Grievance procedures: the correct process step by step (England & Wales)

Acas guidance recommends raising a concern informally with a manager before starting a formal grievance — many issues can be resolved this way without either side needing to put anything in writing.

If informal resolution doesn't work, put the grievance in writing to your employer, setting out what the grievance is about and what you would like your employer to do about it. Acas guidance recommends being specific about the outcome you want, where possible.

Use the grievance letter for this step.

The employer should respond promptly and arrange a meeting to discuss the grievance — ideally within 5 working days. You have a statutory right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a work colleague at the meeting (Employment Relations Act 1999, s.10).

After the meeting, the employer should decide the outcome based on what was discussed and any investigation carried out, and confirm the decision in writing — as soon as possible. The employer should offer a right of appeal at this stage.

You can appeal if you believe the outcome doesn't resolve the problem, or if you think any stage of the grievance procedure was handled unfairly. State your grounds for appeal clearly — for example, disagreement with how the grievance was handled, the decision itself, or new evidence.

Use the grievance appeal letter for this step.

Under section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, an employment tribunal can adjust an award by up to 25% — upward if the employer unreasonably failed to follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, or downward if the employee did. A grievance that is mishandled or left unresolved can also be relevant to a constructive dismissal claim, though that requires a serious breach of contract by the employer, not simply an unwelcome outcome.

Steps 3 and 4 above (arranging the meeting, and confirming the outcome) are things your employer does, not you — and unlike the disciplinary process, Acas does not publish a standalone letter template for either of them, only general guidance on what they should contain and when they should happen. This pack only offers fill-and-download documents for the two steps where you, the employee, put something in writing.