This article applies to England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has separate procedures.
In brief: A grievance is a formal written complaint to your employer about a problem at work. The Acas Code sets the steps both sides should follow: a written grievance, a meeting without unreasonable delay, any necessary investigation, a written decision and an appeal. In qualifying tribunal claims, an unreasonable failure to follow the Code can change compensation by up to 25%. In published decisions from 2017 to 2025, tribunals applied that uplift in 1,782 award cases.
Last updated: 2 September 2026
By Yerty | Checked against the Acas Code of Practice (2015), the draft 2026 Code, section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, Wolfe v Taka Mayfair Ltd [2026] EAT 106 and current Acas guidance. Figures from Yerty's analysis of published tribunal decisions; method stated below.
Something has happened at work that you cannot let go: pay that is wrong, a manager who has crossed a line, a change imposed without asking. You have been told to "raise a grievance" and you are not sure what that involves, whether it will make things worse, or whether it is worth it. This guide answers those questions in the order you are likely to ask them.
Important: This guide provides general information about employment law in England, Wales and Scotland. Yerty is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. If you are thinking of resigning over the problem, or a tribunal deadline may be close, consider speaking to a solicitor or an advice service first.
Yerty data, 2017 to 2025. Of 27,027 published cases with a compensation award, 1,782 included an Acas Code uplift for the employer's failure to follow the Code, and 28 included a reduction for the employee's. Of the 1,782 uplifts where the percentage was stated, 852 (47.8%) were the maximum 25%. These are published decided cases only; settled and withdrawn claims are not in the set. Method at the end of this guide.
What Is a Grievance and Do I Have to Raise One?
A grievance is a formal complaint you put to your employer in writing about a problem at work. It can be about almost anything: pay, hours, a contract change, how you were treated in a disciplinary process, bullying, discrimination, or a request that was refused.
Employment status matters here. The current 2015 Code applies to employees; employers may choose to use the same procedure for workers, and some separate rights, such as the right to be accompanied, extend to workers anyway. The draft replacement Code is written around "workers", but it is not yet in force, and even under the draft the 25% adjustment power stays with employees.
You are not legally required to raise one before going to tribunal. But the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures expects you to, and in qualifying tribunal claims an unreasonable failure to follow the Code can reduce your compensation by up to 25% under section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. It cuts the other way too: if your employer unreasonably fails to follow the Code, the same section lets the tribunal increase your compensation by up to 25%.
If you are thinking of resigning because of how you have been treated, the position needs care. A grievance is not a legal requirement for a constructive dismissal claim: that claim turns on whether the employer fundamentally breached the contract, whether you resigned in response, and whether you delayed so long that you accepted the breach. Raising a grievance can help in three ways that are separate from liability: it may resolve the problem; it gives you a dated account of what you complained of; and it avoids a reduction of up to 25% for unreasonably failing to follow the Code. But waiting months for a grievance outcome before resigning can itself be argued as accepting the breach, so take advice before deciding whether to resign, and when.
Will Raising a Grievance Make Things Worse?
Many people worry about being seen as a troublemaker. Two protections are worth knowing.
If your grievance alleges discrimination, harassment or another contravention of the Equality Act 2010, raising it may be a "protected act" under section 27. Any detriment you suffer because you raised it is victimisation, unlawful in itself, and the protection is lost only if you made a false allegation in bad faith. A complaint that a manager shouts at everyone is not a protected act; a complaint that they shout at you because of your disability is.
Section 104 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is different and narrower. It makes a dismissal automatically unfair, with no minimum service, where the reason or principal reason was that you alleged in good faith that the employer had infringed a relevant statutory right, such as the minimum wage, holiday pay or a written statement of your terms. It covers dismissal, not lesser treatment.
Keep the date you raised the grievance and note anything that changes afterwards; both protections turn on showing the connection.
What Should I Try Before Going Formal?
The current Code says you may want to raise the matter informally first, with your manager or through HR, and the draft 2026 Code goes further: it expects a formal grievance to explain what informal steps you took, or why you took none. Informal does not mean unwritten. A short email to your manager setting out the problem and what you would like done is informal, and it creates a dated account if the problem continues.
Informal resolution is not appropriate in every case. The draft Code says serious misconduct by a manager or another worker should normally be raised formally from the outset. Other serious matters may also justify going formal immediately, depending on the circumstances.
How Do I Write It?
Your employer's grievance procedure, usually in the handbook, says who to send it to. If you do not have one, write to your line manager or HR. Head it "Formal grievance" so there is no argument later about whether the procedure was triggered.
A grievance does not need to be long. Acas's draft 2026 Code says a short, clear written explanation will often be enough to begin with, and that you should be allowed to add more information if needed. What it needs to contain:
- What happened, in date order, with names and dates. Facts, not adjectives.
- Why it is a problem: the contract term, policy or right you say was breached. Plain words are fine ("I believe this is disability discrimination"); you do not need to cite sections.
- What you have already tried informally, or why you did not.
- What you want to happen. Be specific: the deduction repaid, the decision reviewed, a change of line manager, a written apology. The draft Code says that, if possible, you should say how you want the concern resolved.
Keep a copy and note the date you sent it.
What Happens Next?
The Code sets the steps. Your employer should:
- Arrange a meeting without unreasonable delay, at which you can explain the grievance. See below on bringing someone with you.
- Consider any investigation that is necessary. Not every grievance needs one; a pay query may be settled from payroll, a harassment complaint may need witnesses. You may want to ask what is being investigated and by whom.
- Decide and tell you in writing, with reasons, and tell you that you can appeal.
- Hear an appeal, ideally by a more senior manager not previously involved, and give you a written outcome.
The Code gives no fixed timescales. What counts as "without unreasonable delay" depends on the complexity of the grievance and any investigation; check your employer's own procedure for the periods it commits to. If nothing happens within those, write again, refer to the Code, and keep that letter too.
Who Can Come to the Meeting With Me?
Under section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999, a worker who is invited to a grievance meeting about a duty the employer owes them, and who reasonably requests it, has the right to be accompanied by a colleague or a trade union representative. The companion can put your case and confer with you, but cannot answer questions for you. If your chosen companion cannot make the date, you can propose an alternative within five working days. The right does not extend to informal conversations, and the request does not have to be in writing, though writing avoids any later dispute about whether it was made.
It does have to be made. In Wolfe v Taka Mayfair Ltd [2026] EAT 106, an employee called into a meeting without warning and dismissed at the end of it had never asked to be accompanied. The EAT held the section 10 right did not arise: the employer has no duty to explain the meeting's purpose or to mention the right, and without a request there is no breach. The EAT noted a request made during a meeting, once its nature becomes clear, might suffice. The practical point is simple: ask, every time.
| Stage | What the Code expects | What to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Grievance sent | Written, headed as formal | Copy and date |
| Meeting | Without unreasonable delay; right to be accompanied if you ask | Your notes, any minutes |
| Investigation | Any that is necessary; proportionate | Any documents you supplied |
| Decision | In writing, with reasons, with right of appeal | The outcome letter |
| Appeal | Heard by someone not previously involved where possible | Appeal letter and outcome |
What Makes a Grievance Useful Later
Grievances come up at tribunal in two ways: as evidence of what you complained about and when, and as the basis for an Acas Code adjustment. As drafting principles rather than measured findings, the features that make a grievance useful later are that it is dated; that it names the specific treatment complained of, so a later claim is not an afterthought; that it says what you wanted, so a refusal is a refusal of something; and that it was followed up in writing if ignored. Repeatedly ignoring a qualifying grievance may give a strong basis for arguing the employer unreasonably failed to follow the Code. Whether any uplift is made, and at what percentage, is for the tribunal; the EAT has said 25% is for the most serious failures.
How often does the adjustment actually happen? In 27,027 published cases with a compensation award decided between 2017 and 2025, the tribunal applied an uplift in 1,782 (6.6%) and a reduction against the claimant in 28. Of the 1,782 uplifts where the percentage was stated, 852 (47.8%) were the maximum 25%, 400 were 10% to 14%, and 45 were under 10%. In a further 399 cases the judgment considered an uplift and did not apply one.
Read with care, two things follow. The adjustment is an argument to make, not an entitlement: it appears in fewer than one in fourteen published award cases. And within this published set, uplifts for employer failures outnumber reductions for employee failures by a wide margin. That is what these decisions show; it is not a measure of every claim brought, because settled and withdrawn claims never reach a judgment.
Method: published Employment Tribunal decisions in Yerty's set, cases with a compensation award above zero, decided 2017 to 2025, deduplicated to case. Acas Code adjustments are identified from the extracted award components of each judgment, with direction taken from the sign of the percentage; "considered and not applied" is the same extraction's applied flag, not a keyword search. Where a case has more than one uplift, the largest is used. Two extracted uplifts above 25% were treated as extraction errors and excluded. The extraction is model-assisted and has been checked against the judgment text on a sample, not every case; shares are provisional until outcome extraction is complete.
Does a Grievance Pause the Tribunal Deadline?
No. Raising or appealing a grievance does not extend an Employment Tribunal time limit, and this is the mistake that ends more claims than any other. For most claims the limit for presenting the claim is 3 months less 1 day from the act complained of. Before presenting it you must notify Acas for early conciliation, and the statutory early conciliation rules can extend the deadline; but do not simply add the length of the grievance process, or a fixed Acas period, to the original date. Work out the deadline on the day the problem happens and contact Acas early conciliation in time, whatever stage the grievance has reached; Acas can conciliate while an internal process continues. From 1 October 2026 the time limit for the majority of claims rises to 6 months for acts on or after that date (breach of contract claims in Scotland change on 9 November 2026); events before then stay on the 3-month clock. If you think a deadline may have passed, read our guide on missing the tribunal deadline.
What If the Outcome Is Wrong, or Nothing Happens?
Appeal, in writing, within the time your employer's procedure gives; the Code requires the appeal to be heard without unreasonable delay. Say which findings you disagree with and why, and add any new evidence. An appeal you did not make is a point the employer will raise later.
If the employer will not deal with the grievance at all, or the outcome leaves the problem in place, your options depend on the problem. A pay issue can go to tribunal as an unpaid wages or unlawful deductions claim. Discrimination and victimisation can be claimed while you are still employed. If you are considering resigning, our constructive dismissal guide explains what a tribunal will expect to see first. If the employer has called the grievance vexatious, our guide to what vexatious means at work and tribunal explains why that changes nothing in law.
For complex cases, you may still want to speak with a solicitor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to raise a grievance before going to an employment tribunal?
No, but the Acas Code expects it, and in qualifying claims an unreasonable failure to raise one can reduce compensation by up to 25% under section 207A TULRCA 1992. In published decisions from 2017 to 2025 that reduction was applied against claimants in only 28 cases, but the expectation is real.
How long does my employer have to respond to a grievance?
The Acas Code requires a meeting "without unreasonable delay" but sets no fixed period; what is reasonable depends on the complexity of the grievance. Check your employer's own procedure for any periods it commits to. If nothing happens, chase in writing and keep the chaser; an ignored grievance is a strong basis for arguing an unreasonable failure to follow the Code.
Can I be sacked for raising a grievance?
An employer can still dismiss you, but if the reason is that you alleged a breach of the Equality Act that is victimisation, and if the reason or principal reason is that you asserted a relevant statutory right in good faith it can be automatically unfair under section 104, with no service requirement. Either would be a tribunal claim in its own right. Keep the grievance date and everything that follows.
Does raising a grievance stop the tribunal time limit?
No. The time limit for most claims is 3 months less 1 day from the act complained of; only the statutory early conciliation rules can extend it, and only if you notify Acas within time. Contact Acas in time even if the grievance is still running. From 1 October 2026 the limit for the majority of claims becomes 6 months for acts on or after that date.
What is the 25% Acas uplift?
Under section 207A TULRCA 1992, a tribunal can increase compensation by up to 25% where the employer unreasonably failed to follow the Acas Code, or reduce it by up to 25% where the employee did. In Yerty's analysis of 27,027 published award cases from 2017 to 2025, an uplift was applied in 1,782; of those, 852 (47.8%) were the full 25%.
Can I raise a grievance after I have left?
You can. The Acas Code does not set out a separate procedure for former employees, so the position is less clear-cut than for someone still employed. Tribunals have, however, applied Acas uplifts where an employer unreasonably failed to deal with a grievance or appeal raised after dismissal. Raising one does not restart or extend a tribunal deadline; if the issue is a claim, contact Acas within the time limit regardless.
Should I raise a grievance before resigning?
A grievance is not a legal requirement for a constructive dismissal claim, which depends on a fundamental breach by the employer and your resignation in response to it without undue delay. Raising one may resolve the problem, gives you a dated account of the complaint, and avoids a possible reduction of up to 25% for unreasonably failing to follow the Code. Delay while waiting for an outcome can cut the other way, so take advice on timing.
What may change in the new Acas Code?
Acas published a draft replacement Code on 30 July 2026, the first full rewrite since 2009, with consultation closing 23 September 2026. It moves informal resolution into the Code itself, expects a formal grievance to state the informal steps taken or why none were, says a short clear written explanation will often be enough, and confines suspension to cases where it is legally required or the employer reasonably believes it necessary to protect the investigation, the organisation, other staff or the worker. After consultation it needs redrafting, government approval and laying before Parliament, and Acas has not given a date; the 2015 Code applies until then.
Can several employees raise the same grievance together?
The Code's grievance provisions do not apply to a grievance raised on behalf of two or more employees by a recognised trade union or other appropriate workplace representative; those go through the organisation's collective grievance process. Several employees each raising the same complaint individually is different, and each grievance is dealt with under the Code.
Sources
- "Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures", Acas, 2015 — https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-on-disciplinary-and-grievance-procedures
- "Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures (draft for consultation)", Acas, 30 July 2026 — https://www.acas.org.uk/about-us/acas-consultations/code-of-practice-disciplinary-grievance-2026/draft-code
- Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, section 207A — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/52/section/207A
- Equality Act 2010, section 27 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/27
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 104 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/104
- Employment Relations Act 1999, section 10 (right to be accompanied) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/26/section/10
- Wolfe v Taka Mayfair Ltd [2026] EAT 106 — https://www.iclr.co.uk/document/2026006419/casereport_fe945c3d-7d2a-481d-ad2f-8383b89cdb84/html
- Yerty analysis of published Employment Tribunal decisions, 2017 to 2025 (method above)