Grievance Procedure

What counts as an employee grievance

A grievance is a complaint about something the employer controls. Typical examples:

• Pay errors, missed overtime or shift differential.
• Schedule, shift bid or seniority decisions.
• Discipline the employee believes was unfair.
• Denied leave or transfer requests.
• Working conditions, safety or equipment.
• Treatment by a supervisor or coworker.

In a union setting, a grievance usually has a narrower legal meaning: a claim that the employer violated the collective bargaining agreement. Complaints of harassment, discrimination or retaliation can come in through a grievance procedure, but they usually need to be routed to a separate workplace investigation process with its own protections and timelines.

Typical steps in a grievance procedure

Most procedures escalate through three or four steps, each with a deadline:

1. Informal step: the employee raises the issue with their supervisor, who has a few days to respond. Most issues end here.
2. Written grievance: if unresolved, the employee (or union steward) submits it in writing to the next level of management or HR, describing the issue, the facts and the remedy wanted. A meeting follows, then a written answer.
3. Senior review: an appeal to a department head, site leader or HR director, again with a meeting and a written decision.
4. Final step: in union workplaces, binding arbitration before a neutral arbitrator. In non-union workplaces, a final appeal to an executive or, in some companies, a peer review panel or mediation.

Timelines like "within 10 working days" appear at every step. In union contracts they're enforceable, and missing one can forfeit the grievance or force a default.

Union vs non-union grievance procedures

In a union workplace, the procedure is negotiated through collective bargaining and is part of the contract. The union decides which grievances to pursue and has a duty of fair representation to members. Employees typically have the right to union representation in meetings, and arbitration decisions are binding.

In a non-union workplace, the employer writes the grievance policy, usually in the handbook. It's less formal, but it still matters. Courts and agencies look at whether an employer had a working complaint process when evaluating harassment and retaliation claims, and an employee who uses the procedure is often engaged in protected activity. Under the National Labor Relations Act, even non-union employees acting together to complain about working conditions can be protected.

Outside the US, rules differ. In the UK, for example, the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures sets out expected steps, and employment tribunals can adjust awards when either side unreasonably fails to follow it.

How to file a grievance (employee view)

Employees searching this usually need practical steps:

• Check the handbook or union contract for the procedure and deadlines.
• Raise it informally first if the policy expects that.
• Put it in writing: what happened, dates, who was involved, which policy or contract term applies, and what outcome you're asking for.
• Keep copies of everything, including pay stubs or schedules.
• Ask for union representation or a support person if the policy allows.

HR teams should publish exactly this guidance so employees don't have to guess.

Best practice for HR and managers

• Acknowledge every written grievance within a day or two, with the next step and timeline.
• Keep it separate from discipline. If the employee is also facing discipline, don't let the grievance be seen as payback.
• Hear both sides and gather documents before deciding.
• Decide in writing, with reasons.
• Track patterns: grievances by site, supervisor and issue type often point to a fixable root cause, such as one manager's scheduling practices. This is core employee relations work.
• Protect against retaliation. Brief the employee's manager on what's not allowed.

In high-volume operations, a single scheduling or pay rule can generate dozens of identical grievances. Fixing the rule is cheaper than resolving each case.

Record-keeping

Keep the grievance, meeting notes, evidence and decisions in a confidential file separate from the general personnel file, especially for harassment or discrimination complaints. Retention periods vary; many employers keep grievance records for at least the length of the relevant statute of limitations, and longer if litigation is possible. Rules vary by state and country.