Guidance on dealing with
grievances by employee
that involve complaints
against senior postholders
Guidance for Colleges
September 2008
1. Introduction
This guidance applies in situations where a grievance involves a complaint against
a “holder of a senior post” as defined in the College’s Articles of Government.
Colleges may also refer to the AoC model grievance procedure for senior
postholders when handling a grievance brought by an employee who is
him/herself a senior postholder.
If the holder of a senior post is the subject of a grievance brought by another
employee, the grievance should (unless it is raised as an informal grievance under
Stage 1 – see below) be sent in writing to the Clerk to the Corporation, who should
then ensure the matter is investigated promptly. Clearly confidentiality is
extremely important when handling any such grievance. The Clerk may seek
appropriate advice and support from the HR department. Both the Clerk and an
appropriate member of the HR department may be present at meetings to take
notes, provide relevant advice and act as a witness to the proceedings.
2. Stage 1 - Informal Grievances
Grievance procedures will normally encourage employees to raise a grievance
informally with their line manager and do so orally in the first instance. The
manager should discuss the employee’s concerns in confidence, make discreet
investigations and try to resolve the matter quickly and fairly. If the complaint is
about a senior postholder, in deciding how best to proceed, the line manager may
consider it necessary to discuss the issue with the Principal and/or the HR
department. If the Principal is the senior postholder against whom the grievance is
made, the line manager may consider it necessary to discuss the issue with the
Clerk to the Corporation and/or the HR department and the matter may be
referred to the Chair of the Corporation, or in his/her absence, the Vice-Chair.
Appropriate informal action should be taken to resolve the matter (refer to Section
5 – ‘Outcome of grievance: taking action’).
If the matter is very serious or in other circumstances where the employee does
not wish to raise the matter informally, the grievance procedure will normally
advise that the employee may proceed straight to the formal grievance procedure
by submitting the complaint in writing.
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3. Stage 2 - Formal Grievance Procedure
 The grievance should be put in writing, setting out the nature of the
grievance, and should be sent to the Clerk to the Corporation.
 An appropriate person or people should be nominated to investigate the
grievance as follows:
o
The Principal may investigate the grievance if she/he is not the
senior postholder who is the subject of the complaint or otherwise
involved in the complaint in a manner which would make it
inappropriate for him/her to handle it. The Principal may investigate
either alone or as part of a panel that includes a Corporation
Member or up to [x] Corporation Members. In such circumstances
the panel should exclude any staff and student members of the
Corporation.
o
If the Principal is the senior post holder concerned, or in any
circumstances where it may be more appropriate, a Corporation
Member should be appointed to investigate the grievance. The
Corporation Member may investigate either alone or as part of an
Investigation Panel consisting of up to [x] Corporation Members1. In
such circumstances the panel should exclude the Chair of the
Corporation2, the Principal, staff and student members of the
Corporation.
o
Alternatively, it may be considered appropriate to appoint an
external investigator depending on the circumstances. In such
cases the investigation should be overseen by an appropriate
manager or member of the HR department to ensure that relevant
college policies and procedures are followed.
 The Clerk should arrange a grievance hearing as soon as possible and write
to the employee to confirm the date, time, venue and who will be attending
the meeting and hearing the grievance.
 The employee raising the grievance has a statutory right to be accompanied
at the grievance hearing by a fellow worker, a lay trade union official or an
There are no specific requirements in the Instruments and Articles of Government to
have a specified number of Corporation Members on an investigating panel. Therefore the
Corporation may decide on the maximum number.
2 Ideally the individual(s) hearing the appeal will be more senior to the individual(s)
who heard the original grievance. Therefore, the Chair of the Corporation, or in his/her
absence the Vice-Chair, should chair the Appeal Committee and be excluded from the
grievance hearing.
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official employed by a trade union. The employee should be advised of this
right prior to the meeting.
o
A lay trade union official should have been certified in writing by
their union as having experience of, or having received training in,
acting as a worker’s companion at disciplinary or grievance hearings.
Certification may take the form of a card or letter.
o
In circumstances where a grievance hearing has been arranged
but the trade union representative or work colleague is unable to
attend the proposed hearing, the hearing may be postponed if
the employee can offer an alternative date and time which is
reasonable and falls within 5 working days after the day on which
the original hearing was proposed.
o
Fellow workers or trade union officials do not have to accept a
request to accompany an employee at a grievance hearing and
should not be pressurised to do so. A worker who has agreed to
accompany a colleague at a grievance hearing is entitled to take
reasonable paid time off during working hours to attend the
hearing.
o
The role of the companion is to support the employee and assist
them during the process e.g. if the employee has difficulty
expressing themselves or finds the matter particularly difficult to
talk about. At the hearing the companion must be permitted to
confer with the employee and to address the hearing toput the
employee’s case, sum up that case and/or respond on the
employee’s behalf to any view expressed in the hearing. However,
the companion is not entitled to answer questions on behalf of the
employee; address the hearing if the employee indicates he/she
does not wish the companion to do so; or try to prevent the college
from explaining their case.
 The purpose of the grievance hearing is to enable the employee to explain
his/her grievance and to enable the Investigating Officer/Panel to establish
the facts, establish whether there is an outcome that would satisfy the
employee and determine what (if any) action can reasonably be taken to
resolve the grievance. Therefore at the meeting the employee should be
given the opportunity to explain and submit any evidence and details of any
witnesses. The Investigating Officer/Panel should ask the employee how
they think the matter could or should be settled.
 The Investigating Officer/Panel should give the grievance careful and
thorough consideration and undertake all reasonable investigations into the
grievance. It is essential that this process is conducted in a fair and discreet
manner, taking into consideration the impact of the allegations on the
individual they are made against. The investigation may include:
o
Holding an investigation meeting with the Senior Postholder against
whom the grievance has been raised. The purpose of this meeting
is to enable the Senior Postholder to respond to the allegations
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against him/her and put forward any evidence or details of any
witnesses supporting that response. Prior to this meeting the Senior
Postholder should be given a copy of the grievance or a summary of
the allegations against him/her. The Senior Postholder may be
given the opportunity to be accompanied at this investigation
meeting by a trade union representative or work colleague. (The
statutory right of accompaniment will not apply but it is good
practice to allow the individual to be accompanied.)
o
Holding an investigation meeting with any witnesses named by
either the employee or the Senior Postholder. Notes of these
meetings should be taken and written statements from the
witnesses in their own words may also be taken.
o
Where there is conflicting evidence the Investigating Officer/Panel
may wish to meet with any of the parties again to clarify and
complete the investigation.
 The Investing Officer/Panel should assess the evidence and consider the
grievance carefully before responding. It may be appropriate to write a
report summarising the findings and the decision in relation to the
grievance. The decision should be communicated in writing to the employee
who raised the grievance without undue delay, including an explanation of
the reasons for the decision.
 The Senior Post holder should also be sent written confirmation of the
outcome of the grievance, explaining whether or not the allegations against
him/her are being upheld and the action that will follow.
 If there is any reason for delay in making a decision, both the employee and
Senior Postholder should be kept informed of progress.
4. Stage 3 - Appeal
 If the grievance is not resolved to the satisfaction of the employee, he/she
has the right to appeal against the decision. Any such appeal should be
submitted in writing, setting out the full grounds for the appeal, and sent to
the Clerk to the Corporation.
 The appeal should be heard by a panel of Corporation Members (the Appeal
Committee) which should exclude the Principal, staff and student members
and anyone involved in investigating the original grievance. Ideally the
Appeal Committee will be chaired by the Chair of the Corporation, or in
his/her absence, the Vice-Chair and he/she may be accompanied by up to
[two] Corporation Members.
 An appeal hearing should be arranged as soon as possible. The employee
has a statutory right to be accompanied at the appeal hearing by a trade
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union representative or work colleague and should be advised of this right
prior to the meeting.
 The Appeal Committee should determine the conduct of the appeal hearing
and any formalities. The appeal hearing will normally be limited to
consideration of the grounds of appeal unless the Appeal Committee
considers that a full hearing is appropriate.
 The Appeal Committee should be supplied with all of the documentation
submitted in relation to the earlier stages of the procedure.
 The purpose of the appeal hearing is to enable the employee to explain
his/her grounds for appeal and to enable the Appeal Committee to consider
those grounds and assess whether the original grievance was handled
correctly.
 The Appeal Committee may change the decision of the Investigating
Officer/Panel in relation to the grievance. The outcome of the appeal may
therefore impact on the recommendations made by the original
Investigating Officer/Panel and any action already taken as a result of those
recommendations may need to be reviewed.
 The decision of the Appeal Committee should be provided in writing as soon
as possible, giving an explanation of the reasons for the decision. Any other
parties involved in the grievance should also be appropriately informed of
the appeal decision.
 The decision of the Appeal Committee will be final.
5. Outcome of the grievance: taking action
When a grievance is upheld the Investigating Officer/Panel will recommend
appropriate action that should be taken to resolve the matter. The Corporation
will need to ensure that these recommendations are carried out (subject to the
outcome of any appeal hearing). The appropriate action will depend on the
circumstances, for example:
 It may be concluded that no formal disciplinary action is necessary but the
behaviour does need to be addressed informally. In such circumstances the
informal procedure for Senior Postholders applies:
o
Informal procedure
Minor disciplinary matters can be resolved through informal
discussion with the Senior Post holder. If the matter concerns the
Principal, this should be dealt with by the Chair of the Corporation
or, in his/her absence, the Vice-Chair of the Corporation. If the
matter concerns another Senior Postholder, this should be dealt
with by the Principal. The situation should be monitored and
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reviewed and the Senior Postholder should be advised that if,
despite informal discussion, advice or counselling the situation does
not improve, the formal disciplinary procedure may be invoked.
 It may be concluded that formal disciplinary action is necessary. In such
circumstances a disciplinary hearing should be convened in accordance with
the Disciplinary Procedure for Senior Postholders.
o
Formal Procedure
Refer to section 5 of the AoC model disciplinary procedure for senior
postholders for further guidance. Note that an investigation carried
out following an employee grievance can form the basis of the
investigation under the disciplinary procedure therefore the
Corporation can proceed to the relevant stage of the disciplinary
procedure by convening a disciplinary hearing.
Where an employee’s grievance is not upheld, this should be communicated in
writing with an explanation of the reasons. It may be appropriate to recommend
some limited action, usually steps to improve the working relationship between
the parties following the complaint. For example, a meeting between the parties
with a neutral facilitator to ‘clear the air’.
6. Keeping records
 Written records should be kept during grievance cases, including a record of
the outcome.
 Records should be maintained confidentially and in compliance with the
Data Protection Act 1998, which requires that any personal data stored
should be necessary, fairly and lawfully processed, adequate, relevant,
accurate and secure.
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