Are There Any Legal Obligations To Have A Grievance Procedure?
Whilst employers are not required by statute to have a grievance procedure, it is good employment relations practice to have one in place.
Employers are required by statute to specify, in the written particulars of terms and conditions, the person to whom an employee can apply if they have a grievance. However this duty only applies to those employers employing more than 20 employees.
If the contract of employment expressly provides for the operation of a grievance procedure then any departure from that procedure by the employer will amount to a breach of contract.
In the absence of an express term to that effect there is an implied term in every contract of employment that both parties will not act in such a way so as to breach mutual trust and confidence. It is thought therefore that this term can actually impose a duty on an employer to take any grievance raised by an employee seriously.
