A Grievance Has Been Raised Against Me: What Should I Do?

If a grievance has been raised against you, stay calm, do not retaliate or discuss it with colleagues, read it carefully, and cooperate fully with the process. Keep your own notes, preserve any relevant evidence, and take advice. If you own the business, bring in an independent person to investigate.

This post is for managers, directors and business owners who have just been told someone has raised a formal grievance about them, and who are wondering what happens next.

What a grievance is, and what it is not

A grievance is a formal complaint raised by an employee about how they have been treated. It might be about your behaviour, a decision you made, pay, working conditions or a colleague. It is not a disciplinary action against you, and it does not mean you have done anything wrong. It does mean the employer has to deal with it properly, and that your conduct and decisions will be looked at.

What to do in the first 24 hours

• Do not react. Your first instinct may be defensive or angry. Take a breath, and do not reply in writing until you have thought it through.

• Read it carefully. Note the specific allegations, dates and people named. If anything is unclear, ask the person handling it, not the complainant.

• Do not approach the complainant or witnesses. Discussing the case, asking people what they said, or encouraging them to withdraw it can look like intimidation and can make your position much worse.

• Keep working professionally. Treat the person with the same respect as before. Changing their duties, shifts or treatment now can be seen as retaliation.

• Preserve everything. Do not delete emails, messages, notes or files relating to the matter. Deleting evidence is far more damaging than anything it might contain.

• Write down your own account. While it is fresh, note dates, what was said and done, and who was there.

• Get support. A trade union rep, a colleague you trust, an HR adviser or a professional adviser, and, if it is affecting you, your doctor or an employee assistance programme.

Who deals with the grievance?

If you are a manager, the grievance should be handled by someone more senior or by HR, and not by you.

If you own the business, or the complaint is about a director, it is hard to handle fairly in-house. The Acas Code of Practice expects a grievance to be dealt with impartially. An independent HR adviser or investigator, appointed from outside, protects the process, and protects you, because it shows the complaint was taken seriously and examined fairly.

What the process looks like

1. Acknowledgement. The employer confirms receipt and explains the steps.

2. Possible informal resolution. Many grievances can be resolved through a conversation or mediation. The Acas approach increasingly favours this.

3. Investigation. Someone impartial looks at the evidence and speaks to the people involved, including you.

4. Grievance meeting. The employee is invited to explain their complaint. They have a statutory right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a colleague.

5. Outcome. The decision-maker upholds, partly upholds or does not uphold the complaint and sets out any action.

6. Appeal. The employee can appeal against the outcome.

You will usually be interviewed during the investigation. There is no statutory right to be accompanied at an investigation meeting, but many employers allow it and it is worth asking.

How to prepare for your investigation interview

• Reread the grievance and your notes, and gather relevant documents

• Stick to facts, dates and what you saw or did, not what you assume others thought

• Answer the question you are asked, honestly and concisely

• Accept what is true, even if it is uncomfortable. Credibility matters more than winning each point

• Do not speculate about the complainant's motives

• Ask to see the notes afterwards and correct anything inaccurate

What not to do

• Retaliate, in any form. Treating someone worse because they raised a grievance can amount to victimisation or unlawful detriment, particularly where the complaint relates to discrimination or whistleblowing

• Confront the complainant, or gossip about them to colleagues

• Delete or alter anything

• Move, suspend or discipline the complainant without proper advice

• Ignore deadlines or requests from the person investigating

What are the possible outcomes?

The complaint may not be upheld, partly upheld, or upheld. Outcomes can include no further action, an informal resolution, mediation, training, changes to working arrangements, or in serious cases disciplinary action. A grievance outcome is not automatically a disciplinary penalty for you, but if the findings show misconduct, a separate disciplinary process can follow.

If the grievance is against the business itself

If you are the employer and an employee has raised a grievance about how the organisation has treated them, treat it seriously and quickly. An unresolved grievance can turn into a resignation and a constructive dismissal claim or a tribunal claim. For events on or after 1 October 2026, the time limit for most claims is now six months rather than three, so the issue can stay live for longer.

Look after yourself

Being the subject of a grievance is stressful, even when it is unfounded. You are entitled to support, and it is sensible to use it. The process is designed to be fair to both sides.