Grievance Procedure

Raising grievances informally

1. Employees are expected to raise any grievance informally in the first instance with their line managers.  If the employee feels unable to speak to the line manager and/or the grievance relates to that line manager, he/she should contact the next level of management.  
2. The appropriate line manager should meet with the employee who has raised the grievance, clarify the issues, investigate the matter, seek to identify a resolution and make a decision.  The outcome will be confirmed in writing to the employee.
3. It is anticipated that before the formal grievance procedure is used, reasonable effort will be made by all parties to resolve grievances informally.  The emphasis should be on the identification and resolution of any problem(s) identified.
4. Where an employee has raised such a matter informally and it has not been resolved to the employee’s satisfaction or he/she considers the incident too serious to be resolved informally a formal grievance should be raised under this procedure. 

Informal Grievance Guidance

This note provides guidance on dealing with grievances informally. 

1. Where possible, grievances should be resolved informally.  Normally an employee will raise any issues with their direct line manager/Supervisor when they arise and in most cases it should be possible to resolve these issues locally at the time.  
2. Staff should be encouraged to raise any issues at an early stage as this give the opportunity to resolve them before they worsen and have an impact on the individual or staff morale.  Dealing with issues informally is more likely to result in a positive outcome, because once individuals are in a formal process there is a greater tendency for the situation to become more adversarial and for positions to become more entrenched.
3. Where an informal grievance or concern is raised with a line manager/Supervisor they should endeavour to deal with the issue promptly.  Normally this would involve meeting with the individual to listen and understand their concerns and discuss potential resolutions.  It may also be necessary to carry out further informal investigation before coming to a conclusion and proposing a resolution. 
4. At times it may be helpful to involve Human Resources and the individual’s representative in the discussions to identify a resolution.  Once an outcome is reached this should be discussed with the individual and then summarised briefly in writing.  It may not always be possible to achieve the desired resolution identified by the individual raising the issue.  If this is the case this should be fed back and the alternative outcome explained. 

For further advice on guidance on dealing with informal grievances contact your local HR team.

Mediation

In some circumstances it may be appropriate for grievances to be addressed through mediation.  This involves using a trained mediator to facilitate discussions with the parties involved to seek a satisfactory resolution. Mediation will only be used where all parties involved agree to participate.

• Formal grievances:

1. Generally, if individual grievances cannot be resolved informally or the grievance is too serious to be resolved informally the following procedure will be used.
2. Where a grievance has already been considered informally, and the employee believes it has not been resolved, a formal grievance should be raised within 7 working days of the outcome on the informal stage.
3. Where cases have not been considered informally, formal grievances should be raised as soon as possible after the issues present a difficulty up to a maximum of three months after the event.

•  Statement of grievance

1. The employee should concisely set out their grievance in writing without unreasonable delay and send this to their Head of Department/HR Department.   The statement should indicate that the employee is invoking this formal grievance procedure and specify the nature of the grievance, including any relevant facts, dates and the names of individuals involved and outline the desired resolution to the grievance.  DTV may ask an employee to provide further information to clarify the subject matter of the grievance in advance of the meeting.
2. Where the grievance relates to the employee's Head of Department/HR Department, the statement should be directed to the next level of management. In cases of dispute, the relevant HR representative will decide who the grievance should be directed to.

• Meeting

1. Grievance meetings to hear cases will normally be convened by an appropriate member of staff nominated by the Head of Department not previously involved. 
2. DTV will require a reasonable opportunity to thoroughly investigate the grievance.  This investigation is likely to include interviewing the employee and any witnesses or others referred to in the grievance (if relevant). 
3. DTV will invite the employee to attend a meeting to discuss the grievance without unreasonable delay.  The meeting will normally be held between two and four weeks of receiving the grievance and relevant information.  The employee will be informed of his/her right to be accompanied at the grievance meeting by a work colleague or Trade Union representative.
4. The normal expectation is that all key parties will attend a grievance meeting.  The purpose of the grievance meeting is to enable the employee to explain their grievance and how they think it should be resolved and to allow the individual the grievance has been raised against an opportunity to respond. All parties should participate in meetings appropriately, respectfully and in good faith.
5. The manager convening the meeting will decide on the outcome including whether the grievance has been upheld or not. Where appropriate they will seek guidance from a relevant HR representative.  Following the meeting, DTV will notify the relevant parties of its decision in writing and advise the employee raising the grievance of their right of appeal.  This will normally be done within 10 working days of the meeting.

• Appeal

1. If the employee raising the grievance wishes to appeal, the appeal should be made in writing, setting out in full the grounds of appeal to the appropriate HR Manager.  The employee has 5 working days to notify intention to lodge an appeal from the date of receipt of the Company’s decision and a maximum of a further 5 working days to submit the full grounds of the appeal.
2. The employee will be invited to attend an appeal meeting which will normally take place without unreasonable delay following receipt of the appeal notification and grounds of appeal.  The letter will advise the employee of their right to be accompanied at the meeting by a work colleague or a Trade Union representative.
3. Grievance appeals will be heard by a panel with minimum of two persons.
4. The employee will be informed of the outcome of the appeal meeting in writing normally within 15 working days of the meeting and that this is the final stage of the grievance procedure.
5. There is no further right of appeal.  This exhausts the Company’s procedures