Complaints and Grievances
It is important that an employee who has a complaint is allowed the opportunity to have the complaint considered. It is good practice to provide employees with a reasonable and prompt opportunity to obtain redress of any grievance.
There is a legal obligation to specify in the Written Statement of Terms and Conditions of Employment a person to whom the employee can apply if they have a grievance. Employers and employees are also required to comply with the Statutory Grievance Procedure. This includes allowing an employee to be accompanied at grievance hearings. A model grievance procedure is available in the Downloadable Templates in section 5 (Contracts of Employment).
Failure to follow the ACAS procedure and/or to respond appropriately to a complaint or grievance from an employee could result in the employee resigning and making a claim to an Employment Tribunal for constructive dismissal, that is, he or she believed they had been forced to resign because of a failure by the employer which amounted to a breach of contract and should lead to any award made to an employee in Tribunal proceedings being increased.
Advice should be sought from the Lay Employment Secretary if a grievance is brought to the employer’s attention.
Bullying and Harassment
Please go to the Introducing Positive Working Together (methodist.org.uk) for further guidelines and resources.
The Positive Working Together Guidelines provide information for people who feel they are experiencing bullying or harassment.
The Guidelines may also be useful for those who have been accused of behaving in this way. The intention is to provide help with the informal resolution of these issues, recognising that in some cases it is appropriate to seek to resolve these matters formally through appropriate Church procedures.
Also available is a summary document: Positive Working Together - A Short Guide