Case Study: Grievance is lodged.

Case studies from subscribers

We support school staff in England and Wales with a wide range of employment-related issues in schools.These range from clarification with employment contracts, PPA time, job references to allegations from pupils, dismissal from role to employment tribunals and Teaching and Regulation Agency hearings. This case study looks at when workplace relationships fracture and a grievance is lodged.

Below, we highlight the types of questions and situations teachers contact us about. We have removed specific details about the cases and the actual names of subscribers for confidentiality reasons. You can also read our latest reviews from our subscribers on TrustPilot.

Case Study: ‘Grievance has been lodged’

Case Headlines

Faria has worked at a large secondary school for over 18 years. She runs a year group as a Head of Year and runs Duke of Edinburgh for the school. Her year group has a number of teachers leading pastoral tutor groups as well as a number of support staff associated with the Key Stage. Faria completes the performance management appraisal and line management for some of the support staff.

Faria was informed that a grievance had been lodged from one of her team and that she was required to attend an investigation interview. 

Subscriber View

Faria was unsure of the exact nature of the grievance and had not been involved at any stage, until she was called to the meeting. She had some indications what the grievance may be but couldn’t pin point any one particular incident to prompt anything of this nature.

How did Edapt support?

The school’s grievance policy had a number of key aspects, one of which was an informal stage. Faria explained she was confused that the informal stage seemed to have been skipped; only the formal stage was mentioned to her along with her attendance at an investigation interview.

Faria’s caseworker talked through the policy and how each school approaches grievance in different ways. One common element is to try and resolve matters at the lowest possible level. In this case it seemed that SLT had tried to work through issues prior to informing Faria, as she was just one element of the grievance submitted.

The Edapt caseworker ensured that Faria understood that a grievance isn’t as much ‘against someone’ as such, it is more that they ‘are related to it’. This is an important distinction because they become a witness to the case brought by the person raising the grievance. 

Initially, Faria was concerned she was going to be called to a formal hearing meeting that would have a sanction and so impact on her career. Whilst it is possible that further action can be taken as a result of a grievance, the caseworker explained that her only part in the process was to answer questions as a witness, give helpful context to the investigator and set the scene as best she understood it. 

This would then feed into a process, (probably ending with a hearing with the aggrieved person and the investigator presenting their findings and views), where a decision would be made about the grievance itself and witnesses are usually not involved.

Faria was reassured that the distinction between ‘having a grievance raised against her’ rather than simply  ‘being a witness to it’ didn’t place her at the centre of this process. It is a common misconception that grievance means a direct one to one conflict against each other. Grievances can be raised relating to policy, practice or systems where there is no ‘other party’ as such, other than a policy or process itself.

Faria’s caseworker prepared her for the investigation interview and attended with her. In the end it was centred around a one off incident regarding feeling undermined by a decision about an incident with a pupil and a parent. Senior staff had unsuccessfully attempted to informally resolve at Stage 1 to the satisfaction of the staff member raising the grievance.

After the interview, Faria had a debrief later in the day and was pleased to have gone in with key themes discussed at the preparation meeting with the Edapt caseworker.

The Outcome

Sometimes mediation is an outcome of the grievance process and this was the case here. Faria was glad of an opportunity to clear the air and discuss from her point of view and to hear why the member of staff was so upset.

Faria was keen to have productive and positive relationships with staff and feels the mediation meeting will have helped restore this in time.

Edapt’s role here was one where Faria was steered through an unfamiliar and stressful process. Faria had opportunity to prepare, ask questions, get context and an impartial view on the situation from her caseworker, along with the investigation accompaniment and debrief.

It is important to note that schools’ approaches to grievance vary significantly. Be familiar with your school’s approach; for many, a mediation meeting is the first informal stage. In others an investigation happens first. Either way remember grievance is relating to something not against something.

Find out more about the service we provide at Edapt: https://www.edapt.org.uk/