When is a Grievance Not a Grievance?

Introduction

Most of you will be aware that new statutory rules for grievance procedures were introduced in October 2004. With very little guidance available at the time, it was inevitable that the rules would ultimately have to be tested by the Employment Tribunals. Recently there has been a flurry of these cases making their way through to the Employment Appeal Tribunal ("EAT").

The cases provide a useful insight into what is treated as a grievance under the new procedures. The reason why this is important is that an employer who fails to deal properly with a grievance under the procedures risk being ordered to pay increased compensation to the employee in question if the employee is subsequently successful in a claim. In addition, the submission of a grievance will in some cases trigger an extension of the normal time limits of three months to submit a Tribunal claim, to six months. An employer who fails to spot a grievance will therefore put itself at risk of having to pay