11. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

Like disciplinary procedures, grievance procedures must meet the requirements of the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures (see Chapter 1). It is no longer the case that a tribunal claim can only be brought if a written grievance has been raised first. However, unreasonable failure to raise a written grievance is a breach of the Acas Code and can result in a cut in any compensation by up to 25%. What is “unreasonable” for this purpose has not yet been tested in the EAT.

The Acas Guidance suggests that in some cases, mediation can help resolve problems, especially those involving working relationships (see Chapter 13: Mediation).