What Happens at a Grievance Meeting

Most employers will deal with a formal grievance at some point, and most find it harder than they expected. The person raising it is often upset, the person it concerns may be a valued colleague, and the manager in the middle is unsure how much they are allowed to say or do. Handling the first meeting well makes an enormous difference to how the rest of the process goes.

This post explains what a grievance meeting involves, what each party can expect, and what a well-run process looks like. It is written primarily for employers and managers, but it is also relevant for employees who are considering raising a grievance or have been invited to a meeting. The appeal stage is covered in our separate post on grievance appeal hearings.

What a grievance is, and where the meeting fits

A grievance is a concern, problem or complaint an employee raises with their employer. It might be about how they have been treated, their pay or terms, their working environment, a colleague's behaviour, or a decision affecting them. The Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures sets out the standard for handling formal grievances, and employment tribunals take it into account. An unreasonable failure by either side to follow it can lead to an adjustment in compensation of up to 25 per cent.

Not every concern needs a formal process. The Acas approach, and increasingly the direction of travel, is to try to resolve matters informally first, through a conversation with the manager, a facilitated discussion or mediation. The draft revised Acas Code, consulted on until 23 September 2026 and expected to take effect in 2027, gives informal resolution a more prominent place in the statutory framework. Where informal resolution does not work, or the matter is too serious, the employee can raise a formal grievance in writing.

Before the meeting: receiving the grievance and preparing

The process starts when the employee puts their grievance in writing, setting out the nature of the complaint. The draft Code suggests that a short, clear written explanation will often be enough at this stage, and that the employee should say, where possible, how they would like it resolved. The employer should acknowledge it promptly.

The next step is to decide who will deal with it. The person hearing the grievance should be as impartial as possible, and should not be the person the grievance is about. In a smaller organisation this can be difficult, and it may mean asking a director from another area or an independent external person to take it on.

It can help to arrange an early conversation to make sure the employer understands exactly what is being complained about. Where a grievance is long or covers many issues, some employment lawyers suggest a short scoping meeting to identify the key points before the formal process begins, so that the investigation and hearing are proportionate and focused.

The employee should then be invited to a meeting without unreasonable delay. The invitation should give the date, time and place, explain the purpose of the meeting, and remind the employee of their statutory right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a work colleague. The companion can address the meeting and confer with the employee, but cannot answer questions on their behalf. If the companion cannot attend, the employee can propose an alternative time within five working days of the original date.

The chair should prepare by reading the grievance carefully, identifying the individual issues, and gathering any documents that are relevant. They should also think about adjustments the employee may need, particularly if the grievance relates to disability or health.

At the meeting: what actually happens

The chair opens by introducing everyone present, explaining the purpose of the meeting and how it will run, and making clear that no decision will be made on the day. A note-taker should be present.

The employee is then invited to explain their grievance in their own words. The chair listens, asks open questions to understand the detail, and works through each issue in turn. It is worth asking what the employee would like to see happen, since that shapes the rest of the process. A grievance is sometimes more about being heard and having a specific problem fixed than about formal findings.

The chair should stay neutral throughout. It is not the time to defend the organisation, to challenge the employee's account, or to offer views on the merits. The aim is to understand the complaint, and the chair should avoid promising an outcome.

By the end of the meeting, the chair should summarise what they have understood, check that it is right, explain what will happen next, including any investigation and likely timescale, and ask whether there is anything the employee wants to add. If the employee wants to raise something new, it may need to be added to the investigation or treated as a separate grievance.

Investigation and decision

After the meeting the employer should investigate as far as is reasonable. That may mean speaking to witnesses, reviewing documents or emails, or asking the person named in the complaint for their account. The investigation should be proportionate, impartial and recorded. Where the grievance names an individual, they should be told about it and given a fair chance to respond, while being reminded of the importance of confidentiality.

When the investigation is complete, the decision-maker should consider whether the grievance is upheld, partly upheld or not upheld, and what action should be taken. This might include an apology, a change to working arrangements, training, mediation, or action under the disciplinary procedure if the conduct of another employee is at issue.

More complex grievances sometimes need a second meeting to put the outcome or to hear the employee's response to new evidence. Where that is the case, the employee should be given the chance to comment before a final decision is made.

The written outcome

The outcome should be confirmed in writing, without unreasonable delay. It should address each point raised, set out the findings and the reasons, explain what action will be taken, and tell the employee that they can appeal, how to do so and by when. A letter that simply says the grievance has not been upheld does not do enough, and gives a tribunal little to assess.

Where the grievance involves discrimination, harassment or whistleblowing, the employer should think about whether the concerns need to be recorded and handled in a wider context. From October 2026 employers are also liable again for harassment of their staff by third parties, such as customers and suppliers, unless they can show they took all reasonable steps to prevent it, which makes it more important that grievances of this kind are taken seriously and acted on.

The final word

A grievance meeting is not a trial. It is a structured opportunity for an employee to be heard and for the employer to understand and respond to a genuine concern. Employers that approach it with impartiality, proper preparation and a clear written outcome usually find that many grievances are resolved at this stage, and the ones that are not are much better placed to withstand scrutiny.