Purpose and Scope 

1. GardenWild Ltd ("the Employer") is committed to dealing with employee grievances fairly, consistently and without  unreasonable delay. This policy sets out the way in which an employee should make any complaints they have about  work related matters and the way in which the Employer will deal with these complaints. This is a non-contractual  policy and procedure and can be changed by the Employer at any time. If an employee has any queries about this policy  and procedure, they should contact Head of HR. 

Primary Principles 

2. Grievances will be dealt with confidentially so far as reasonably possible and employees must keep information learnt  during this process confidential. 

3. The purpose of a grievance or appeal meeting is for the employee to explain their grievance and how they think that it  should be resolved using evidence available to make representations, allowing the employer to come to a decision. 

4. Employees will not be subjected to a detriment for raising a grievance in good faith, even if the grievance is not  upheld. However, the employee should not use this policy to dispute a disciplinary or dismissal decision. The correct  policy for this can be obtained from Head of HR. Also, if an employee deliberately gives false information, is dishonest  or makes a false complaint during the grievance process, this may lead to disciplinary action by the Employer. 

5. Employees will not normally be suspended during the grievance process, but the Employer reserves the right to  suspend if in the Employer's discretion, this is helpful and reasonable. Employees will continue to receive their normal  pay and benefits. except for; 

a.  

The employee will not be able to access or use the following benefits: work laptop 

work mobile phone 

company car 

6. The employee has the right to appeal any decision made about a grievance as set out in the appeals section of this  policy and procedure. 

7. The Employer processes personal data collected during informal discussions and the formal grievance procedure in  accordance with its data protection policy. In particular, data collected as part of informal discussions and the grievance  procedure is held securely and accessed by, and disclosed to, individuals only for the purposes of responding to the  grievance or conducting the grievance procedure. Inappropriate access or disclosure of Employee data constitutes a  data breach and should be reported in accordance with the Employer's data protection policy immediately. It may also  constitute a disciplinary offence, which will be dealt with under the Employer's disciplinary procedure. 

Informal Discussion 

8. The Employer promotes communication between employees and so wherever possible, the employee should try to  resolve any grievance at work by firstly talking about it informally with their manager to try and agree a solution. If the  grievance is too serious, if the employee or Employer think it is not appropriate in the circumstances to deal with the  grievance informally, or if discussing the grievance informally does not work, the employee's grievance will be dealt  with formally. 

9. If the Employer thinks that an investigatory interview would be helpful at any stage during the grievance process  before a formal meeting is held or continued, the Employer may take statements from the employee or witnesses or  review documents at the Employer's discretion. No decision will be taken until after a grievance hearing has been held.  An employee does not normally have the right to bring a companion to an investigative interview. However, the  Employer may allow the employee to bring a companion in its absolute discretion. 

Formal procedure 

10. Stage 1 - Statement of grievance 

a. To raise the matter formally the employee should write to their immediate supervisor setting out the facts of the  grievance, avoiding insulting or abusive language and trying to give specific examples of the complaint, copies of  documents, names of witnesses, and dates where possible. 

b. Where an employee's grievance is against their immediate supervisor, the employee should write to Head of HR or  a manager who is not the subject of the grievance. 

11. Stage 2 - Grievance meeting 

a. Within five (5) working days, the employee's manager will respond, in writing, to the employee's written  grievance, inviting the employee to attend a meeting where the alleged grievance can be discussed. 

b. The employee's manager will usually hold the meeting (unless they are the subject of the grievance or it is not  reasonably practicable for the employee's manager to hold the meeting). 

c. Five (5) working days notice of the meeting will usually be provided to the employee and they will be informed of  their right to be accompanied by a companion. 

d. The employee's choice of companion will be agreed to if the companion is either a colleague, a trade union official  or a trade union representative (which if not an employed official, must be certified by their union as competent to  accompany a worker) and under the circumstances the employee has made a reasonable request to be  accompanied. The employee should advise the employer of the identity of the companion (or any change in their  choice of companion) and whether they will require any special adjustments to be made for their or their  companion's attendance, at least 24 hours before the start of the meeting. 

e. The employer encourages employees to bring their choice of colleague, trade union representative or trade union  official to formal meetings under this procedure, but the employee should bear in mind how practical it is for their  choice of companion to attend and consider if there is a suitable and available individual who is geographically  close to where the meeting is to be held, rather than first considering an individual geographically based further  away. 

f. The role of the companion in a formal meeting is to make notes, confer with the employee and if the employee  requests it, to address the hearing to state the employee's case and respond to any views expressed at the meeting.  The companion does not have the right to answer questions or address the hearing if the employee does not  request this and must not prevent the employer from explaining its case. 

g. If an employee or their companion is unable to attend the meeting at the time, date and place specified by the  employer, they must notify the chair of the meeting as soon as possible in writing. Except in the case of an  emergency, this should be at least 24 hours before the start of the meeting and the employee should advise of a  time when they and their choice of companion will be available within five working days of the original proposed  meeting and provided this is reasonable, the new meeting time will be agreed. 

h. Employees must make every effort to attend any scheduled meeting under this procedure. If you are unable to  attend more than two scheduled meetings, the Employer reserves the right to make a decision about your  grievance using available evidence but in your absence. 

i. If the Employer or employee will be referring to any documentation during the formal meeting, this should be sent  to the other party at least 24 hours before the start of the meeting, so that they have a reasonable chance to prepare. 

j. The Employer may in its absolute discretion adjourn a meeting to carry out further investigations, after which the  meeting will usually reconvene. 

k.  After the meeting the manager will give the employee a decision in writing, normally within 24 hours. 

12. Stage 3 - Appeal 

a. If the employee is unhappy with their employer's decision and they wish to appeal, they should write to a more  senior manager than their immediate supervisor within five (5) working days of the date of the decision, saying  that they disagree with the decision and giving their reason(s) why and providing any new evidence they seek to  rely on. 

b. The employee will be invited to an appeal meeting, normally within ten (10) working days of the employer  receiving the employee's letter of appeal. The employee's appeal will be heard by an impartial manager or if  necessary an independent HR advisor who has not been part of the process up until the appeal stage. The employee's appeal will either be a review of the grievance decision made or a complete rehearing, at the employee's appeal will either be a review of the grievance decision made or a complete rehearing, at the  Employer's discretion. The right to be accompanied to the appeal meeting is the same as set out in (e)-(g) in Stage  2 above. 

c.  After the meeting the employee will be given a decision, normally within 24 hours. The employer's decision is  final and there is no further right to appeal.