Recent statistics have revealed that over the last two years, nearly 30% of employers have seen the numbers of employee grievances rise; with key themes being wages and relationships between the business and worker.
According to XpertHR, the relationship between an employer and its staff is the most frequent reason for grievances to be raised. That said, many employees are now raising concerns about their pay due to the living cost crisis.
The top three reasons for employee grievances recorded in the statistics are:
- Bullying and or harassment (67%)
- Relationships with managers (54%)
- Relationships with colleagues (49%)
In addition to this, 37% of respondents reported pay and grading as the main cause of grievances.
Four out of ten respondents said they felt their managers were unsuccessful at resolving issues with staff prior to their concerns then escalating to formal grievances or disciplinary matters. Some managers told XpertHR they did not want to either be seen as the “bad guy” or that they felt there was not enough training for them to feel they could deal with complaints and were ill-equipped.
Many of the respondents stated that it is the role of HR teams to support managers in the investigation of grievances (95%). However, only 70% regarded it as HR’s role to support the employee raising the grievance.
HR insights manager at XpertHR, Noelle Murphy, said:
“With ongoing tension between affordable pay awards and soaring rates of inflation, the cost of living crisis is creating a perfect storm when it comes to workplace relations for many employers. Certainly in the last few months, this has boiled over and resulted in widespread industrial action in various sectors across the country.
The findings underpin the change in the employee-employer relationship and HR must adapt its policies and practices to address this change. HR needs to push employers to drive a culture that is sufficiently open to address minor issues effectively before they escalate and provide support to all staff.“
What should I be doing as an employer?
As an employer, it’s important to develop and have good working relationships with your work force. To be an effective manager you need to be able to deal with complaints or know how to handle situations where staff are unhappy otherwise it could lead to employee grievances and often once formal procedures are engaged the prospects of resolving things reduce.
If an employee raises a grievance related to pay and you feel you are unable to pay your staff any more, it is advised to highlight or implement employee benefits. For example, allowing staff to work from home, holiday purchases, travel to work benefits, for example, cycle to work. These additional benefits can go a long way with staff morale and shows employees that you are making the effort to give benefits to your staff without necessarily incurring the direct costs of increased pay.
It’s also worth thinking about annual salary reviews taking into the rate of inflation if you don’t already have these in place. It’s important your staff know you understand the cost of living is increasing and that you are considering this.
It is also imperative to ensure that all staff involved in raising, handling, or investigating grievances have access to support from HR or others within the business as support is one of the main ways to ensure the outcome is effective while also minimising any type of negative impact on the employer and wider business.
Those who deal with grievances may also benefit from training on how to approach them in line with your policies and procedures and/or external support with how to approach the issues.
How can we help?
Laura Kearsley is a Partner in our expert Employment Law team.
If you would like any advice concerning the subjects discussed in this article, please contact Laura or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
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