How to use it. Copy the template below, replace everything in [square brackets] with your company's details, have a director approve it, and give it to every employee in writing. Keep the numbers in brackets (days, retention period) only if you can actually meet them: the Act holds you to what you write.
The template
[COMPANY NAME] GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE Version [1.0] · Effective [DATE] · Owner: [ROLE, e.g. HR Manager] 1. PURPOSE [Company Name] is committed to a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. This procedure explains how any employee can raise a grievance and how we will handle it. It is our grievance process under section 27 of the Workplace Fairness Act 2025. 2. WHAT YOU CAN RAISE You can raise a grievance, allegation or complaint about: - discrimination by the company, for example in hiring, pay, promotion, training, appraisal or dismissal, because of age, nationality, sex, marital status, pregnancy, caregiving responsibilities, race, religion, language, disability or a mental health condition; or - harassment, by anyone in the company. You may also use this procedure for other workplace concerns. 3. HOW TO RAISE A GRIEVANCE Raise it with any of the following: - [NAME / ROLE], at [EMAIL] or [PHONE] - [BACKUP NAME / ROLE], at [EMAIL], if your grievance concerns the person above - [ONLINE FORM OR LINK, if any] You can raise it in writing or in person, in English or [OTHER LANGUAGES]. You do not need to go through your own manager. Please give as much detail as you can: what happened, when, who was involved and anyone who saw it. 4. WHAT WE WILL DO 4.1 Acknowledge: We will acknowledge your grievance within [3] working days and tell you who is handling it. 4.2 Inquire: An investigator will look into it. The investigator will never be a person named in your grievance or your own manager. They will speak to you, to the people involved and to any witnesses, and review relevant documents. We aim to finish within [20] working days and will tell you if it will take longer. 4.3 Review and decide: [DECISION-MAKER ROLE, e.g. a Director] will review the findings and decide the outcome. This person will not be anyone named in your grievance. 4.4 Tell you the outcome: We will inform you of the outcome [in writing / by email], within [5] working days of the decision. 4.5 If you disagree: You may ask [APPEAL ROLE] to review the outcome within [10] working days of receiving it. 5. CONFIDENTIALITY We will not disclose your identity, or information about the inquiry or review, to anyone unless it is reasonably necessary, for example to the people investigating, to people who must be asked about what happened, or where the law requires it. 6. NO RETALIATION You will not be dismissed, have your pay cut, be harassed or be treated unfairly in any other way for raising a grievance in good faith, or for helping with one. Retaliation is a disciplinary matter. 7. RECORDS For every grievance we keep a written record of what was raised, each step of the inquiry and review with dates, the decision and when you were told. We keep these records for [PERIOD, e.g. 2 years after the case is closed]. Only [ROLES] can access them. 8. HOW YOU ARE TOLD ABOUT THIS PROCEDURE This procedure is given to every employee in writing when they join and whenever it changes. It is also available at [WHERE, e.g. the staff handbook / intranet link]. 9. OUTSIDE HELP If your grievance is not resolved, you may seek advice from the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) or request mediation as provided under the Workplace Fairness Act. Approved by: [NAME, ROLE] · Date: [DATE]
How the template maps to the Act
| Template section | Workplace Fairness Act |
|---|---|
| 2. What you can raise | Section 25 (meaning of grievance) and the protected characteristics |
| 4.2 Inquire | Section 27(1)(a): inquire into each grievance in a stated manner |
| 4.3 Review and decide | Section 27(1)(b): review each grievance in a stated manner |
| 4.4 Tell you the outcome | Section 27(1)(c): inform the employee of the outcome in a stated manner |
| 5. Confidentiality | Section 27(1)(e): no disclosure unless reasonably necessary |
| 6. No retaliation | Section 28: prohibition against retaliation |
| 7. Records | Section 27(1)(d): written records for a stated period |
| 8. How you are told | Section 27(2): inform all employees in writing |
Sections 4.1 (acknowledge) and 4.5 (appeal) go beyond what the Act requires. They are good practice and make the process easier to trust, but you can remove them.
Before you publish it
- Choose deadlines you can meet with the people you have. Missing your own stated deadlines looks worse than setting longer ones.
- Make sure the backup contact really is independent of the first one.
- Translate it for staff who read another language better, and keep the English version as the reference.
- This template is not legal advice. Have it checked if your situation is unusual, and compare it with the sample policies and checklist in TAFEP's Grievance Handling Toolkit.
Want the procedure to run itself? Jurisly gives staff a private app to raise grievances in 11 languages and gives HR a case workspace that follows these steps and keeps the records.