Is an Employee Complaint the Same as a Grievance?

An employee tells you they want to make a complaint about a colleague, but they are very clear that they don't want to raise a grievance.

This can leave managers wondering what they are supposed to do next. Is a complaint different from a grievance? Is there another process they should be following? Can the employee ask for their complaint to be formally recorded without actually wanting anything done about it?

In most workplaces, there isn't a separate formal HR process sitting between a complaint and a grievance. Employees can certainly raise concerns informally, but where they want a complaint to be dealt with formally, the grievance procedure will usually be the appropriate route.

The important thing is not necessarily what the employee calls it. It is understanding what they are raising and what they are asking the employer to do about it.

What Is the Difference Between a Complaint and a Grievance?

Employees use the word “complaint” in lots of different ways. They might mention that they are unhappy about something during a one-to-one, ask their manager to have a quiet word with a colleague or send an email saying they want to make a formal complaint.

A grievance is a workplace concern, problem or complaint that an employee raises with their employer. The key difference in practice is usually how the employee wants the concern to be dealt with, rather than whether they have used the word “complaint” or “grievance”.

If an employee raises an issue and wants it sorted out informally, it may be possible to deal with it through a conversation or another proportionate step.

If they want the employer to formally investigate what happened, consider evidence, meet with them and provide an outcome, they are essentially asking for a formal process. In most organisations, that process is the grievance procedure.

What If an Employee Says They Want to Complain but Don't Want to Raise a Grievance?

This is where it is useful to ask the employee what they actually mean. An employee might say: “I want to make a complaint about my manager, but I don't want to raise a grievance.”

Rather than getting into a debate about terminology, ask what they would like to happen. Do they want advice about how to deal with the situation themselves? Would they like an informal conversation to take place? Do they simply want their manager to know that something has upset them? Or do they actually want the allegations investigated and an outcome reached? Their answer will usually make the position much clearer.

If they want the matter formally investigated and want a formal response from the business, explain that this is what the grievance procedure is there for. Calling it a “complaint” instead does not create a separate formal process.

On the other hand, if they genuinely want the matter dealt with informally, that may be perfectly reasonable depending on what has happened.

Can an Employee Raise a Grievance Informally?

Employees can raise workplace concerns informally, and many issues are better resolved that way where possible. For example, an employee might be unhappy about something a colleague has said and ask their manager to help resolve it without starting a formal process. A conversation may be enough to understand what happened and address the problem.

The language can become confusing because people sometimes refer to this as an “informal grievance”. In practice, it is often clearer simply to describe it as raising a concern informally.

If the informal approach does not resolve the problem, or the employee wants the matter dealt with formally from the outset, they can then raise a formal grievance.

When Does an Informal Complaint Become a Formal Grievance?

There isn't necessarily a particular phrase that suddenly turns a complaint into a grievance. Look at what the employee is asking the employer to do.

If they are asking for a formal investigation, submitting detailed allegations, providing evidence and asking the business to reach an outcome, it may be difficult to treat the matter as nothing more than an informal concern.

Likewise, an email does not have to contain the sentence “I am raising a formal grievance” before the employer considers whether the grievance procedure is the appropriate way to deal with it.

If it is unclear, speak to the employee. Confirm your understanding of what they have raised and explain which process you believe is appropriate. This avoids both sides having completely different expectations about what is going to happen next.

Does a Grievance Have to Be in Writing?

Under the ACAS Code of Practice, where an employee has been unable to resolve a grievance informally, they should raise the matter formally and in writing with an appropriate manager.

The employee should set out the nature of their grievance so that the employer understands what the problem is. That does not mean an employer should ignore a serious concern simply because an employee mentioned it verbally rather than submitting a formal grievance letter.

If an employee tells their manager about a significant workplace problem, the manager should listen to what has been raised and decide what needs to happen. If the employee wants to pursue it formally, they can be asked to put the grievance in writing so that the issues to be considered are clear.

Can an Employer Treat a Complaint as a Grievance Even If the Employee Doesn't Call It One?

Potentially, yes, particularly where the substance of what the employee has submitted is clearly asking the employer to take formal action.

Imagine an employee sends a detailed complaint containing several allegations about their manager. They attach supporting emails, name witnesses, ask for the allegations to be investigated and want the employer to provide a formal outcome. They then say they do not want it treated as a grievance.

The employer needs to clarify what the employee is actually expecting. It may be appropriate to explain that the grievance procedure is the process the organisation uses to deal formally with employee complaints of this nature.

What you should avoid is inventing a completely separate formal “complaint process” simply because the employee does not like the word grievance.

Check your own policies too. Some organisations may have separate procedures for particular concerns, such as bullying and harassment, whistleblowing or safeguarding.

Can an Employee Ask for a Complaint to Just Be Put on Someone's File?

Employees will sometimes say that they do not want to raise a grievance or have anything formally investigated, but they would like their complaint to be “put on file” in case somebody else raises something similar in the future. Employers should be careful about agreeing to this.

A manager's personnel file should not become a collection of untested allegations that have been made about them without their knowledge. If somebody makes a complaint but does not want the person concerned to know about it, respond to it or have the matter investigated, the employer may have no basis for deciding whether what has been alleged actually happened.

That does not mean the conversation should simply be forgotten. There may be a legitimate reason to keep an appropriate HR or management record that a concern was raised and what was agreed at the time. But that is different from placing a complaint on somebody else's personnel file as though it were an established concern about their conduct.

There is also a wider cultural issue if employees regularly raise concerns but do not want anything to happen as a result. If people do not feel comfortable using the organisation's grievance procedure, managers should understand why. Employees may not trust the process, may be worried about damaging relationships or may be concerned about what will happen if they raise something formally.

At the same time, employees need to understand that raising a concern can sometimes mean the employer has to act. A manager cannot always agree to “keep this between us” before they know what they are going to be told.

The answer is not to create an unofficial halfway process where complaints are quietly collected and stored for possible use later. Employers should be clear about how concerns can be raised, what will happen when they are and when something is serious enough that the business needs to take action.

What If the Employee Doesn't Want Their Complaint Investigated?

An employee can raise a concern without necessarily wanting a formal investigation. For relatively minor issues, it may be possible to agree an informal way forward or simply provide advice about how the employee can deal with the situation themselves. However, an employee cannot always control what happens to information once they have shared it with their employer.

If they raise serious allegations about harassment, discrimination, safeguarding, health and safety or behaviour affecting other employees, the organisation may need to take further action even if the employee would prefer it not to.

Managers should therefore be careful about promising confidentiality or agreeing in advance that something will simply be “noted”. It is better to explain that you will listen to the concern, take their wishes into account and then decide what action, if any, the organisation needs to take.

Does Every Employee Complaint Need Investigating?

No. Not every workplace complaint requires a formal investigation. If two employees have had a minor disagreement, for example, a manager may be able to resolve it through conversations with those involved. Starting a formal investigation every time somebody says they are unhappy can make relatively straightforward issues much harder to resolve.

The response should be proportionate to the concern. Consider what is being alleged, how serious it is, whether the facts are disputed, whether other people may be affected and what information you need before you can decide what to do. Sometimes that will mean a formal investigation. Sometimes a few sensible management conversations will be enough.

What If the Employee Changes Their Mind?

An employee might initially want to deal with something informally and later decide that they want to raise a formal grievance. That can happen, particularly if the informal approach has not resolved the problem.

Equally, somebody who initially raises a formal complaint may later say they no longer want to pursue it. What the employer does next will depend on what has already been raised.

If the concern relates only to the employee's own relatively minor complaint, it may be possible to stop the process. If serious allegations have been raised that the business needs to understand or address, the employer may still need to consider them. The fact that an employee changes their mind does not erase information the employer has already received.

Don't Get Stuck on What the Employee Calls It

Managers do not need to become overly focused on whether an employee has used the word “complaint”, “concern” or “grievance”.

Instead, establish what has happened, what the employee wants to happen and whether the business itself needs to take any action. From there, you can decide whether an informal approach is appropriate or whether the matter needs to move through a formal procedure.

If an employee wants allegations formally investigated and wants a formal outcome, explaining that the grievance procedure is the appropriate route is perfectly reasonable. Equally, not every concern needs to become a formal grievance simply because an employee has complained about something.

What businesses should avoid is allowing an unofficial culture to develop where allegations are quietly “put on file” but never addressed. That is unlikely to be fair to the person making the complaint, the person being complained about or the business trying to deal with those concerns later.

The process should fit the issue rather than being dictated solely by the label somebody has chosen to give it.

Need HR Support?

If an employee has raised a complaint and you're unsure whether it should be handled informally or through a formal grievance process, BloomHR can help.

We provide practical HR advice to help small businesses understand what has been raised and decide the most appropriate way to deal with it. Contact us for more information.