Grievance Hearing

Bettyboop

Afternoon all,

I am having a grievance hearing next week at work I just wondered if others had gone through this. What's it like? Is there anything I should or shouldn't say? What sort of outcomes can one expect? I'm very nervous and I'm just not sure how it's going to go.

Please share your thoughts, experiences and ideas. Is there a right or wrong way to prepare for it?

I know I have probably asked to many questions here but I don't want to be unprepared in any way.

Thanks for reading and hope you can help.

Have a great day.

firesidemaid

hello.

have you taken the grievance out or is it against you?

can you give us a little bit of detail about it and what has happened so far?

does your workplace have a disciplinary/grievance procedure?

how long have you worked there and has anything happened to you before?

hope to be able to help you

Bettyboop

Hi sazzacat, I wrote a grievance letter to my managers director. I have been told that I will be made redundant if I don't work full time hours. I currently work 16 per week which is why I took the job in the first flace. I have made various suggestions to my manager about a job share etc to keep up with the needs of the administration of the office. I was sick two weeks ago with gastro enteritis and was subsequently signed off for a week. After that, everything changed at work. I mean before he was a bit harsh sometimes but me being off made him much worse. I have sought legal advice on the matter and the company cannot acutally make me redundant as the position is still there! I have worked there for 21 months. Work does have a grievance procedure which I have followed. I wrote my letter which is what you are required to do after that a grievance hearing is the next thing. Basically the grievance letter was about my manager, the redundancy and things that he has said to me. But beyond that I really don't know what to expect. I hope you will be able to help. Thanks

firesidemaid

hi again

i have some experience of disciplinary hearings plus i have also learnt more from here.

i don't know whether your workplace has a HR dept - but they shouldn't have let it get to a grievance (unless they want to use it against your manager to get rid of him?).

Both issues should have tried to be resolved first with a mediator - did that happen?

i would go in with dates written down of everything that has happened and try to anticipate what they/he might ask and also write down what you wish to say.

as you say, you boss was obviously not nice before this. do you think it is personal?

i think that they can resonably give you notice that they wish to change your hours. but, if this means that you cannot do the job then (ie. due to other commitments) then you could then claim unfair dismissal.

but, you would hope that some arrangement re. hours could have been made between you and your workplace without the need for this (and you have obviously tried).

are you having a companion/rep going with you for the meeting? they have to allow it. are you still happy to work there if all this gets sorted?

visit the acas and unison/tuc websites for more help and you can phone acas for help if necessary.

ohreally

Bettyboop, you need to be thorough in your preparation and present a strong statement of case. As i don't know what the content of your grievance letter was I'm making an assumption (tricky, i know).
If you are not under notice of redundancy you have no grievance (a managers "off the cuff" comment does not constitute notice of redundancy). Keep to the facts and only pursue what you can prove. Strictly speaking the hearing should only focus on the points raised in your letter, you may not be permitted to use the hearing to open up the proceedings to become a general complaint regarding you manager.
Without knowing what grounds you have indicated you wish to prosecute the grievance on it is a little difficult to offer a further opinion.
Be aware that there is a formality to a grievance hearing rather than it being a cosy chat around a table to try and resolve problems informally.

Bettyboop

sazzacat, to be completely honest my HR Department is absolutely useless! I called them after I spoke to me boss with a few questions and they basically said that if he wants more hours then there is nothing I can do. I will be having a further meeting on Tuesday to reiterate the suggestions I had made previously but like before it was a NO! it's full time now and that't it! The hearing is on Thursday but to be completely honest if I get to keep my job after all this I'm sure it's going to be very uneasy because there wont be any trust left so to speak (I'm the assistant to my manager) and I have a feeling he may make life at work horrible for me! My daughter is only 3 which is why I want to work part time until she's a little older and settled in school. He doesn't have kids and I don't think he can see where I'm coming from?

Nile

Hello Bettyboop

I've just been reading this from the Citizens Advice Bureau website:

The right to ask for flexible working

If you are the parent of a child under six (or under 18 if your child is disabled), you have the right to ask to work flexibly and your employer should consider your request seriously. It is important to understand that although you have the right to ask for flexible working hours, you do not have the right to flexible working. (This will depend on your employer who must consider your request seriously but is not compelled to grant it.) You must also have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks and must be responsible for your child on a day to day basis. You can make one request to work flexibly each year.

Flexible working can include working part time, working school hours, working flexitime, home working, job sharing, shift working, staggering hours and compressing hours (where you work your total number of agreed hours over a shorter period).


Contact your nearest CAB as soon as possible, to seek advice from their employment law expert before your grievance hearing meeting at work.

Regards

Nile

ohreally

There was no reference to flexible working being a factor in terms of the grievance case.The regs simply state that subject to the usual conditions being satisfied the employers only duty is to consider the request.I suspect the employer will simply show a valid business reason not to grant that request and again the grievance would be in danger of falling.

Bettyboop,grievances are won or lost (mostly) on the challenge of managements failure to apply the appropriate regs or policy in each circumstance, this is why you must do your homework and get this right first time.It will be demoralising for you if the grievance falls on a technicality.I prosecute grievances on a fairly regular basis and i would rather withdraw the grievance and live to fight another day than go "into battle" ill prepared and get blown out the water. I don't mean to sound discouraging, i don't want you to do something in which you may set yourself up to fail.

missile

I think you ought to be very careful complaining about your boss. No one likes a whistle blower and if you start banging on about your rights, you will be out on your ear. Please note an employee with less than two years service can be dismissed as "unsuitable" and you have no recourse to a tribunal with less than 2 years service.

jobbingmusician

It's not quite true that an employee with less than 2 years' service can be dismissed as 'unsuitable'. Full employment rights accrue after one year's service, although you would not be entitled to a redundancy payment unless you have been employed for 2 years.

The employer can theoretically make you redundant if there is no longer a need for part time workers. However, refusing to provide part time work has been previously found to be indirectly indiscriminatory to female workers, so employers should be VERY careful before refusing requests for part time work (or making jobs suddenly full time only).

BB, have you been informed of the right to be accompanied at your grievance hearing? If you have not, the findings of any hearing would be likely automatically to be judged unfair by any employment tribunal

Bettyboop

Hello Nile, I originally went to the CAB and they didn't have an Employment Law Expert in at the time. I was sent to another organisation that has an adviser that deals exclusively with employment issues. I feel that my employer has not considered my request to remain part time seriously enough. My boss is a bully to say the least. I on the other hand am quite a gentle person and he probably thought by telling me that it's for business reasons would either make me do the 38 hours or alternatively leave. He had a temp in whilst I was off sick and she was apparently excellent!!!!! It's possible that he could have asked her if she could do the full time hours I really don't know!

missile, there is a grievance procedure in place for most companies and it can and should be adopted if there is a problem! I know what you are saying but I am a single mom and have a young child. How is it that after I was sick that all of sudden my hours have more than doubled!!!!!!!