North Wales Police
Grievance Procedure
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Grievance Procedure
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Procedure
Equality, Diversity & Fairness (048 v3.3)
Head of PSG
People Services Group (PSG)
HR Business Partner
2/12/2013
2/12/2016
If you are unhappy about the treatment that you have received or about any
aspect of your work, you should discuss this with your line manager, who will
attempt to resolve the situation on an informal basis.
If you feel unable to approach your line manager directly, you should
approach the relevant business area HR & Training Support Officer, Shared
Service Facility, Headquarters or alternatively the Staff Associations,
Federation / Unison who will discuss ways of dealing with the matter with you.
Every attempt should be made to resolve the matter informally in the first
instance. Where attempts to resolve the matter informally do not work, it
may be appropriate for you to raise a formal grievance under this procedure.
This procedure includes the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
WHEN TO CONSIDER A GRIEVANCE
COUNTER GRIEVANCES
COLLECTIVE GRIEVANCES
MEDIATION
THE RIGHT TO BE ACCOMPANIED
ACCESSIBILITY
CONDUCTING THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
FORMAL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
8.1
Informal Process
8.2
Formal Process
8.3
Making the Complaint
8.4
The Grievance Meeting
8.5
Following the Grievance meeting
9. APPEAL
10. MONITORING
11. RETENTION OF PAPERS
12. FURTHER GUIDANCE / ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS
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1.
WHEN TO CONSIDER A GRIEVANCE
The requirements of the ACAS Code of Practice have been incorporated into
this document.
A formal grievance should be considered when you are unhappy with the way
in which you have been treated by NWP, its managers acting on its behalf, or
a colleague. However, issues that are the subject of collective negotiation or
consultation with the Staff Associations, Federation or UNISON will not be
considered under the grievance procedure and instead these should be
resolved through those channels.
Complaints that you may have about a decision made under a particular
Policy or Procedure, should be dealt with under the Appeal Procedure.
Complaints that amount to an allegation of misconduct on the part of another
employee will be investigated and dealt with under the complaints and
misconduct process (Staff /Officer) and you will be informed of the outcome.
Grievances that you raise whilst you are subject to any disciplinary / capability
proceedings should in the first instance, be raised as part of that process and
if deemed necessary, consideration will be given as to whether a separate
grievance process is appropriate in relation to those matters you have raised.
Grievances raised prior to an employee leaving the organisation will be dealt
with in accordance with this procedure.
Once the resolution to a grievance has been agreed, the same issue cannot
be resurrected again at a future date. However, where the resolution
agreement has subsequently been broken, the relevant manager should
review the case and take action as appropriate. See the How to Guide
Dealing with False or Malicious; Frivolous or trivial; Repeat or on-going
complaints
Where an employee raises a grievance during a disciplinary process the
disciplinary process may be temporarily suspended 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.
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2.
COUNTER GRIEVANCE
If, during the process, another party submits a counter grievance, this should
be reviewed by the same manager, and as part of the initial grievance
procedure and with a view to resolving the grievances as a whole and as part
of the same process.
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A counter grievance should extend the stage by no longer than 14 days
however the extension must be agreed in writing by all parties involved.
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3.
COLLECTIVE GRIEVANCES
Under certain circumstances, Staff Associations, Federation or UNISON may
submit a collective grievance on behalf of their members.
This would
normally be as a result of concerns expressed by members or appointed
representatives of the Staff Associations, Federation or UNISON.
Grievances submitted by Staff Associations, Federation or UNISON on behalf
of individual members would not normally be acceptable unless there are
exceptional and evidenced reasons why the individuals could not raise the
workplace concern themselves.
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4.
MEDIATION
It may be appropriate for the matter to be dealt with by way of mediation,
depending on the nature of your grievance. This involves the appointment of
an independent third-party mediator, who will discuss the issues raised by
your grievance with all of those involved and seek to facilitate a resolution.
Mediation will be used only where all parties involved in the grievance agree.
See the How to Guide on Mediation.
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5.
THE RIGHT TO BE ACCOMPANIED
You have the right to be accompanied by a fellow worker, Staff Association,
Federation / UNISON official at any formal grievance meeting or subsequent
appeal. The Federation / UNISON official need not be an employee of NWP,
but if they are not a fellow worker or an employee of the Federation /
UNISON, NWP may insist on them being certified by the Federation /
UNISON as being experienced or trained in accompanying employees at
grievance meetings.
The choice of companion is a matter for you, but NWP reserves the right to
refuse to accept a companion whose presence it is felt, would undermine the
grievance process. Please note that individual workers are not obliged to
agree to accompany you. Companions will be given appropriate paid time off
to allow them to accompany colleagues at a grievance meeting or appeal
meeting.
At any meeting or appeal meeting, your chosen companion will be allowed to
address the meeting, respond on your behalf to any view expressed in the
meeting, and sum up the case on your behalf. However, both the meeting and
appeal meeting are essentially a matter between NWP and you, so any
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questions put directly to you should be dealt with by you and not your
companion.
Where the chosen companion is unavailable on the day scheduled for the
meeting or appeal, the meeting will be rescheduled, provided that you can
propose an alternative time within five working days of the scheduled date.
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6.
ACCESSIBILITY
If any aspect of the grievance procedure causes you difficulty on account of
any disability that you may have, or if you need assistance because English is
not your first language, you should raise this issue with HR by contacting the
Shared Services Facility (SSF) relevant business area HR Admin team, who
will make appropriate arrangements.
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7.
CONDUCTING THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
NWP recognises that a formal grievance procedure can be a stressful and
upsetting experience for all parties involved. Everyone involved in the process
is entitled to be treated in a calm manner and with respect. NWP will not
tolerate unacceptable, inappropriate, abusive, aggressive or insulting
behaviour from anyone taking part in or conducting grievance procedures and
NWP will treat any allegations of such behaviour as potential misconduct
under the complaints and misconduct process (Staff /Officer). In serious
cases, this could result in dismissal.
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8.
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
8.1
Informal Process
Employees should be encouraged to discuss ordinary, day-to-day issues
informally with their line manager. This will help with concerns being heard
and responded to as soon as possible.
In the majority of cases, there will not be a need to invoke the formal
Grievance procedure. Consider whether or not using the informal process is
appropriate, bearing in mind the seriousness of the issue.
Additionally, where an employee raises a formal grievance, it may still be
appropriate for the employer to deal with it informally. For example where is it
clear that the employee has a legitimate complaint that can be easily resolved
to his or her satisfaction. See the How to Guide Dealing with Grievances
Informally and Need to Know 009 – Informal Grievances.
8.2
Formal Process
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Please see Appendix One for a summary flowchart of the Grievance
Procedure which should be viewed in conjunction with the below.
Where an informal process has been followed and attempts to resolve it are
not successful, the formal grievance procedure is the next step.
8.3
Making the Complaint
The first stage of the grievance procedure is for you to put your complaint in
writing using the Grievance Form. As this will form the basis of any
subsequent investigation and meetings it is imperative that you set out clearly
and with as much detail as possible the nature of your grievance and also
indicate what outcomes you are seeking from the process. If your grievance is
deemed unclear or imprecise, you may be asked to clarify your complaint prior
to any formal meeting taking place.
Your completed Grievance Form should be forwarded to your line manager
with a copy to the SSF. If your complaint relates to the way in which your line
manager has treated you, the complaint may be sent directly to the SSF.
Once you submit your grievance you must be prepared to make yourself
available to attend grievance meetings, this may at times, mean attending
whilst on leave or whilst off work due to sickness absence (subject to
confirmation by a qualified medical professional that such attendance will not
be detrimental to health) or nominate a representative to attend on your
behalf. Non-attendance does not necessarily mean the grievance will be
stopped. The matter may proceed based on the documents already
submitted.
Before proceeding to a full grievance meeting, it may be necessary to explore
further any allegations made by you, although the confidentiality of the
grievance process will be respected. If any evidence is gathered in the course
of the exploratory stage, you will be given a copy long enough in advance of
the meeting for you to consider your response. In certain circumstances, the
evidence given by individuals may have to remain confidential and / or
anonymous. Where confidentiality is deemed necessary, this will be explained
to you and an appropriate summary of the evidence gathered will still be given
to you.
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8.4
The Grievance Meeting
The meeting will be held as soon as is reasonably practicable and, subject to
any need to carry out an exploration of the circumstances, usually within
fourteen days of the receipt of your completed Grievance Form. A Grievance
Manager will be allocated to deal with the grievance, in normal circumstances
this will be your line manager. At the meeting you will be asked to set out the
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detail of your complaint and what action you feel should be taken to resolve
the matters. Where appropriate, the meeting may be adjourned to allow
further exploration to take place.
You should ensure that you attend the meeting at the specified time. If you are
unable to attend because of circumstances beyond your control, you should
inform the SSF and / or the allocated Stage Manager as soon as possible. If
you fail to attend without explanation, or if it appears that you have not made
sufficient attempts to attend, the meeting may take place in your absence.
The timescales above will usually apply and deviation from these, by either
the Police Staff member or the Force, will need to be justified to the Head of
HR (or nominated deputy) who will determine if an extension to timescales is
reasonable or not.
While you will be given every opportunity to explain your case fully, you
should confine your explanation to matters that are directly relevant to your
case. Focusing on irrelevant issues or incidents that took place long before
the matters in hand is not helpful and can hinder the effective handling of your
complaint. The stage manager conducting the meeting will intervene if they
think that the discussion is straying too far from the key issue. The manager
may also intervene to ensure that the meeting can be completed within a
reasonable timeframe, depending on the nature and complexity of your case.
Meetings as part of the formal process can be tape recorded if required to
assist in ensuring a thorough documentation of the discussion. The following
guidelines should be followed if this is the case:
•
•
•
•
8.5
Seeking the employee’s consent at the commencement of the meeting.
Advise that a copy of the recording would be made available to the
individual after the meeting.
If the individual does not give consent for the meeting to be tape
recorded, their wishes must be respected.
Retain a copy of the tape recording and any written meeting notes on
the electronic personal files.
Following the Grievance meeting
At the end of the meeting or as soon as practicable following the meeting the
Grievance Manager will complete the Grievance Meeting form and forward to
the SSF.
The SSF will inform you in writing of the outcome within five working days and
advise of any action that NWP proposes to take as a result of your complaint.
You may discuss this outcome informally with either your manager or the HR
& Training Support Officer. You should indicate your acceptance or rejection
of the outcome to the SSF within 5 working days of the date of the written
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notification of the outcome. If the SSF do not receive a response the matter
will be considered closed.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you may appeal the decision.
9.
Appeal
In circumstances whereby there is a genuine reason to believe that the
decision was wrong and / or procedurally unfair, you may submit an Appeal
Form using the Appeal Procedure.
10.
MONITORING
Human Resources and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner will
independently evaluate and monitor the handling of each case raised under
the procedure.
Human Resources will identify and feedback on any trends, lessons learned,
training needs or policy development as appropriate.
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11.
RETENTION OF PAPERS
Documents generated during the grievance process will be stored
electronically in a secure location under restricted cover. The electronic file
will be archived and retained in line with the Force Retention Schedule, Force
Information Standards Policy and Data Protection Act.
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12.
FURTHER GUIDANCE / ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS
Individuals and line managers in the organisation should be guided by the
following sources of information in order to resolve grievances.
Title of
Information
Source
ACAS Code of
Practice
Location
Summary
Intranet – Support
Services / Business
Services / Human
Resources (HR)
Basic practical guidance to
employers, employees and their
representatives and sets out
principles for handling disciplinary
and grievance situations in the
workplace.
Grievance
Form
Intranet – Support
Services / Business
Services / Human
Resources (HR)
Form to be used when submitting a
formal grievance.
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Ground Rules
Intranet – Support
Services / Planning &
Reports / Strategy Map
/ Our Vision, Values &
Ground Rules
Police Staff
Complaints
and
Misconduct
Policy
Line Managers
Intranet – Support
Services / Corporate
Services / Policy
Documents /
Professional Standards
Complaints
and Ethical
Standards
Policy
Intranet – Support
Services / Corporate
Services / Policy
Documents /
Professional Standards
Managers
Guide to
Workplace
Resolution
Line Managers
“How to
Guide” ”
Intranet – Support
Services / Business
Services / Human
Resources (HR)
(Dealing with
False or Malicious;
Frivolous or trivial;
Repeat or ongoing complaints;
Dealing with
Grievances
Informally;
Mediation; Appeal
against Grievance
decisions)
Need to Know
on Dealing
with
Grievances
Informally
Workplace
Resolution
Guide –
Bullying and
Harassment
Not applicable.
Everybody in the organisation
should be aware of our strategy and
vision and how we can contribute
as
individuals.
Of
particular
importance are the ground rules
which set out how we should treat
others.
This policy sets outs the standards
in terms of behaviour and the
procedure to apply in cases of
unacceptable
behaviour
or
misconduct.
Responsible for day to day
guidance to staff and support in
relation to informal and formal
grievances.
Provides guidance to officers and
staff in relation to standards of
conduct including vetting, business
interests, substance misuse and
corruption prevention.
Provides
guidance
to
Line
managers in dealing with workplace
resolution
Intranet – Support
Services / Business
Services / Human
Resources (HR)
Provides
managers
Intranet – Support
Services / Business
Services / Human
Resources (HR
Provides guidance on dealing with
matters informally,
Intranet – Support
Services / Business
Services / Human
Resources (HR)
Provides guidance to officers and
staff in relation to standards of
behaviour.
guidance
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APPENDIX 1
Informal Stage
Matter raised by individual, line manager
seeks to resolve informally.
Not resolved
Resolved
No further
action
Grievance Meeting
(14 days to complete)
Individual registers formal grievance,
completes grievance form, and gives to line
manager with a copy to the SSF.
Stage Manager meets with parties to discuss
issues
SSF HR Admin confirm outcome in writing
within 5 days.
Aggrieved to confirm acceptance/rejection
within 5 days.
No response, matter closed
Resolved
Not resolved
No further
action
Appeal
(21 days to complete)
Appeal meeting arranged to consider the grounds
of appeal put forward and whether or not the
conclusions reached at Grievance Meeting were
appropriate.
Process exhausted.
Parties may be accompanied at each stage by a representative of Staff
Association / Federation / UNISON or another member of the Force
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