Sample grievance letter

You might find it helpful to look at more information on grievance letters.

Remember:

• A grievance is a concern, problem or complaint that employees raise with employers in writing;
• Try to provide as many relevant facts and details relating to your complaint as possible;
• The information provided should be accurate;
• This is a written record and could also be included as evidence if you bring a subsequent tribunal claim;
• If you have different complaints you may want to deal with each in separate paragraphs;
• It may help if you provide details of any relevant members of staff who can support the facts in your grievance, if they are comfortable to help.
• You do not need to specifically state that it is a formal grievance.

The following is a sample grievance letter based on the case described in Precedent 1.

Dear (Mr Venables boss or H.R.)

I am writing to you because I am concerned about Mr Venables’ reaction towards my pregnancy. When I told him I was pregnant on 1st October, he said, “You make me think about things”. I did not know what he meant. Then on 4th October, he telephoned me and said that business was down and my performance was unsatisfactory. He said he had warned me about this before, which is not true. He had never told me before that there was any problem with my performance and had not had negative feedback in respect of my work. Then he said, “You don’t know how your pregnancy will go and how you will cope with the workload. You won’t be able to get up early and after eight months, you’ll sleep more”. This really shocked and upset me and I burst into tears. Since then, I have been excluded from the monthly management meetings, which I was always asked to attend before.

I am not aware that there was anything wrong with my performance. There has been no mention of poor performance in my appraisals, 1:1s and other reviews.  Business is down everywhere because of the national economic outlook. Mr Venables did not blame me for it until I told him I was pregnant. I have every intention of continuing to work hard for the hotel and I am fully committed to my job. Mr Venables obviously feels that my pregnancy is going to harm my work. I feel very demoralised and worried about my future and this is causing me stress and anxiety during my pregnancy.

I  would be grateful if we could discuss this to find a positive way forward and hopefully this can be resolved.

Yours sincerely

Roanne Walker

[Note to reader: This is a grievance letter which the claimant could have written before she was dismissed. In fact, she did not raise any grievance.]

This advice applies in England, Wales and Scotland. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. Please call our helpline for more details. If you are in Northern Ireland you can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.

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