If writing a grievance letter to your employer sounds a little bit scary, that’s because it is. However, it’s a process that you can go through. Just make sure you keep it professional, factual, and concise. Here’s what to do:
Check your employer’s grievance policy
The first thing you’ll want to do is check your employer’s grievance policy. Usually, your HR or senior leader will tell you what this is. Sometimes it’s in the employee handbook or on the company’s intranet system, it really depends. The grievance policy procedure should tell you the format and the timeline you need to follow. It also should tell you what to include in the grievance and what you can be helped with. If the existing structure doesn’t allow you to get the justice that you need, then you may need to consider looking outside of the grievance process.
Use a formal structure
Next, you want to use a formal structure for the grievance document. You want to include everything, including:
- Your name
- Date
- Job position
- Titles
- Recipient’s details
- Subject
You should also look to break it into sections. While writing the grievance letter, don’t use any emotional or abusive language; just keep it factual to maintain your credibility. If you need to work with a lawyer in the background who can tell you what to say and the most effective approach to take.
Introduce yourself and the purpose of the grievance
Within the first few lines, you want to introduce yourself and the purpose of the grievance, explaining what has gone wrong and why you think it is an issue. If you need to include laws, like Title IX sexual assault, then do so. Make sure that you clearly state that you’re raising a formal grievance. For example, you could write something like, “I want to raise a formal grievance about an issue that occurred.”
Mention previous attempts to resolve informally
You also want to make the company aware that you have made previous attempts to resolve the issue informally. You tried many different methods, but nothing seemed to work. Telling your boss or employer that you tried previous methods is a helpful method because it tells them that you were proactive in trying to resolve the situation. You can also explain why efforts failed and why operations at the company need to change.
Describe the impact
Next, you’ll want to write down the substance of the grievance, which is the impact that it has on you. You’ll want to talk about how it’s affected your health, maybe the stress you’ve experienced, or perhaps an issue is leading to a decline in your work performance. Whatever it is, keep it factual and non-emotive.
State what you want the process to achieve
Finally, you want to state what you want the process to achieve. Going through a grievance process can be a long and tiring ordeal, but at the end of it you want to be realistic about outcomes and solutions. Is training or disciplinary action or just an apology. It depends on you.
