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Browse frequently asked questions and answers on key HR issues. Navigate by topic or key word search. View latest additions or suggest a question to the XpertHR editorial team.
What is the minimum an employer must offer an employee in terms of access to a grievance procedure? Can an employer deal with a grievance informally? Is an employee who does not submit a written grievance barred from bringing a tribunal claim based on his or her complaint? Who should deal with an employee's grievance? What should an employer do if an employee retracts a grievance? Where a grievance hearing has been arranged but the employee subsequently cannot make the arranged time, how should the employer handle the situation? Must a disciplinary or grievance hearing be held during an employee’s normal working hours if these are outside normal office hours? What should the employer do if an employee fails to attend a meeting under the grievance procedure? Can an employer anonymise witness statements obtained during a grievance or disciplinary procedure? Do workers have the right to be accompanied at a grievance hearing? For the purpose of the right to be accompanied how is a disciplinary or grievance hearing defined? What is a "reasonable" request by a worker to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing? Who can be chosen as a companion at a disciplinary or grievance hearing?
Under s.10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999, employees have the right to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing if their request to be accompanied is reasonable. Therefore, an employer can reject an employee’s choice of companion if it is unreasonable for him or her to request to be accompanied by that person. This may be the case, for example, if the companion is involved in the proceedings, or because he or she will not be available for a meeting for a substantial length of time.
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