AJA’s approach to dealing with grievances:
The grievance procedure provides a framework through which AJA employees can resolve their grievances as quickly as possible.
The policy can only apply when dealing with complaints related to a management action, conditions of employment or decisions that are capable of being resolved by AJA.
AJA recognises that all its managers must deal with grievance issues in a clear, fair and empathetic manner; considering the needs of AJA as a charity and individual circumstances of each employee and ensuring that the required elements set out under the Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Policy are also met.
Both parties are required to adopt a reasonable and responsible attitude in the operation of the procedure and make every effort to resolve differences at the informal stage. The use of the formal stage should be a last resort.
If you have a grievance or complaint about your work or someone you work with you should start by speaking with your line manager wherever possible. You may be able to agree a solution informally between you.
Wherever possible, normal working will continue throughout the grievance process until resolution has been reached. Where this is considered not possible or there is disagreement, the matter should be referred to the AJA Chair.
Grievances raised while an employee is subject to sickness absence management or a disciplinary procedure will usually be heard only when the current process has been completed, although the process may be temporarily suspended in order to deal with the grievance. Where the grievance and sickness / disciplinary cases are related, it may be appropriate to deal with both issues concurrently. If the grievance has any bearing on the disciplinary proceedings, it can be raised as a relevant issue during the course of those proceedings.
In normal circumstances, any attempt within six months, to restart the procedure in respect of the same or similar grievance already raised would not be allowed unless it can be demonstrated that the action previously identified to redress the grievance has not been implemented.
Grievance issues must be addressed in good faith by management and employees. Managers must not victimise or intimidate or disadvantage an employee because they have chosen to exercise their right to use the grievance procedure. Likewise, an employee must not spuriously and improperly invoke the formal grievance procedure or being frivolous, malicious and vindictive allegations against a line manager while they are taking legitimate management decisions. Grievances found to be vexatious or malicious may result in disciplinary action.
Managers must deal with grievances as a priority. Although time limits will be dependent upon individual circumstances, if an investigation is required this should be completed as soon as possible and take no longer than 15 working days. If it is not possible to adhere to a time limit, for example where a case is complex, managers are responsible for informing all parties in writing of this and the likely extension required.
If an employee’s representative cannot attend on a proposed date the employee can suggest another date as long as it is reasonable and not more than 5 working days after the date originally set.
Employees who are leaving AJA may also raise a grievance; however, this will be subject to a shorter process. Employees who have left AJA cannot raise retrospective grievances or complaints under this policy.
The full grievance process (informal and formal) is outlined in Appendix 1.
Status Quo
Status quo is defined as the working arrangements in place prior to the change over which the grievance has been raised.
Wherever possible, the status quo should operate until this procedure has been exhausted.
However, the status quo may be set aside where:
• Continuation of status quo will result in a breach of statutory or other mandatory regulations;
• Agreement is reached by both parties to do so.
Appeals Process
This appeals policy is a demonstration of AJA’s commitment to the fair and equitable treatment of its employees. It provides the means for an employee to appeal against formal action taken at a hearing.
The appeals process will ensure that all employees have the opportunity to formally appeal against formal action taken against them and present their case to a panel outside their line management structure within AJA.
If you are unhappy with the decision on your grievance you can raise an appeal without unreasonable delay (within one week of receipt of decision) . Your appeal needs to be in writing and you should clearly inform your line manager of the grounds for your appeal.
You will be invited to an appeal meeting, normally within 5 working days, with an AJA trustee Again, you have the right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative.
Should your grievance and appeal include people who would usually be classed as “senior” within the organisation then it may be necessary to take the appeal to an external arbiter, in which case you will be informed of this, and the meeting will take longer than five days to arrange.
The full appeals process is outlined in Appendix 2.
Equality Impact Assessment
The EIA demonstrates that if this policy is applied consistently in AJA, it would not disproportionately affect any of the groups with protected or personal characteristics covered in the Equality Act 2010. (Age, Disability, Gender, Religion and Belief, Marriage and Civil Partnership, Race, Gender Re- Assignment, Sexual Orientation, Pregnancy and Maternity)
References
Guidance
ACAS CoP 1 March 2015 Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures
Legislation
Employment Relations Act 1996
Employment Rights Act 1999
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
Health and Safety at work Act 1974
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992
Part-time workers (Prevention of less favourable treatment regulations) 1999
Appendix One Grievance Process
Stage 1 Informal stage
Any employee who wishes to express a grievance should first discuss the issue with their immediate line manager. This provides an opportunity for issues to be resolved without recourse to the formal procedure. If the individual feels unable to raise the issue with their line manager, they should speak to a Trustee.
The manager is encouraged to carry out an informal fact finding exercise to establish the facts around the grievance, so that appropriate steps can be taken to resolve the very reason of the grievance. The fact-finding exercise in itself does not form part of any formal investigation, however information obtained can be used if the case progressed to formal stages.
The informal discussions should establish the nature of the grievance to see if matters can be resolved. At the conclusion of these informal discussions, the manager should confirm their decision in writing outlining the action to be taken, if any, and explaining the rationale behind it.
Consideration should be given to whether the involvement of a third party might assist in addressing grievances. This might involve an internal or external mediator who has not been involved. Mediation is an entirely voluntary process for both sides in any issue and does not preclude the use of other stages of this policy if it is not successful. Consideration may also be given to holding facilitated meetings which although not formal mediation may resolve grievance without the need to proceed to formal stages.
If matters cannot be resolved, it will then be appropriate to use the formal stage of the policy. This should be done without undue delay or within a maximum of 3 months of the initial incident.
The individual(s) named in the grievance should be given details of the concern at the earliest opportunity and offered support via a senior AJA member unconnected with the grievance process.
Stage 2 Formal Grievance Meeting
The employee may write to their line manager, confirming that he or she is raising a formal grievance and outlining the substance of the grievance. If the grievance concerns the line manager, it should be raised with the AJA Chair who will need to make the decision whether they can objectively investigate the grievance. It might be more appropriate to arrange for a senior AJA member to investigate the grievance formally.
The AJA Chair or senior AJA member investigating will arrange a formal meeting with the complainant and their representative as soon as possible.
Any witnesses or other individuals whom the manager chairing the meeting considers have information important to the case, may also be called to attend part of the meeting. The employee may request the attendance of other members of staff to support the case.
At the meeting, the employee will be allowed to explain the complaint and say how they think it should be resolved. The manager chairing the meeting may adjourn the meeting to obtain further information, commission an investigation or clarify particular points.
The investigation will normally involve producing terms of reference, appointing an impartial investigating officer and interviewing relevant witnesses.
The manager will respond in writing within 5 working days of the meeting advising employee of actions to be taken, if any.
Once the final outcome is known, the AJA Chair or senior AJA member investigating will meet up with the complainant to communicate the outcome and provide the employee with opportunity to ask any questions.
If the outcome of the grievance investigation is to proceed to a disciplinary hearing, the matter will be dealt with under these terms set out in the employment contract. The employee who raised the grievance will not be informed of the outcome of the disciplinary hearing due to confidentiality principles.
In the instance when a member of staff is suspended or where temporary changes to working conditions are made, consideration needs to be given as to who needs to be informed and how to communicate this to the wider organisation. This should be done with care ensure that the principles of confidentiality are not breached. If a grievance has been raised but not concluded by the time the employment terminates, then whatever stage the grievance is at will be concluded with a paper review of the position and a written response.
Stage 3 Appeal
If the employee is not happy with the outcome of the formal stage, they may appeal the decision using the AJA Appeals process.
Appendix two. Appeals process.
STATEMENT OF CASE
Both the manager who took the management action and the employee making the appeal will be required to submit a written case in advance if the hearing. This will allow the panel members to familiarise themselves with the details and evidence of both the parties as well as allowing all the parties involved a chance to understand the other side’s case.
The hearing will not normally proceed until both parties’ written statements have been received. These must be received no later than 7 calendar days before the appeal hearing.
The statement of case should include, where relevant, the following:
• An outline in date order of the events which lead up to the hearing and the management action being taken;
• Copies of all relevant correspondence and any written evidence including any evidence presented at the earlier hearing;
• The employee must clearly set out the grounds on which they believe the management action was inappropriate;
• The manager must set out the rationale behind the action they took at the previous hearing
• A list of any witnesses to be called. It will be the responsibility of both sides to arrange for their attendance.
• The line-manager should facilitate the release from duty for any witnesses requested to attend the appeal hearing.
Failure by the appellant to co-operate in the appeal process or to attend the hearing without good reason may result in the appeal being struck out.
THE APPEAL PROCEDURE
The following procedure will be used at Appeal Hearings but may be exceptionally varied with the approval of the chair of the appeal panel to meet particular circumstances.
1. The employee or their representative shall present their case first in the presence of the line-manager who took the management action. They will be able to call any witnesses.
2. The line-manager and the panel shall have the opportunity to ask questions of the employee and their witnesses.
3. All the parties may re-examine the employee and their witnesses if they wish.
4. On completion of the employee’s presentation, the line-manager will outline the key points contained in their written statement of case and call any witnesses in the presence of the employee and their representative.
5. The employee and their representative shall have the opportunity to ask questions of the manager and their witnesses as will the members of the panel
6. All the parties may re-examine the manager and witnesses if they wish.
7. The panel will have the right to adjourn the hearing in order that further evidence may be produced by either side or to make enquiries of their own.
8. In such circumstances, all the parties must be made aware of any new evidence or findings prior to the reconvened appeal hearing
9. Once all the evidence has been heard by the appeal panel, each party will be asked to sum up their cases, with the manager going first and employee last.
10. The appeal panel will adjourn to consider all the evidence but reserves the right to recall both parties if any clarification of the evidence is required.
11. If possible, every effort will be made to give a decision the same day. All decisions will be confirmed in writing within 5 working days.
After the meeting the appeals manager will give you a decision, usually within 48 hours. The appeals manager’s decision is final.
THE SCOPE OF THE APPEAL
The appeal hearing will not be a re-hearing of the whole case but will be a review of those aspects of the original decision which the appellant believes has given rise to an incorrect or unfair conclusion. This may include the admission of new evidence that was not available at the original hearing. The panel will only be able to consider the following:
In the case of a disciplinary decision:
• Does the panel actually believe that the employee was guilty of misconduct?
• Are there reasonable grounds on which to base that belief?
• Was there sufficient investigation as was reasonable in the circumstances of the particular case?
In addition to the following which must also be considered in the case of other types of appeal:
• Were the Trusts policies and procedures applied adequately?
• Was the sanction or outcome reasonable considering all the circumstances?
THE OPTIONS OPEN TO THE APPEAL PANEL
The range of options available to the appeal panel are:
• To overturn the management action in its entirety.
• To review the reasons behind the original penalty imposed and to substitute this for a higher or lower penalty if the evidence makes this appropriate.
• To recommend an alternative solution especially in cases involving flexible working or grievances.
• To uphold the management action.
The decision of the appeal panel will be confirmed in writing within 5 working days from the date of the appeal. The panel’s decision is final and this will exhaust the Trusts appeal process.
NOTE Where an employee raises a grievance during a disciplinary process the disciplinary process may be suspended for a while in order to deal with the grievance. Where the grievance and disciplinary cases are related it may be appropriate to deal with both issues concurrently.