absence or annual leave.

5.11 Employees may be accompanied by a trade union representative or work colleague to meetings under the formal procedures in this policy. Respondents and witnesses also have that right. Where it is agreed with the relevant manager, or as a reasonable adjustment, that right may be extended to include informal meetings. The employee must inform the meeting chair of who will accompany them as soon as possible, and no later than two days before the meeting. If the companion of choice is not immediately available, the meeting should be rescheduled to a new date within five working days of the original date to allow them to participate. In the event that the companion is going to be consistently unavailable, OBU will request that an alternative companion is identified.

5.12 OBU will not discriminate on the grounds of sex, race / ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion / belief (or lack of belief), pregnancy / maternity, marriage / civil partnership or gender reassignment when applying this policy and associated procedures. Reasonable adjustments will be made throughout the procedures to support employees who have a disability, literacy issues, difficulty in understanding or expressing themselves in English, or to assist the employee as required.

5.13 OBU fully supports and encourages employees to raise issues through this framework. Doing so will not prejudice current employment or future career prospects.

5.14 OBU recognise the possibility that spurious issues may be raised, or issues may be brought with malicious or vexatious intent. All issues raised must be treated seriously, in accordance with this policy, to ensure a fair procedure is followed. Where an investigation finds clear evidence of any party bringing spurious issues or acting with malicious or vexatious intent, disciplinary action may be taken in line with the Disciplinary Policy.

5.15 Where an issue is raised during a disciplinary, capability or absence management process, consideration should be given, by the People Directorate, to dealing with all matters concurrently, or temporarily suspending that process to deal with the issue under this policy.

5.16 Where an issue(s) being dealt with under this policy intersects with any other relevant OBU policies, the link people manager can support the manager to consider which elements of the presenting issues would be more appropriately progressed under a different policy.

5.17 Where multiple employees raise the same issue(s), this will normally be dealt with collectively. The right to be accompanied (section 5.11) is unchanged in this circumstance, and a spokesperson would be appointed by the group. All communications would pass through the spokesperson (who may or may not be a trade union representative). It will be for the spokesperson to communicate with the rest of the group on progress of the case. It is not necessary for all those involved to be present at meetings. To be named in a collective grievance, employees must agree to be named. Appropriate representative numbers must be agreed at each stage. In all other respects this policy and its procedures apply.

Employees / Grievants

7.1 Employees are encouraged where possible to raise issues in a timely manner, being mindful of section 5.9. Delays often make the task of resolving issues more challenging and lead to the erosion of working relationships.

7.2 Employees are expected to seek resolution through the preferred informal methods in the framework, where appropriate, and in line with section 5.8.

7.3 In raising a formal grievance the grievant must take responsibility for completing the grievance form in line with the guidance on the form. Where there are distinct and separate grievances against more than one person, each grievance must be submitted on a separate form but they will all be investigated by the same resolution manager at the same time.

7.4 The grievant must not include hearsay, instead detailing evidence relevant to their own grievance. They must avoid language which may be considered insulting, libellous or abusive, unless directly quoting something they have witnessed.

7.5 All employees are expected to make themselves available during normal working hours to enable the effective and efficient resolution of issues. They must cooperate and comply with the procedures detailed in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2.

Line managers

7.6 Line managers must always take issues raised seriously. It is possible sometimes that issues raised appear to be trivial, but they should bear in mind that the matter may not be trivial to the employee raising it.

7.7 Where resolution for the issue is sought under the informal interventions of the framework, the line manager will be responsible for setting up an early resolution meeting in line with the procedures detailed in Appendix 1.

7.8 Throughout the procedures, line managers (being mindful of section 5.8) will remain responsible for providing pastoral care, proactively supporting the wellbeing of their direct reports in line with the responsibilities of the line manager. They should refer to the support detailed in the framework, taking steps to ensure health, safety, wellbeing or operational risks are identified, and managed as appropriate, within the remit of their role. It is not an expectation of their role to represent the employee during the formal procedures.

7.9 On receipt of a formal grievance, the line manager will be responsible for contacting the People Directorate, who will identify a resolution manager, and cooperating with the handover of information to the resolution manager.

Resolution managers

7.10 The resolution manager appointed to hear a formal grievance must be impartial. They are therefore expected to disclose any potential conflict of interest when approached, or as it arises, to the people manager.

7.11 They should keep the grievant (and any respondents) informed on a regular basis with anticipated timescales, taking steps to ensure health, safety, well-being or operational risks are identified, documented and appropriately managed.

7.12 They are responsible for hearing the grievance(s), planning and carrying out any necessary investigation that is proportionate, balanced, and focused on establishing the facts of the case, through:

• Careful analysis and clarification of all evidence presented by the grievant
• Identification of relevant witnesses for interview.
• Preparing in advance of meetings: considering the objectives of the discussion, preparing relevant questions, and identifying any other evidence and/or documentation to be referred to.
• Documenting the investigation in a report which ensures: all points and evidence in the grievance are clearly laid out and addressed through the investigation, and the findings, outcome(s) reached, and recommended action(s) (with timeframes where relevant) are detailed.

7.13 Resolution managers have full discretion as to the scope and scale of investigation required, and to come to whatever conclusion they feel fair, proportionate and appropriate.

Appeal managers

7.14 The appeal manager appointed to hear a formal grievance appeal must not have been involved in the case previously and be impartial. They are therefore expected to disclose any potential conflict of interest when approached or as it arises to the people manager.

7.15 They should keep the grievant (and any respondents) regularly informed with anticipated timescales, taking steps to ensure health, safety, wellbeing or operational risks are identified, documented and appropriately managed.

7.16 They are responsible for understanding the grounds of the appeal and carrying out a balanced review that focuses on establishing whether or not the procedure and the findings and outcome(s) of the original grievance(s) were fair, through:

• Reviewing any new supporting documentation and/or evidence.
• Preparing in advance of meetings; considering the objectives of the discussion, preparing questions, and identifying evidence and/or documentation to be referred to.
• Clearly documenting all points in the appeal, ensuring all points and evidence are clearly laid out, considered and addressed, and the findings, outcome(s) reached, and recommended action(s) are detailed.

7.17 Appeal managers have full discretion to come to whatever conclusion they feel fair, proportionate and appropriate. Where there is any acknowledgment of failings in the original decision(s) made, or the process carried out, the appeal manager should consider the effect this has on the overall outcome(s). They should then seek to rectify this with clear recommendations, which can include informal interventions as detailed in the framework.

Supporting Roles

7.18 When responding to requests for information, witnesses must not include hearsay, instead detailing the facts relevant to their own experience of events. They must avoid language which may be considered insulting, libellous or abusive, unless directly quoting something they have witnessed, being mindful of section 5.14.

7.19 People managers (or People Directorate representatives) are responsible for appointing resolution managers and appeal managers and supporting the procedures by:

• Facilitating case management reviews.
• Facilitating informal interventions.
• Providing advice and guidance on policies, procedures and guidance that apply.
• Considering the relevant legislative and best practice context.
• Seeking equity in the application of this policy.
• Providing report and letter templates to support each stage of the formal procedures.

7.20 The role of the trade union representative or work colleague is to act in the best interests of the person(s) they are representing, providing guidance and support, and entering into all discussions in the spirit of this policy. During meetings, with the permission of the grievant, they are allowed to take notes, set out the grievant’s case, respond to any comments or points made, and confer with the grievant. They cannot answer questions put to the grievant, or prevent anyone at the meeting from explaining their position.

7.21 Staff Harassment Advisers are OBU employees who have volunteered their time to provide an information service to employees who feel they are experiencing (or have witnessed) unwanted behaviour. They also provide this to employees who have been accused of unwanted behaviour.

9.1 This policy should be read alongside the Appendices listed in section 12 and the Privacy Notice.

9.2 All employees should be familiar with the Conduct and Probity policies, procedures and guidance and their duties to comply with these in the course of their employment with OBU.