Grievance Policy

Purpose

This policy sets out to ensure a positive and effective working environment where people are treated fairly and with respect in line with Wilson Vale Catering’s values and behaviours. It is recognised however, that there may be occasions where employees may have concerns about their work, working environment, relationships with their colleagues and / or behaviours towards them.

It is expected that the majority of concerns will be resolved informally. Wilson Vale Catering encourages employees to resolve issues informally in the first instance through discussions with their Manager. If an employee feels unable to approach their Line Manager directly, they should consider approaching another Manager or seek support from HR, who will discuss ways of dealing with the matter and outline the available support mechanisms.

Where attempts to resolve the matter informally has been unsuccessful or if the matter is so serious (allegations of gross misconduct), it may be appropriate for a formal grievance to be raised under this policy. Wilson Vale Catering are committed to ensuring that employees have an opportunity to raise concerns relating to their employment and that matters are dealt with fairly and transparently and in a timely manner.

This policy does not form part of an employee’s contract of employment and Wilson Vale Catering may amend this policy at any time.

Objectives

To ensure that all employees have access to a policy to help deal with any concerns, problems or complaints relating to their employment fairly and without unreasonable delay.
To investigate any formal grievance raised, hold a meeting to discuss the issues raised, inform the employee in writing of the outcome and give the employee the right to appeal if they are not satisfied with the decision.
To deal with grievances in a confidential manner.
To comply with the indicative time limits referred to below, noting that these are for guidance only and will be modified if it is reasonable in the circumstances to do so.
To provide a process which enables Managers to deal with grievances sensitively and in a consistent, fair, and professional manner.
To comply with statutory guidelines and to reflect best practice.

Management of Process

All grievances raised will be treated seriously and will be investigated in a timely manner in accordance with this policy and the ACAS Code of Practice and relevant employment legislation at the time of publishing.

The employee’s Manager be responsible for managing each stage of the process, with the exception of stage three (Appeal) which will be managed by a separate and objective hearing officer who has had no previous involvement with the case. If an employee’s grievance concerns their Manager, then they should raise their grievance with another Manager or HR who will appoint an appropriate person of at least the same management level to hear the grievance.

Employees will be notified in advance in writing of the time and place of any meetings held in accordance with this process. The outcome of any stage in the formal process will be communicated to the employee in writing.

Overlap with any Disciplinary Process

Where an employee raises a grievance during an ongoing disciplinary process, the disciplinary process may be temporarily suspended in order to deal with the grievance.

Where the grievance and disciplinary cases are related, it may be appropriate to deal with all issues concurrently.

All steps under this process will be taken without unreasonable delay.

Procedural Stages

Stage One (Informal)

If an employee has an issue, they should firstly raise it verbally with their Line Manager and the matter will be discussed with them informally. If the issue involves their Line Manager, they should raise their concerns with another Manager or HR.
Most issues should be resolved at this informal level.
If the issue is not resolved informally or if the employees considers that they have not been fairly treated, they may wish to raise a formal grievance as set out within stage two below.
Any grievance an employee wishes to raise should be done so without delay to ensure that the investigation can be conducted swiftly and effectively.
If the grievance is of a sensitive nature or relates to harassment, bullying, discrimination or victimisation in the workplace, HR can be contacted for guidance and support.
Please note that employees also have access to Wilson Vale’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which can be accessed by contacting on 0808 802 2111 and quoting Wilson Vale Catering. The service is entirely confidential and allows the opportunity to discuss any concerns with someone out with the business. Please note, the use of this service will not be reported to Wilson Vale Catering and should an employee wish for any action to be taken this will need to be done either via stage one or stage two of this process.

Stage Two (Formal)

If the grievance is not satisfactorily resolved via the stage one (informal) process, an employee may refer the matter to a relevant Manager or HR in writing to initiate the stage two (formal) process.
Once the grounds for the grievance have been submitted and received in writing, the employee will receive an acknowledgement of this and confirmation of the arrangements for the grievance hearing as soon as practicably possible.
The grievance hearing will be chaired by a hearing officer and or HR may be in attendance depending on the nature of the grievance. The purpose of the hearing is to allow the employee to discuss their grievance in greater detail. Any further investigation will take place following from the hearing if required in order to allow the hearing officer to conclude an outcome. The hearing officer may decide to invite the employee to a further hearing should there be aspects of the investigation which need to be clarified in order to ensure the investigation is complete prior to making an informed decision on the outcome.
The outcome of the hearing will be communicated to the employee in writing as soon as practicably possible.
The employee does have the right to appeal the outcome and the process for this is covered in the next section, stage three (Appeal).

Stage Three (Appeal)

If an employee is dissatisfied with the outcome of the formal grievance hearing, they may decide to appeal the decision.
Any appeal must be in writing and made to the relevant point of contact as outlined in the grievance outcome letter within five working days of receipt of the outcome.
Appeals should always be heard by those who are independent of the prior grievance process and where practicable this will be a level of employee senior to the grievance hearing officer.
Grounds for the appeal must be set out in writing at the time the appeal is lodged.
Once the grounds for the grievance appeal have been submitted and received in writing, the employee will receive an acknowledgement of this and confirmation of the arrangements for the grievance appeal hearing as soon as practicably possible.
The grievance appeal hearing will be chaired by an appeal hearing officer and or someone from HR may be in attendance depending on the nature of the grievance. The purpose of the hearing is to allow the employee to discuss the grounds for their appeal in greater detail. Any further investigation will take place following from the hearing if required to allow the hearing officer to conclude an outcome.
The hearing officer may decide to invite the employee to a further hearing should there be aspects of the investigation which need to be clarified to ensure the investigation is complete prior to making an informed decision on the outcome.
The outcome of the appeal hearing will be communicated to the employee in writing as soon as practicably possible.
There is no further right of appeal following this stage in the process.

Right to be Accompanied

An employee attending a formal grievance or appeal hearing has the right to be represented by a work colleague or a Trade Union representative. The employee must inform the hearing officer who the representative is in sufficient time prior to the hearing.

If the representative is unavailable at the time a hearing is scheduled and will not be available for more than three working days, the employee may be requested to choose another representative.

A representative may make representations, ask questions and sum up an employee’s case, but cannot directly answer questions on an employee’s behalf. The employee may confer privately with their representative at any time during the hearing.

Confidentiality

Wilson Vale Catering aims to deal with all matters sensitively and with due respect for the privacy of all individuals involved. All employees must treat as confidential any information communicated to them in connection with an investigation or disciplinary matter. The employee and any representative or witnesses should not make electronic recordings of any meetings or hearings conducted under this process. The employee will usually be told the names of any witnesses whose evidence is relevant to the disciplinary proceedings against them, unless Wilson Vale Catering believe that a witness’s identity should remain confidential.