Grievances and Nurses

Nurses and Grievance Processes and Hearings

Grievances, A guide for Nurses – an article by Penny Maudsley, Barrister, ex nurse and ex midwife

 A grievance is an employee’s complaint.

Common grievances are terms and conditions of employment, safety conditions at work, bullying/harassment and change.

If an employee has an issue at work it is best to raise it informally with the manager to attempt to resolve the matters without the need to follow the formal grievance process.

If, however, it cannot be resolved informally then an employee will need to raise a formal grievance against the employer.

There is always the option for mediation to try to resolve the problem before going down the formal route, if there is agreement to do so. This can be done internally if there is a mediator employed by the company or an external mediator may be used. Mediation can only be used where appropriate. It may not be used for example, where pay is the issue.

The formal grievance must be raised without delay.

The grievance policy must be followed. An employer may have its own grievance policy but at the very least, ACAS must be followed, in compliance with The Code https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-on-disciplinary-and-grievance-procedures.

The employee must put the complaint in writing setting out what the grievance is about, provide any supporting evidence and state what resolution is requested.

The employer should then familiarise himself/herself with the facts, gather information and then arrange a formal meeting with the employee.

The employee must be notified of the meeting, ideally within 5 days. He/she must be informed of the right to be accompanied by a colleague, a trade union representative or a person employed by a trade union. Some employers may allow a legal representative. The employee will need to inform the employer who the representative will be.

With the permission of the employee raising the grievance, the representative is allowed to take notes, set out the case of the employee raising the grievance, respond for them to any comments or points made at the meeting and talk with the employee during the meeting

The representative is not allowed to answer questions put to the employee raising the grievance or prevent anyone else at the meeting from explaining their side of things.

The employer should listen to the concerns, allow the employee to air their views and show their evidence, if any, and remain impartial.

There may be a need to adjourn if further information is needed.

Once the meeting is concluded the employer should provide written notes of the meeting to the employee who can confirm the accuracy of what was said.

The employer should inform the employee as soon as possible after the meeting.

This must be made in writing, letting the employee know about the decision, a solution with justification and letting the employee know about the right to appeal.

If you are a nurse who wishes to raise a grievance and you seek legal or policy advice, call Nurses Defence Service.

Call Nurses Defence Service on 0800 01 22 506