If you have a problem or complaint about work, it may be difficult to know what steps to take. 

For some types of problem, such as changes to working practices or relationship problems with your manager, you'll have a greater chance of resolving it by dealing with it quickly and informally.

Try an informal approach first

Use our problems at work checklist to help you resolve the issue informally. A formal grievance may be the right approach if the situation is serious but you should always try and resolve the issue informally first. 

Raising the issue formally: submitting a grievance

Examples of issues that may lead to a formal grievance include:

• terms & conditions of employment
• health & safety
• work relations
• bullying & harassment
• new working practices
• working environment, or
• organisational change.

Please note this list is not exhaustive.

Other processes

Please also consider whether your issue is better dealt with under another procedure - such as incident reporting or raising concerns (about safety issues) or making a bullying complaint.

(Please note: the below relates to England, Wales and Scotland only. If you work in Northern Ireland, please see the nidirect advice on this topic)

The grievance procedure enables you to raise concerns with management about workplace problems. Your employer should have a grievance policy/procedure, so read this to familiarise yourself with the process.

To ensure a fair process is followed, it should have at least three key stages:

1. the option to resolve the issue informally (use our checklist to help you with this)
2. the first formal stage, and
3. the opportunity to appeal the decision

There are strict deadlines to lodge workplace appeals and subsequent employment tribunal claims, so please contact us for advice as soon as possible if you wish to challenge your employer's decision.

In addition to your employer's policy, the ACAS Code of Practice sets out standards of fairness and reasonable behaviour that employers and employees are expected to follow in most situations when dealing with a dispute in the workplace.

But, remember: it is always advisable to try to resolve disputes informally before lodging a formal grievance. 

When to contact us

Many issues in work can be resolved amicably by talking about it to a colleague, or your manager and following the local policies.  

It is important to contact us for advice and support if:

• the incident is of a highly serious nature (for example, the police are involved)
• you are considering making a formal complaint or taking legal action
• you are considering resigning.

The general process

The table below explains a typical grievance process but you should also check your employer’s policy for the process that applies where you work.

An employment tribunal claim may be an option available to you if you’re unhappy with a decision taken by your employer. It must be a decision that an employment tribunal has jurisdiction to deal with.

Before pursuing an employment tribunal claim, you are legally required to take part in early conciliation, which is a service provided by ACAS or the Labour Relations Agency if you are in Northern Ireland.

See our employment tribunals and the courts guidance for information on early conciliation and the how we can help. If you are considering early conciliation, please contact us before taking any further action.

Early conciliation has an impact on the calculation of the deadline for presenting an employment tribunal claim and it is your responsibility to be certain of the deadline for presenting your potential claim.

'Collective' grievances occur when several staff are affected by the same problem. 

If two or more employees raise the same grievance then the provisions of the ACAS Code do not apply. Your local policy should determine the process for the collective dispute.

If you are considering a collective dispute alongside your colleagues please contact us for further advice.

You may be called as a witness at a grievance hearing and/or be asked to produce a written statement outlining your involvement in the matter in question.

If you've been asked to attend a hearing as a witness or provide a written statement please see our information for witnesses.

If you raise a grievance during a disciplinary process, the procedure can be temporarily suspended in order to deal with your grievance. If the grievance and disciplinary case are related it may be appropriate to deal with both issues at the same time.

You should not be victimised for lodging a grievance. If your grievance does not resolve your concerns, you may need to decide whether to take further action. Please contact us to discuss your concerns.

If a grievance has been lodged against you as a manager, you should read our advice about investigations then seek advice and support from your HR department. 

If at any point you feel there are other contributing factors to the grievance such as discrimination, please contact us.

When your employer discusses the allegations with you, be ready and able to justify any managerial decisions or actions you took in line with your employer's policies. 

At this initial stage, you are not being disciplined. However, if disciplinary action is taken against you at a later stage, the RCN will represent you in most cases and you should contact us to discuss this.

ACAS resources on raising a grievance at work

ACAS Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance

nidirect: grievance procedures

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance procedures sets out principles that should be followed in Northern Ireland.

All Wales NHS Respect and Resolution policy and accompanying FAQs

If you work outside of the NHS, please see our Employment Standards for Independent Health and Social Care Sectors. These set out what we expect employers in these settings to deliver for the nursing workforce.