Lukholo Molefe

Lukholo Molefe Employment Law February 2025 March 2025

Labour Lawyers attorney in Johannesburg Labour Law specialists #employment law 

**How to Raise a Grievance at Work (and Get What You Want)**

The grievance letter is a crucial element of the grievance procedure. To ensure your concerns are taken seriously, it must be composed with care, using neutral language and clearly articulating your complaints. Focus on being as concise as possible, avoiding lengthy narratives that could dilute your message. A well-structured letter will immediately draw attention to the key issues and provide compelling evidence to support your claims. By doing this, you enhance your chances of achieving a satisfactory resolution.

The grievance letter is the most important part of the entire grievance procedure. It must be written carefully, in neutral language and set out, as far as possible, the complaints that you are making. It should also be as concise as you can make it. Don’t submit a 30-page letter setting out everything that’s happened to you in the last two years; focus instead on the complaints that you are making.

TOP 3 TIPS
• Remember to specify who, when, how and what
• Don’t mention compensation
• Don’t mention tribunals

Locate your employer’s grievance procedure.

Include the words "Formal Grievance" in the letter heading.

Once you know to whom the letter will be written, you should head it like any other formal letter you would send, except you should include the words “Formal Grievance” as the heading.

Introductory paragraph(s)

In your introduction, you should be conciliatory. Explain that you regret raising a formal grievance but felt like you had no other option. Set out your attempts to resolve the issues you will refer to informally and explain that this letter is a last resort. This will put you in a good light with your employer.
Employers hate it when employees raise grievances for no reason as it causes disruption and takes up management time. 

Summarise what you are complaining about.

You should next set out the events that you are complaining about. Try and do this using as few words as possible, but also enough words to convey the facts of the situation. Use bullet points or numbers for each incident to enable your employer to investigate and respond in kind.

Try not to be overly dramatic and never make allegations that you know or suspect to be untrue, as that can leave you vulnerable to disciplinary action. If possible, refer to evidence (see chapter 5 on Building a Case for how to do this) and also give your employer the information they need to investigate incidents: this could be times, dates, details of emails, etc.

Set out precisely the behaviour of your employer that you wish to complain about, in chronological order, giving as many facts as possible.

In employment law, the key facts would be:
• Who – Who was present?
• When – State the time and date.
• How – Was this in a meeting, an email or a phone call?
• What – What was said or done? Describe the event.

Only suggest a resolution if you want to remain in employment rather than negotiate a settlement.

How to write a grievance letter to your employer is an important skill. It is not only crucial for getting things off your chest but also for giving you the maximum chance of entering into a settlement agreement and receiving sufficient payment to tide you over until you find a new job. Writing a good grievance letter can also form the basis for drafting your ET1 form (used to lodge an employment tribunal claim).

Attending a grievance meeting

After you have sent your grievance letter, you will be invited to a meeting and given the chance to bring a colleague or a union representative. This is supposed to happen a reasonable length of time after the grievance letter is submitted. If your employer is delaying, send them an email or letter reminding them of their duty under the ACAS code.

This meeting will probably be attended by a manager and an HR person who will take notes. You should make sure that you take your own notes in as much detail as possible, or preferably, your colleague should take notes. As soon as possible after the meeting, type your notes up, adding any detail you remember. Then, send a copy of your notes to your employer’s HR person, inviting them to comment.
Anything not written down will inevitably become lost in the sands of time. By the time you reach a tribunal hearing, both sides will have completely different recollections of what was said at any given meeting. This advice applies to any meeting.

Outcome letter

Your employer will send you an outcome letter (99% of the time, this will dismiss your grievance). Again, this should be within a reasonable time after the meeting. This letter should outline your right to appeal. It is supposed to set out why your grievance was not upheld. This has the advantage of committing your employer to state their reasons for dismissing your grievance at this stage, so later on they can’t change their story too much.

Grievance appeal letter

You can typically appeal to higher management or a different boss (so long as your company is big enough). This grievance appeal letter is similar to the initial grievance letter, but it is your chance to comment on the Outcome letter.
You should focus on why you believe the decision to reject your grievance, or part thereof, was incorrect and focus on the evidence supporting your points. Your appeal should refer to the outcome letter and focus on the decision rather than attempting to hear the case again. However, if your employer failed to respond to any part of your grievance in the outcome letter, you should raise this in your appeal letter.

Grievance appeal meeting

A meeting will then be held to discuss the points of your appeal and identify if any further investigation is warranted.

Grievance appeal outcome

Your employer will write to you, giving you a final outcome to your appeal. This is the final decision, and there is no right of appeal further. If you believe the decision is unfair or unjustified, you can either commence without-prejudice discussions or you can look into making a claim at an employment tribunal if you have grounds for a claim.

In conclusion:

• Always put your grievance in writing
• Attend a meeting
• Be prepared to appeal – the employer will dismiss 99% of grievances
What examples of specific grievances can be included in the letter?

Further questions: 

How should I follow up if I don't receive a response to my grievance letter?
What is the typical timeline for the grievance process once the letter is submitted?