Employer’s Workplace Investigation / Grievance Investigation: 

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Workplace Investigations

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If you want to know how to ‘beat disciplinary hearings UK’ then please click here.

If you are subject to an ‘unfair workplace investigation’ such as being accused of bullying or workplace wrongdoing then click here.

If you have been suspended from work click here.

If you have submitted a grievance letter / complaint letter and want to know the next steps, read on!

This webpage outlines the steps to take during the grievance process and what to watch out for.

This page last updated 7.7.26.

Amy & I have created some new webpages for 2026 for you to look at:

If you can’t face this process alone and would like to discuss your workplace problems with us, reach out to us. Sometimes, just talking through your employment issues can give you a new perspective on what to do, and furthermore, how to go about doing it. We can write your grievance letter for you. We can hold your hand throughout the entire grievance process from beginning to end. We can assist you in avoiding the common mistakes which we see employees make when writing a grievance letter to their employer. You don’t have to be alone in this process. Reach out to us on 07775943414 or email us at myrightsuk@protonmail.com

We work 7 days a week, 9-5 UK time, because we know all too well that your employment problems don’t just end on a Friday afternoon! Go on, pick up the phone and call us! 

How to win a grievance hearing as an employee:

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Have you been subjected to an unfair investigation at work? Your employer will inevitably invite you to a grievance meeting to discuss the letter of grievance, which you have submitted for bullying, harassment, discrimination in accordance with the ACAS Code.

More often than not, you will be invited to attend a grievance meeting. It could be that your employer wants to obtain occupational health advice before you attend a grievance meeting. To this end, we suggest visiting our webpage on attending occupational health and what not to say to occupational health.

Your employer may also want you to come to a sickness absence keeping in touch attendance meeting to discuss your sickness absence in advance of your attending the grievance meeting. Again, be prepared and read our webpage on attending sickness absence meetings.

The grievance procedures are like a game of snakes and ladders. What you need to do is go up the ladders and let your employer come down the snakes. Amy & I can assist you with this.

There is definitely a psychological aspect germane to the grievance procedures, and therefore, it is important for you to be in control of your letter of grievance when attending the grievance hearing or grievance meeting. Amy & I will assist you and guide you through the grievance process and give you the best possible chance of success hopefully without the need to litigate. Put shortly, it is in the best interests of all our clients not to refer to the Employment Tribunal, not least as of January 2026, there is still a large backlog of claims in the Employment Tribunal.

Thus, you get one chance to get the grievance hearing right, and Amy & I are here to assist you to do just that!

How to win a grievance hearing as an employee – Take Control:

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The first step is to take control of the grievance process. Don’t be a lap dog when attending the grievance meeting or grievance hearing . This is the mistake that most employees make insofar that the employee allows the employer to dictate the grievance hearing / grievance meeting.

As such, if you are signed off from work as unfit to work by your GP, you may want to propose asking your employer (via email) to make a reasonable adjustment to undertake the grievance procedures via written form in the alternative to attending a face-to-face grievance meeting. You need to slow the grievance procedures down. The most common mistake, which people make, is to rush through the grievance procedures.

You want to take the pressure off yourself and ameliorate the stress and anxiety which you are feeling in order to see the wood for the trees. Amy & I realise that being too emotionally involved can often lead to a letter of grievance being a rant. We are here to help you and guide you to get the best possible outcome by formulating your letter of grievance to the breaches of your statutory rights.

Amy & I work seven days a week to support our clients. We know firsthand having taken our employers to the Employment Tribunal, that your employment issues do not just end on a Friday night!

Please, help yourself to be better informed of your employment rights and reach out to Amy & I on 07775943414 Monday to Sunday or at myrightsuk@protonmail.com to book a telephone consultation.

We only charge £35 for an initial telephone consultation, and the telephone consultation lasts up to one hour. During the telephone consultation we can help you by listening to you and your needs, and then assist you not only in knowing your employment rights, but also to assist you in drafting letters on your behalf if that is what you want us to do.

When going through the grievance process, you also need to be able to objectively put forth your case, and furthermore, answer any questions, without being caught like a rabbit in the headlights of a car at the grievance meeting or grievance hearing. Most of our clients who raise a letter of grievance for bullying, harassment and discrimination are more often than not suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Thus, the last thing you want to do is to put yourself on the spot and not be able to express yourself during the course of the grievance meeting. It is all too easy to become tongue tied and emotional when discussing grievances for bullying, harassment and discrimination.

Therefore, Amy & I would always suggest that wherever possible you do not attend a grievance meeting / grievance hearing to discuss your letter of grievance. It is far better to have everything done in written form so that there is an accurate record of what was said, and furthermore, who said it. Notwithstanding, nine times out of ten, the minutes of the grievance meeting / grievance hearing will never be a true and accurate reflection of what has been stated during the grievance investigatory meeting/ grievance hearing.

It is also common practice for the HR Department to remove statements, which the aggrieved employee has made, especially where the grievances are for bullying, harassment and discrimination. The employer will want to mitigate its liability.

In my wife’s case, Amy’s employer was responsible for putting together the bundle of documents for the employment tribunal. It was whilst reading through the bundle of documents, that we discovered that huge tranches of Amy’s grievance letter had been deliberately removed. Luckily, as Amy had emailed her grievance letters (plural) to the HR Department, we were able to demonstrate to the Employment Tribunal that Amy’s employer had acted in bad faith by seeking to pervert the natural justice, and moreover, had acted in an egregious manner by changing what Amy had actually written within her letters of grievance. Thus, do not under estimate the skullduggery of the HR Department or your employer’s legal department.

Grievance Procedure Emails:

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Make sure all your correspondence with your employer is via email. This way, in the event that matters do escalate to the employment tribunal, you will have proof of the date and time you sent your emails, and furthermore, what was said (and who it was said to). A picture paints a thousand words.

Another mistake that a lot of people make when raising grievances for bullying. harassment and discrimination is to communicate with their employer via the telephone. In our opinion this is a massive mistake, not least as in the event you do end up going to the employment tribunal you will have no evidence of what was said or what was said back to you. Very often, the grievance procedures can become heated because tensions are running high.

Thus, if you are communicating with your employer via a work email address, we would suggest that you consider taking a photograph or screen shot of any emails, which are sent and received. This is particularly important because sometimes when employees raise a letter of grievance for bullying and harassment and have been signed off from work as unfit to work, the employer will very often remove your access to work emails. Think ahead!

Put shortly, the employer will do everything within its means to prevent you obtaining evidence to support your position and/or give you an opportunity to provide any evidence to support your grievances for bullying, harassment, discrimination, in the event the matters escalate to the employment tribunal.

However, you must be ‘extremely careful’ when making copies of work emails. Previously, we have had clients who have raised grievances for bullying. harassment, discrimination and have printed off emails and/or have sent work emails to their private email address at home. These employees’ have then been suspended and subjected to a disciplinary investigation for breaching the employer’s IT policy and procedures.

To this end, Amy & I would strongly recommend reading through your employer’s IT policy prior to raising a grievance for bullying and harassment so that you can be better informed of your employer’s procedures. Again, we are here to help at a reasonable cost of £50 per hour.

Another reason why an employer will very often suspend you and prohibit you from contacting workplace colleagues, is to stop you from gathering evidence and obtaining witness statements to support your letter of grievance or grievance complaint letter for bullying and harassment. Remember, the HR Department are there to protect the interests of your employer, NOT you!

Steps on how to win a grievance hearing as an employee – The Investigating Officer:

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The grievance investigation and outcome will only be as good as the appointed grievance investigating officer.

Therefore, in your letter of grievance, we would stipulate to your employer that it is incumbent upon them to appoint a ‘competent person’ to undertake the grievance investigation into your grievances for bullying, harassment, discrimination and work-related stress.

The failure to appoint a competent person to undertake the grievance investigation could potentially amount to a fundamental breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence, which could allow you to claim constructive unfair dismissal. However, it is incumbent upon you to take legal advice before doing so.

Once your employer has appointed an investigating officer, we would be inclined to ask how many grievances for bullying, harassment and/or discrimination that particular investigating officer has previously investigated, and furthermore, how many of the grievance investigations for bullying and harassment and discrimination were upheld by that particular investigating officer.

You have every right to know the competency of the appointed investigating officer who is investigating your letter of grievance. Don’t get fobbed off by the HR Department stating that the appointed investigating officer is a competent person without providing the evidence or facts to support that s/he is a ‘competent person’.

The key here is not to appear to be disruptive, but to genuinely ensure that your employer has appointed a ‘competent person’ to undertake the investigation into your letter of grievance for bullying, harassment, discrimination and work-related stress. This way, if the grievance investigation and grievance outcome letter are a complete whitewash, (which they will be), you can then argue that the appointed investigating officer was not a ‘competent person’ and that the HR Department stating that the appointed investigating officer was a competent person, was (and is) a very serious breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence.

If the HR Department have previously been involved (but have failed to act with diligence or competence), you may want to suggest inviting a neutral and independent third-party HR organisation to undertake the investigation into your letter of grievance for bullying and harassment, especially if you believe that your employer’s HR Department could prejudice the grievance investigation with bias and/or ‘materially influenced’ the grievance outcome. See Ramphal v Department for Transport UKEAT/0352/14/DA.

Steps on how to win a grievance hearing as an employee – Evidence:

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If you are signed off from work as unfit to work during the grievance investigation and have asked for your grievances to be dealt with by written form, which Amy & I would suggest, then your employer may want to ascertain your fitness to attend a grievance meeting. See our attending sickness absence meetings webpage. There is also lots of information about attending occupational health assessments and being assessed by occupational health. Please visit our webpage on what not to say to occupational health.

We would point out to you that your own doctor’s ‘duty of care’ is to you. However, the employers’ occupational health advisors / doctors’ duty of care is not to you, but rather to your employer. See Kapfunde v Abbey National and Daniel[1998] IRLR 583 (CA).

Therefore, we would suggest that if you are unfit to attend a grievance meeting or grievance hearing to discuss your letter of grievance, that you obtain a letter from your GP (even if you have to pay for it), which letter should outline the ‘substantial adverse effects’ which your work related stressors are having on your ‘day to day activities’, and furthermore, how attending a grievance meeting in person (whether by video link or by telephone) would put you at a disadvantage because of something arising in consequence of your current state of mental health.

If you have any underlying medical conditions such as asthma, anxiety, migraines, thyroid, or diabetes, you want to outline this fact in writing to your employer (via email), by reason that all the above conditions are exacerbated by stress. Therefore, your employer would not be observing a statutory ‘duty of care’ for your health, safety, and welfare at work by putting you under excessive pressure and duress to attend a grievance meeting or grievance hearing knowing it would have a substantial adverse effect upon your health. Potentially, this could give rise to a claim for disability discrimination. See Spring v Guardian Assurance plc, (1994) 2 All ER 129 the House of Lords held:

“The changes which have taken place in the employer-employee relationship, with far greater duties imposed on the employer than in the past, whether by statute or by judicial decision, to care for the physical, financial and even psychological welfare of its employees”.

Be warned of attending occupational health assessments. More often than not an employer will utilise the services of an occupational health organisation which will favour the employers’ position, rather than your position. We are not saying that occupational health are suborned to their paymaster. However, what we are saying is that it is not uncommon for an employer to work with an occupational health organisation who is ‘favourable to them’.

If your employer insists on you seeing occupational health to assess your ability to attend a grievance meeting or grievance hearing, then get in contact with us. For the avoidance of doubt, the employer should except what the employee states at face value, and should not without reasonable cause be seeking to obtain a medical report by reason that this could infringe on your right to privacy under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Steps on how to win a grievance hearing as an employee – Statutory Timeframes:

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So, the moral to the story is don’t rush through the grievance procedures. It is far better to take these matters one step at a time and do it right first-time round. That said, do not allow your employer to wilfully run you outside of your statutory time limits to bring any claims in the employment tribunal, as most claims for harassment and discrimination will be time barred after three months less one day. Therefore, it is incumbent upon you to ensure that your employer is not dragging out the grievance procedures to wilfully run you outside of the employment tribunal’s jurisdiction to bring any claims under s.123 of The Equality Act 2010. Forewarned is forearmed!

If you get the feeling that your employer is deliberately seeking to run you outside of the employment tribunals time limits, which employers often do, then you may want to consider commencing pre-claim conciliation with ACAS in accordance with s.7 of The ERRA 2013, to preserve your statutory timeframes.

Steps on how to win a grievance hearing as an employee – Grievance Investigation:

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Amy & I attend employment seminars for HR representatives and solicitors run by leading barristers to assist HR representatives and solicitors in dealing with employees’ grievances. A common trait now, is that the employer will more often than not seek to send you a list of questions in relation to the grievances, which you have raised in advance of the grievance hearing. The key here, in answering these questions, is that you do not answer the questions in a way which could be later used against you if you end up going to the employment tribunal.

You may be asked a question like – “do you agree that Johns behaviour was just merely banter?”

Another question might be “do you agree that you participated in the conversation which you are now complaining about as having been bullied and harassed?”

Don’t waffle when answering these sorts of questions. If you need assistance in putting your letter of grievance together and/or going through the grievance procedures, then please feel free to reach out to Amy & I to assist you in not making the mistakes, which we commonly see being made.

Reach out to us at: myrightsuk@protonmail.com or call during working hours 9-5 on 07775943414.

We charge £35 for an initial telephone consultation (up to one hour) and £50 an hour thereafter, or any part hour thereof. Amy & I work Monday to Sunday.

It is better to get us on board in advance of submitting your letter of grievance so that we can run you through what is going to happen during the grievance meeting or grievance hearing so you can watch out for the traps and snares, which your employer will undoubtedly lay for you to walk into. This is so that if you do end up bringing claims in the employment tribunal, that your employer will use your own words against you in what you have written or answered. For the avoidance of doubt, you can lose a tribunal case on one word. Thus, it is imperative that you get your letter of grievance right from the get-go.

Steps on how to win a grievance hearing as an employee – Grievance Outcome:

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We can almost guarantee it, that an employer will never concede any liability for harassment or discrimination. To do so would leave the employer wide open to claims in the employment tribunal. As such, your employer will go through some form of legal chicanery in order to mitigate any liability for harassment and discrimination. The most common outcome we see when reading grievance outcome letters from employers, is they say that there is “no evidence” of harassment having occurred. Of course, unless you are very fortunate to have actual hard evidence of harassment having occurred, then it will be difficult to ‘shift the burden of proof‘’.

99.99 % of the time, when investigating your grievances for either bullying or harassment, your employer will never ask you ‘your perception’ of the bullying and harassment, which you have been subjected to.

Therefore, if your employer did not undertake an ‘objective finding’ of ‘your subjective feelings’ when investigating your grievances for bullying and harassment, then part and parcel of your grounds of appeal will be to outline case law to support your position, viz: that it is little wonder that your employer did not find any “evidence” of bullying and harassment having occurred, not least by reason that your employer never bothered to ask you ‘your perception’ of the bullying and harassment, as the ‘complainant’.

For example, in the case authority of Chawla v Hewlett Packard Ltd UKEAT/0280/13/BA (paragraph 77), the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the first step when investigating a complaint for ‘harassment’ should be to take into consideration the ‘perception’ of the complainant, and furthermore, to undertake an objective finding of your subjective feelings –

“Whilst the perception of the Claimant, the first element in section 26(4), requires an ‘objective’ finding of the Claimant’s ‘subjective’ feelings about the act complained of, the elements in section 26(4)(b) and (c) require an objective assessment by the ET.”

In this regard, we draw your attention to paragraphs 75 to 77 of Chawla v Hewlett Packard Ltd UKEAT/0280/13/BA, whereas the Employment Appeal Tribunal made the following observations –

“Consideration of whether the perception of the Claimant is reasonable is now a mandatory element of the decision under EqA section 26(4) whether the unwanted conduct has the effect referred to in section 26(1)(b). Underhill J held at paragraph 15 that:

 “Overall the criterion is objective because what the tribunal is required to consider is whether, if the Claimant has experienced those feelings or perceptions, it was reasonable for her to do so – whether it was reasonable for a claimant to have felt her dignity to have been violated is quintessentially a matter for the factual assessment of the tribunal. It will be important for it to have regard to all the relevant circumstances, including the context of the conduct in question.” 

One of the elements referred to by Underhill J in the context of whether it was reasonable for the conduct complained of to have the proscribed effect was “whether the conduct was, or was not, intended to cause offence (or, more precisely, to produce the proscribed consequences): the same remark may have a very different weight if it was evidently innocently intended that if it was evidently intended to hurt …”. Underhill J considered that where they are not apparent, the grounds for an act have to be sought by considering the Respondent’s motivation (not motive).

 Whilst the perception of the Claimant, the first element in section 26(4), requires an objective finding of the Claimant’s subjective feelings about the act complained of, the elements in section 26(4)(b) and (c) require an objective assessment by the ET. Having examined the evidence, the ET found that Ms Mauga was “trying to be helpful” to the Claimant. On a fair reading of paragraph 56 and in context, the word motive is used in the sense of intention. As Underhill J held in Richmond Pharmacology, the context of the conduct and whether the conduct, in this case the emails, was intended to produce the proscribed consequences are material to the decision of the ET whether it was reasonable for the conduct complained of to have the effect relied upon.” 

Steps on how to win a grievance hearing as an employee – Appeal Process:

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If you want to appeal against the grievance outcome and would like us to write your letter of appeal to your employer for you, or would like us to beef up your letter of appeal against the grievance outcome, then feel free to email us to arrange a telephone consultation to discuss the next steps.

Our testimonial page goes back over 13 years, with hundreds of testimonials from our clients over the years, whereas Amy & I have empowered clients in writing a brilliant letter of grievance or letter of appeal. This can be done to either attempt to reach a settlement agreement with your employer to compensate you for the injury caused to your feelings, or in the alternative, to ensure that your employer takes ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent any further acts of bullying, harassment and/or discrimination from being inflicted upon your person, viz: to ensure a working environment with both dignity and respect, which working environment is free from bullying harassment and discrimination.

What not to say in a grievance meeting:

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These are the 17 steps on what not to say in a grievance meeting:

Step 1: Keep your voice calm. Don’t ramble.

Step 2: Try to separate your emotion when explaining the facts during the grievance meeting.

Step 3: Don’t be aggressive during the grievance meeting. Be polite but firm. Don’t be argumentative.

Step 4: Count to 3 in your head before answering any questions. Don’t answer any questions which you feel are trick questions to catch you out during the grievance meeting. Think carefully about your answer before replying to the question asked.

Step 5: Ask your own questions during the grievance meeting. The grievance meeting is your opportunity to ask questions too.

Step 6: Ask if the grievance meeting is being recorded. If so, ask for a copy of the recording straight after the grievance meeting. Don’t be fobbed off.

Step 7: If HR are taking notes during the grievance meeting ask for a photocopy of the minutes of the grievance meeting straight after the grievance meeting has concluded. Don’t let HR send the notes later. Ask for the minutes of the grievance meeting there and then.

Step 8: Articulate clearly to HR during the grievance meeting specifically what the grievances are, which you are raising, for example – bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation.

Step 9: Provide name/s, date/s and time/s of the incident/s of bullying, harassment, discrimination.

Step 10: Ask for certain members of staff to be interviewed as part of the grievance process, but only if you feel your workplace colleagues will be honest.

Step 11: Ask for a timeframe during the grievance meting when the grievance investigation will conclude. Personally, I would ask for updates weekly from the HR Department.

Step 12: Ask for the grievance meeting to be held in a neutral location especially if you suffer from anxiety, depression, PTSD or hypertension.

Step 13: Ask for breaks during the grievance meeting especially if you feel emotional or that the HR Department are being ‘indifferent’.

Step 14: If you have a disability or impairment, make sure that any reasonable adjustments are agreed in writing before attending the grievance meeting.

Step 15: Don’t answer leading questions. Don’t feel compelled to answer questions which you feel are duplicitous. If the grievance investigating officer appears to be bias, then object. The grievance investigating officer may attempt to ask the same question twice, but in a different way.

Step 16: Don’t agree to anything during the grievance meeting. Do NOT be pressured by the HR Department during the grievance meeting to agree to any statements they make, or for that matter, what the HR Department suggests. State to the HR Department during the grievance meeting that you want to think about what they have suggested or proposed.

Step 17: If you don’t feel comfortable attending a grievance meeting in person, ask for the grievance meeting to be delayed or undertaken via video link. If you have a disability or impairment, you can also request to be accompanied to the grievance meeting by a friend or family member as a reasonable adjustment.

For more information, we suggest you first read our 20 Hot Tips before writing your grievance letter, and furthermore, visit our webpage on what not to say in a grievance meeting.

You don’t have to go through a workplace investigation alone! We are here to help you. Amy & I can assist you in avoiding the pitfalls and common mistakes which we see employees make when being subjected to a workplace investigation. You only get one chance to get your answers right, so make sure you do just that the first time!

My wife Amy and I have over the past 15 years not only helped (but also prepared employees like you) in attending a workplace investigation meeting with their employers. Please read our testimonials page.

Amy & I can assist you in writing a grievance letter for any of the following work-related matters:

Go on, pick up the phone and call us to arrange a telephone consultation on 07775943414.

We work 7 days a week (9-5 UK time) because we know that your employment problems don’t just end on a Friday afternoon!

We only charge £35 up to one hour for the initial consultation and £50 an hour thereafter. 

Please remember, that the very reason this website exists, is because both my wife (Amy) and I went through the grievance procedures ourselves for harassment and discrimination on protected grounds of sex and disability, and furthermore, detrimental treatment for blowing the whistle. This is what drives our sense of justice. Having gone through the grievance process ourselves, and having taken our claims to the Employment Tribunal, Amy & I know all too well the stress and anxiety, which you now feel, because we have already trodden the path, which you now tread…

Disclaimer:

The author of this web site and sub-domains accepts no liability arising from the use of, or any part of, or reliance on the information contained within this web site, and its respective pages or downloads.

The content is not intended to be legal advice, and you should not rely upon it in any respect to any specific situation you may be facing. Therefore, the content of this web site will serve as a good springboard to get professional legal advice from a solicitor.

Moreover, any discussion with Sam or Amy does not amount to ‘legal advice’. Any opinions expressed verbally or in writing are ‘opinions’.

© Copyright 2011 – 2026 All rights reserved. Sam Stone 07775 943414. You may (as long as the reason is for personal use) use the pages of this website germane to any internal procedures with your employer, whether as a worker, contractor or employee.

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