What counts as a grievance
Under section 25, a grievance is a grievance, allegation or complaint that an employee raises with the employer about discrimination by the employer, or about harassment. It doesn't need a special form or the word "grievance". An email to HR saying "I think I was passed over because I'm pregnant" is one. Train managers to recognise this and pass it on, rather than handling it informally and leaving no record.
The seven decisions to write down
Each row shows what the Act requires and a practical way to meet it in a small company.
| Decision | What the Act says | A practical way to do it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Who receives grievances | Practical requirement: staff must know where to go (s27(2)). | Name a role, not just a person, and a backup for when the grievance is about that role. Give at least two channels, such as email and a form or link, so nobody has to go through their own manager. |
| 2. How a grievance is inquired into | Required: inquire 'in a stated manner' (s27(1)(a)). | Say who investigates, that they must not be involved in the matter, and the usual steps: acknowledge, talk to the employee, talk to the people named, gather documents, note what was found. |
| 3. How it is reviewed and decided | Required: review 'in a stated manner' (s27(1)(b)). | Say who makes the decision on the findings, and that it is someone other than the person complained about. For a small company this is often a director. |
| 4. How the outcome is given | Required: inform the employee of the outcome 'in a stated manner' (s27(1)(c)). | The Act does not require writing, but a short written outcome is the simplest proof. Say what was found and what will happen, without disclosing other people's private details. |
| 5. What records are kept, and for how long | Required: a written record of every inquiry and review 'for a stated period' (s27(1)(d)). | Record what was raised, by whom, each step taken with dates, the decision and when the outcome was given. Pick a retention period and write it down. |
| 6. Who may see a grievance | Required: no disclosure of identity or case information unless reasonably necessary (s27(1)(e)). | Limit each case to the people handling it. Keep files out of shared drives that the wider company can open, and log who has looked at them. |
| 7. How staff are told about the process | Required: inform all employees in writing (s27(2)). | Put it in the handbook, send it by email, and give it to new joiners. If many staff read better in another language, give them a translated copy too. |
A simple case workflow
The Act doesn't set deadlines, so these are suggestions. What matters is that you set your own, write them down and meet them.
- Receive and acknowledge the grievance, ideally within three working days, and tell the employee what happens next.
- Assign an investigator who is not named in the grievance and is not the employee's own manager.
- Inquire. Hear the employee, then the people involved. Collect documents, messages or photos. Note each step with its date.
- Review and decide on the findings. The decision-maker records what was decided and why.
- Give the outcome to the employee in the manner your process states, and note when it was given.
- Close and keep the record for the period your process states, with access limited to those who handled it.
Mistakes to avoid
- Letting the manager handle it. If the grievance is about the manager, or the manager is close to it, the inquiry isn't credible.
- Keeping no record of informal fixes. A quiet chat that solved the problem still needs a written note of what was raised and done.
- Telling the team who complained. Disclosing identity without a reasonable need breaches section 27(1)(e) and invites retaliation.
- Warning the employee soon after. Section 28 prohibits retaliation. Any later action against the same person needs a clear, recorded reason unrelated to the grievance.
- Writing it only in English when many staff read another language better. They must actually be able to use it.
Start from a template
The free grievance procedure template covers all seven decisions with blanks to fill in. TAFEP's official Grievance Handling Toolkit adds a handbook, a checklist and sample forms; check your procedure against its checklist before you publish it.
Running it day to day
A procedure on paper is the easy part. The harder part is running every case the same way, keeping records nobody can rewrite, and keeping them away from people who shouldn't see them. That is what Jurisly does: staff raise grievances privately from their phone in their own language, HR follows a checklist, the employee's manager is kept out automatically, and every step and view is logged. It is free for companies that join during early access until the Act takes effect. See how it works.