Introduction
An existing client engaged Albany HR to support the management of a complex grievance involving members of the organisation’s Executive Team. While the client had existing procedures in place to deal with grievances related to Bullying and Harassment, given the seniority of the individuals involved and the need for the grievance process to be handled as objectively as possible, our expert HR consultant managed the grievance hearing on the organisation’s behalf, aligned with ACAS guidance and best practice. After a thorough investigation and analysis, they concluded the process by providing a decision for the complainant, including a set of recommendations for the client to consider.
Background
Our client was an educational establishment, priding itself on its reputation, providing high-quality education for its students, as well as a culture of respect and inclusivity for all its employees. At the time the grievance was raised, the organisation was undertaking a substantial change programme in addition to providing its day-to-day services. It was essential to the client that a full and robust process to handle the grievance was undertaken, while any operational impact was kept to a minimum.
Client Needs
As experts in grievance procedures and having supported clients with similar issues, our experienced Consultant advised the organisation’s management of the different options they had in making use of our expertise to assist them. As it was key to the organisation that the grievance process and outcome was as independent and transparent as possible, they chose to opt for our Consultant to adopt the role of grievance hearing manager. This ensured that not only would the grievance be fully investigated in line with best practices, aligned with the organisation’s own policy and procedure, additionally its own employees were not directly involved in managing the grievance’s numerous specialist and often time-consuming activities, nor in making the final decision on the grievance’s outcome.
The organisation was kept informed of the progress of the grievance at key points via the organisation’s grievance commissioning manager, providing confidence and reassurance that a rigorous and compliant process was being actioned, while the organisation was able to continue to focus on other key organisational projects and activities. Our consultant undertook a detailed investigation starting with a grievance hearing, followed by interviews with relevant witnesses from the organisation. After analysing the facts and evidence garnered during the investigation, they prepared a detailed outcome letter for the complainant, detailing the grievance outcome based on the evidence. In addition, the Consultant provided the organisation with a separate set of recommendations based upon findings from the investigation and analysis undertaken. This enabled the organisation’s leadership to consider actions they may wish to implement to alter or enhance existing people services following the conclusion of the grievance.
Conclusion
Our client was highly satisfied with the dedicated support and advice provided by our consultant. We supported our client in successfully resolving the grievance, allowing the organisation’s leadership to move forward having commissioned an independent expert to deliver and communicate the outcome.
If you are concerned about how to handle a grievance, particularly between senior leaders, we recommend that you consider addressing the issue through mediation before it escalates and potentially results in a grievance. We invite you to review our case study on successful mediation conducted for another client.
If you need support managing a grievance, please Get in touch.
We can also help you prevent conflict at work by partnering with you to augment employee voice, employee engagement, and enable effective 2-way communication between Senior Leadership colleagues as well as between leaders and employees through communication and people manager training.
We’d love to help. Letstalk@albanyhr.com, 0131 364 4186.
