Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures

Understanding how disciplinary and grievance procedures relate helps navigate situations where both processes may be relevant.

Key Differences

Disciplinary Procedure

Aspect	Details
Who initiates	Employer
Purpose	Address misconduct or poor performance
Outcomes	No action, warnings, dismissal
Employee role	Responding to allegations

Grievance Procedure

Aspect	Details
Who initiates	Employee
Purpose	Raise concerns or complaints
Outcomes	Upheld, partially upheld, not upheld
Employer role	Investigating and responding

When Both Procedures Apply

Common Scenarios

Situation	What May Happen
Employee raises grievance about disciplinary process	Usually dealt with at appeal
Employee raises grievance about manager who is disciplining them	May need to address before continuing
Grievance and disciplinary about different matters	May proceed in parallel
Grievance that could be misconduct	May become disciplinary

Overlap Issues

Problems arise when:

• Grievance is raised mid-disciplinary
• Same facts underlie both processes
• Key people are involved in both
• Timing creates complications

Raising a Grievance During Disciplinary

What Employees Sometimes Do

Raise grievance to:

• Delay disciplinary proceedings
• Challenge the process
• Highlight mitigating factors
• Complain about decision-maker

Employer's Response Options

Grievance Type	Typical Response
About disciplinary process	Deal with at appeal
About decision-maker's conduct	May need separate handling
Completely unrelated	Proceed with both separately
Discrimination allegation	Take seriously, may pause

ACAS Guidance

ACAS advises:

"Where an employee raises a grievance during a disciplinary process, the disciplinary process may be temporarily suspended in order to deal with the grievance. Where the grievance and disciplinary cases are related it may be appropriate to deal with both issues concurrently."

Practical Approaches

Dealing With Related Grievance

If grievance relates to disciplinary:

1. Consider if it affects fairness of disciplinary
2. May deal with at disciplinary appeal
3. Inform employee of this approach
4. Document reasons for decision

Dealing With Unrelated Grievance

If grievance is separate:

1. Can proceed with both processes
2. Use different people where possible
3. Keep processes separate
4. Document both properly

Dealing With Decision-Maker Grievance

If grievance is about the disciplinary decision-maker:

1. Consider seriously - may affect fairness
2. May need different decision-maker
3. May need to investigate grievance first
4. Balance timing considerations

The Appeal as Grievance Mechanism

Why This Works

Disciplinary appeal can address:

• Process failures
• Incorrect findings
• Unfair treatment during process
• Proportionality of sanction

What Appeal Can Cover

Issue	Can Be Raised at Appeal?
Wrong facts found	Yes
Process not followed	Yes
Decision-maker biased	Yes
Sanction too harsh	Yes
New evidence	Yes
Mitigating factors ignored	Yes

Limitations

Appeal may not cover:

• Completely unrelated issues
• Broader workplace complaints
• Systemic concerns beyond your case

Tactical Considerations

Employee Perspective

Situation	Consider
Want to delay	Grievance may not pause process
Genuine process concern	Raise formally, may affect fairness
Discrimination involved	Grievance creates protected act
Manager conflict	May need grievance to get different person

Employer Perspective

Situation	Consider
Grievance seems tactical	Can note but still consider
Genuine process issue	Address before continuing
Discrimination allegation	Take very seriously
Same facts	May be able to deal together

Legal Implications

Unfair Dismissal

At tribunal, may be relevant:

• Whether grievance was considered
• If process was affected
• How employer handled both
• If appeal addressed concerns

Victimisation

If employee raises grievance and then:

• Is treated worse in disciplinary
• Receives harsher sanction
• Process is accelerated

This could be victimisation (if grievance was protected act).

Discrimination

If grievance alleges discrimination:

• Creates "protected act"
• Must not victimise for raising
• Should investigate properly
• May affect disciplinary approach

Process Tips

For Employers

1. Consider each grievance properly - don't dismiss as tactical
2. Document your approach - explain how you'll handle both
3. Use different people where possible for each process
4. Don't victimise for raising grievance
5. Keep processes fair regardless of grievance

For Employees

1. Be genuine - tactical grievances often backfire
2. Be specific - explain what your complaint is
3. Understand options - appeal may cover your concerns
4. Keep records - document what happens
5. Seek advice - if unsure how to proceed

Order of Proceedings

Disciplinary First (Usual)

Normally:

• Disciplinary proceeds
• Grievance about process at appeal
• Separate grievance dealt with after

Grievance First (Sometimes)

May be appropriate if:

• Grievance about decision-maker
• Fundamental fairness concern
• Discrimination allegation
• Grievance affects disciplinary facts

Parallel (Sometimes)

Both can proceed if:

• Completely unrelated matters
• Different people involved
• No impact on each other
• Practical to run together

Common Mistakes

Employer Mistakes

Mistake	Problem
Ignoring grievance entirely	May affect fairness
Always pausing for grievance	Allows tactical delay
Using same person for both	Conflict of interest
Treating grievance as misconduct	May be victimisation

Employee Mistakes

Mistake	Problem
Raising grievance just to delay	Usually doesn't work
Not raising genuine concerns	Lose opportunity
Multiple overlapping processes	Creates confusion
Aggressive grievance tone	Doesn't help your case