Childcare Counsel - abuse of the grievance process

Employees cannot insist on keeping unresolved grievances indefinitely. A recent employment tribunal decision indicates that, where a grievance has not been resolved informally, it may be open to the employer to insist that the employee either withdraw it, or co-operate in pursuing it formally.

The case began when the tribunal claimant, Mr Hope, raised a grievance against a colleague, saying he was ‘unprofessional and dismissive’. The grievance was not upheld and the appeal outcome letter expressed disappointment that the claimant had not taken up the offer of a meeting with his colleague.

He complained numerous times over the course of several months and asked to discuss the matter with his manager. Informal discussions took place but did not resolve the issue. When asked if he wanted to pursue the matter formally, the claimant replied that he did not wish to do so but wanted to retain the ability to do so.

The claimant was then given a deadline to proceed to the formal grievance stage or withdraw. He then submitted a further grievance relating to this ‘arbitrary deadline’. He was invited to a formal grievance meeting, which took place in his absence as he refused to attend.

The chair concluded that the claimant’s behaviour in insisting on keeping the grievance informal, and in refusing to attend the meeting, was frivolous and vexatious, and that his repeated instigation of grievances without following them through was an abuse of process. His grievances were dismissed. Mr Hope was then put into a disciplinary process and was dismissed for gross misconduct.

An employment tribunal decided that the dismissal was not unfair, for the reasons cited above.

It is worth noting that while repeated abuse of the grievance process may, depending on the circumstances, be seen as misconduct, this is not to say that employers should necessarily adopt such an approach in all cases.