What can you do if you are having issues at work?

Usually, the best way to resolve an issue at work is to raise it informally with your manager. You might feel you’re being treated differently to other staff because you are a student, work part-time or only during the holidays. Or it might be because you are younger than most of the other staff.

But what if your line manager doesn’t listen or your issue is with them? If an informal approach hasn’t worked, or if the issue is so serious that it should be properly investigated, you could raise a formal grievance.

Why should you consider raising grievance?

A grievance is any kind of written complaint. Your employer should respond to a grievance that you raise: it should be investigated fairly, and everyone should be given a chance to have their say. If your grievance isn’t handled in the right way, or if you disagree with your employer’s decision, you should be given the opportunity to appeal.

You can’t go to an employment tribunal just because you think your employer hasn’t followed a fair process in dealing with your grievance. However, if you have some other successful claim in the tribunal and your employer had failed to deal with your grievance correctly, you could be awarded more compensation.

How Which? Legal can help

We can discuss your situation, help you understand your rights and how to go about raising a grievance. If you’ve already raised a grievance we’ll guide you on the process, and check your employer is handling it correctly. We’ll:

• talk to you about what’s happened
• guide you on writing a grievance
• advise you on your options and the time limits to bring any claim