Public and Commercial Services Union

A word of caution

Once into a complaints/grievance process, individuals often find themselves isolated from their colleagues.

Sometimes people who you thought were your friends will become withdrawn as they are afraid they too will become victims by associating with you.

It may be difficult to find people who are willing to provide evidence against the offender because of fear of victimisation.

People who support you in private may be very reluctant to do so publicly.

Make your complaint in writing

Where a person is subjected to some sort of offensive/abusive discriminatory action, it is important that the individual advises both the perpetrator and the employer of behaviour that has caused offence.

At an appropriate time, and if you feel able to do so, you should verbally let the perpetrator know that their behaviour is unacceptable and has caused offence.

The complaint should then be followed up in writing using the appropriate procedure.

The individual should be informed that this will happen. If you cannot face doing this, let your rep know and he/she vvili be able to assist you.

All employers should have procedures which deal with equal opportunities complaints.

Find all the relevant staff notices, guidance, codes of practice, etc relating to the relevant procedure. Enlist the assistance of your PCS rep when gathering material. When writing letters, quote from these codes, notices, procedures.

What should a letter of complaint contain?

• the date, time, place of the incident
• a description of the actual incident
• names of anyone present when the incident took place
• the type of discrimination being complained of
• the relevant code being breached

If the complaint is about the operation of a particular policy or procedure, you should:

• identify the policy/procedure
• explain how the operation of the procedure is adversely affecting you in comparison to other classes of people
• explain the category of discrimination being complained of
• make reference to the Departmental code(s)/policy being breached

Whether the complaint has arisen because of behaviour or the implementation of policy/procedure, ask for a response within a specified (but realistic) period.

What if the offender is my line manager?

Should the offender be your line manager, you should write to another appropriate level of management, depending on the process outlined in the relevant guide.

If in doubt as to what course of action to take, advice should be sought from PCS.

Keep a diary and copies of documents

From the date of the discriminatory act, keep a diary to record conversations with management or the perpetrator of the discrimination.

Keep dated copies of letters sent to management, and record any changes in attitudes or practices.

For example it may be that since the incident OR complaint, all requests for leave have suddenly become problematic.

Keep a record of all refusals and the reason why the requests were refused.

Collect evidence of other staff being granted leave after your leave has been denied.

If leave is refused on a number of occasions, you should bring the refusals to your manager's attention in writing, and ask for an explanation. Use evidence you have gathered about other staff being granted leave after your request was denied.

Meetings with management

You are legally entitled to be accompanied to any meeting concerning your complaint/grievance. You are also entitled to notice prior to the meeting.

Management should not expect you to discuss your complaint vAhout a PC5 rep present.

Management may attempt to discuss your complaint during a meeting on another issue.

If this happens you are entitled to advise management that the meeting should be adjourned until your union rep is advised and is available to attend the meeting.

If at any time you feel under pressure, excuse yourself momentarily from the meeting and regain your composure.

Keep a written record where management put you under pressure in this way, or where you feel obliged to discuss issues without your PCS rep present.

What if deadlines are not met?

Where management have not responded to a grievance or complaint within the correct timescale, write a letter to management advising that the stipulated time limit as set out in the procedure has been exhausted, and that you intend to move on to the next stage.

Your PCS rep will help you to use the procedures to identify who to write to next. in each case, quote the relevant paragraph of the procedure that is being applied.

Every letter written should be copied to your union rep.

Should your case reach an Employment Tribunal, persistent breaches of Complaints/Grievance procedures will be adversely construed against the party committing the breach.

You could consider taking out a further grievance against a manager who fails to adequately address a legitimate complaint.

Lodging a formal complaint against a manager is beneficial because:

• The manager will eventually have to account for non-compliance with agreed procedures
• The original complaint will be formally re-registered
• The outcome (if any) should provide useful evidence for any subsequent ET hearing
• The ET will have evidence that you have tried to resolve the issue internally