Two procedures, one expensive mistake

A grievance is your complaint about something your employer has done. A disciplinary is your employer’s complaint about something you have done.

Both are governed by the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, and both attract the same costly error: treating the internal process as the whole dispute, and allowing the tribunal deadline to expire while waiting for an outcome.

Nothing about an internal procedure pauses that deadline. Read the final section before you do anything else.

Part one: writing a grievance

What can a grievance cover?

Bullying; harassment; discrimination; victimisation; unpaid wages, bonus or commission; refusal of reasonable adjustments; contractual changes; excessive workload; unsafe working conditions; treatment by a manager or colleague; retaliation following whistleblowing; an unfair performance procedure; or another serious workplace concern.

Before you submit

Read the grievance procedure. Check who should receive the complaint, whether there is an internal time limit, and what the stages are. Where the policy names the person you are complaining about, send it to their line manager or to HR and explain why.

Decide what you actually want. A grievance cataloguing every irritation of the last four years and asking for nothing specific invites a dismissive outcome letter. Three incidents, evidenced, with the legal problem named and the remedy stated, is much harder to wave away.

Gather your contract, the relevant policies, emails and messages, meeting notes, payslips and payroll calculations, medical or occupational health evidence, appraisals, earlier complaints and witness details. Prepare a dated chronology before you draft.

Do not remove confidential material or access documents you were not authorised to see.

What a grievance should contain

1. A statement that this is a formal grievance under the employer’s procedure.
2. A one or two sentence summary.
3. A dated chronology of the material events.
4. The people involved and any witnesses.
5. The documents relied on, listed and attached.
6. The policy or contractual term breached.
7. The effect on you — practical, financial, and on your health if relevant.
8. What you tried informally, and what happened.
9. The outcome you want.
10. Any adjustments you need for the meeting.

Tone

Write it as though a tribunal judge will read it, because one may. Use dates, names and specific examples. Quote what was said rather than characterising it. Avoid speculation about motive, personal insults, and anything you cannot evidence.

If you believe the treatment relates to a protected characteristic, whistleblowing or another protected matter, say so plainly — but as a conclusion drawn from the facts you have set out, not as a bare accusation.

Grievance letter template

Private and confidential

To: [Manager or HR]
From: [Your name, job title]
Date: [Date]

Formal grievance

Dear [name],

I am raising a formal grievance under the company’s grievance procedure. My complaint concerns [one-line description].

Background

I have been employed by [employer] since [date] as [job title]. [One or two sentences of necessary context only.]

The events I complain about

On [date], [what happened, who was present, what was said]. [Witness name] was present.

On [date], [next material event].

On [date], I raised this informally with [name]. [What was said, and what happened afterwards.]

Documents

I rely on the following, copies attached:

1. [Document or email, and date]
2. [Document or message, and date]
3. [Medical or occupational health evidence]

The following people may have relevant evidence:

• [Name and brief explanation]
• [Name and brief explanation]

Why I say this is a breach

I believe this conduct breaches [the relevant policy / the implied term of mutual trust and confidence / my contractual terms as to pay, hours or duties]. [Where relevant: I also believe the treatment relates to [protected characteristic], because [reason drawn from the facts above].]

Effect on me

[Factual description of the practical, financial or health impact.]

Outcome sought

I ask the company to:

1. investigate this complaint independently of [name];
2. interview [witnesses];
3. [the specific remedy — pay the outstanding sum, implement the adjustment, stop the conduct, correct the record];
4. put appropriate interim measures in place pending the outcome;
5. provide a written outcome with reasons; and
6. confirm my right of appeal and the deadline for exercising it.

Please confirm receipt and the arrangements for a grievance meeting. I wish to be accompanied by [name, or “a workplace colleague or trade union representative to be confirmed”]. [I require the following adjustments: …]

Yours sincerely,

[Name]
[Job title]

What should happen next

Your employer should acknowledge the complaint, investigate without unreasonable delay, hold a grievance meeting, consider the evidence, give a written outcome with reasons, and offer an appeal.

The investigator should approach the matter with an open mind. Where the complaint concerns your manager, another manager or an external investigator should normally handle it.

Keep a copy and note the date sent. If you receive no acknowledgement within a week, chase in writing.

Interim protective measures

If you need protection while the complaint is investigated, request it expressly — a temporary change of reporting line, different shifts, a change of work location, limits on contact with the person complained about, home working, or paid suspension of the alleged perpetrator where justified.

Interim measures should not penalise the person who raised the complaint. Moving the complainant to an unsuitable role or location while the subject of the complaint stays in place is a common and challengeable error.

Taking notes

Take your own notes of the meeting and email them to HR asking for confirmation or correction. An unanswered email attaching your note is far better evidence than a memory contested two years later.

If the employer produces formal minutes, review them and identify omissions or inaccuracies promptly and in writing.

Appealing a grievance outcome

Check the appeal deadline in the outcome letter. Possible grounds include important factual errors, failure to interview relevant witnesses, failure to consider documents, an inadequate investigation, bias or conflict of interest, conclusions unsupported by the evidence, failure to address part of the complaint, refusal of appropriate protective measures, victimisation during the process, or relevant new evidence.

Identify precisely what you say was wrong, and state the outcome you want.

Part two: preparing for a disciplinary hearing

What you are entitled to

• Written notice of the allegations, in enough detail to understand the case.
• The evidence relied on, in advance, rather than handed to you in the room.
• Enough time to prepare and take advice.
• A hearing at a reasonable time and place, with adjustments if you are disabled.
• The right to be accompanied.
• A decision-maker who is not also the investigator, wherever the employer’s size allows.
• An appeal to someone uninvolved.

If any of these is missing, ask for it in writing before the hearing and keep the reply. A refusal recorded in advance is worth far more than a complaint made afterwards.

Right to be accompanied: Employment Relations Act 1999, s.10. Advance disclosure: Acas Code of Practice, paragraph 9.

Request the evidence

Ask for copies of:

• the investigation report;
• witness statements;
• relevant emails and messages;
• applicable policies;
• CCTV footage;
• access, system or audit records;
• meeting notes;
• performance and attendance records;
• comparator evidence where relevant; and
• any other material the decision-maker will consider.

If important evidence has not been disclosed, identify it specifically and request it in writing, together with an adjournment if necessary.

An employer may sometimes need to protect confidential information or witness identities, but you should still receive enough to understand and answer the substance of the case.

The right to be accompanied

At a disciplinary hearing that could result in a formal warning or dismissal, and at a grievance hearing concerning a legal duty owed to you, you may be accompanied by a workplace colleague, a trade union representative or a trade union official.

Your companion may put your case, sum up, respond on your behalf to views expressed, and confer with you privately. They cannot answer questions for you. If your chosen companion is unavailable, you can propose an alternative time within five working days.

A disabled employee may need different support as a reasonable adjustment.

Preparing your response

Structure it under headings.

1. The allegations. List each one separately. Do not let several accusations be merged into one broad allegation that is difficult to answer.
2. Your position. For each allegation, state whether you admit it, deny it, admit part but dispute the employer’s interpretation, or cannot respond properly because information is missing.
3. The evidence. Identify the documents and witnesses supporting your account, and explain why any evidence against you is inaccurate, incomplete, inconsistent, out of context or otherwise unreliable.
4. Procedural concerns. Record any concerns about unclear allegations, insufficient preparation time, missing evidence, failure to investigate your explanation, conflicts of interest, unreasonable delay, refusal of accompaniment, or failure to make adjustments.
5. Mitigation. Prepare this separately. It is a different exercise from denial and is frequently where dismissal is avoided: length of service, a clean record, health or disability, workload, inadequate training, unclear instructions, provocation, personal circumstances, an isolated error, prompt admission, a genuine apology, steps taken to prevent recurrence, and inconsistency with how colleagues were treated.

Mitigation does not require you to admit every allegation.

Put your response in writing and hand it in at the start of the hearing. It becomes part of the record and prevents poor minutes from losing your best points.

Questions worth asking

• What specific evidence supports each allegation?
• Was any evidence in my favour sought, and if not, why not?
• Why were [named witnesses] not interviewed?
• How do you reconcile the inconsistencies between [X’s] and [Y’s] accounts?
• What policy was breached, and when was it communicated to me?
• How have comparable cases been dealt with?
• What alternatives to dismissal have been considered?
• Has my mitigation been taken into account, and how?
• When will I receive the decision, and what is the appeal deadline?

Take notes. If significant new evidence is produced, ask for an adjournment to consider it properly.

Suspension

Suspension is not a sanction and should not be automatic. It should have a legitimate reason, be explained, be kept as short as reasonably possible, be reviewed, be kept appropriately confidential, and remain on full pay unless there is a lawful basis for doing otherwise.

Prolonged, unexplained or publicised suspension can itself damage trust and confidence, and in a serious case can contribute to a constructive dismissal claim.

If you are unwell

Genuine illness does not postpone a disciplinary indefinitely, but your employer should consider medical evidence and offer adjustments — an adjournment for a reasonable period, a remote hearing, written submissions, shorter sessions, additional breaks, or representation by your companion.

Proceeding in your absence without considering the alternatives makes any subsequent dismissal vulnerable to challenge. Where you are disabled, adjustments to the process form part of the reasonable adjustments duty.

Reasonable adjustments to the process

Additional preparation time; written questions in advance; remote attendance; regular breaks; an accessible venue; a shorter meeting; documents in an accessible format; communication support; scheduling around medical treatment; or an additional support person where reasonable.

Make the request in writing and explain how the adjustment would help you participate.

The written decision

The decision should explain the findings, the evidence relied on, the sanction, how long any warning remains active, the improvement required, the consequences of further concerns, and your right to appeal.

Check it against what was discussed at the hearing, and ask for clarification if the findings or expectations are unclear.

Part three: appealing

Appeal in writing within the deadline in the outcome letter, commonly five to seven working days. Use numbered grounds rather than general dissatisfaction:

• findings of fact that are wrong, and why;
• evidence available but not considered;
• specific procedural failures;
• evidence not disclosed before the hearing;
• bias or predetermination;
• inconsistent treatment of comparable cases;
• a sanction outside the range of reasonable responses;
• mitigation not taken into account;
• discrimination, victimisation or failure to make adjustments;
• new evidence, with an explanation of why it was unavailable earlier.

State the outcome you want — the allegation dismissed, the warning removed or reduced, a rehearing, reinstatement, or re-engagement. An appeal asking for the sanction to be substituted with a warning is more likely to succeed than one asking only for “reconsideration”.

The appeal should be heard without unreasonable delay by someone more senior with no prior involvement.

The 25% adjustment

Where an employer unreasonably fails to follow the Acas Code, a tribunal may increase compensation by up to 25%. Where an employee unreasonably fails to follow it, compensation may be reduced by up to 25%.

That is why you use an available appeal even when you expect it to fail — and why the employer’s procedural shortcuts carry a price.

Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, s.207A.

Protect your tribunal deadline

A grievance, a disciplinary process and an appeal do none of the work of protecting your deadline. You must notify Acas separately, and in time.

Last reviewed 19 September 2026.

From 1 October 2026 the time limit for most tribunal claims rises from three months minus one day to six months minus one day, but only where the time limit starts on or after that date. The change is brought into force by regulations commencing section 152 of, and Schedule 12 to, the Employment Rights Act 2025; claims whose relevant date falls before 1 October 2026 remain governed by the three-month provisions.acas+2

Two points are easily missed. First, for breach of contract claims the change takes effect on 1 October 2026 in England and Wales but on 9 November 2026 in Scotland, applying where the date of termination falls on or after the respective date. Second, where a claim concerns a series of related acts — ongoing harassment, or a run of unlawful deductions — the relevant date is the last act in the series, so a dispute that began earlier can still attract the six-month limit if it continued past 1 October 2026. Whether separate events form a legally continuing act can be disputed, so do not rely on this without advice.business+1

How we can help

We draft grievances, prepare written responses to disciplinary allegations, advise before hearings on what to concede and what to contest, draft appeals, identify discrimination and whistleblowing issues, and calculate your deadline precisely. Where the relationship is beyond repair, we negotiate exits — often at the point a grievance or disciplinary has exposed a procedural weakness the employer would rather not test.