How to handle grievances raised during disciplinary procedures

By Darren Newman, Brightmine Consultant Editor

When an employee raises a grievance during a disciplinary process, HR teams must navigate the situation carefully to ensure fairness, compliance and organisational integrity. Although the Acas Code of Practice offers only limited guidance on overlapping disciplinary and grievance issues, employers are still expected to manage both matters reasonably and transparently.

Understanding when to pause, adapt or continue a disciplinary procedure is essential. Not every grievance requires the disciplinary process to be postponed, and in some cases the two can run in parallel if they concern unrelated issues. For HR professionals, the priority is to ensure the disciplinary issue is handled fairly while also giving proper consideration to the employee’s concerns.

Our guide provides practical HR expertise to help you make confident, compliant decisions — from identifying the nature of the grievance to determining the most appropriate process. Brightmine supports employers with clear, up‑to‑date guidance so you can manage complex employee relations cases efficiently and in line with best practice.

In this guide, learn about:

• Postponing the disciplinary procedure
• Grievances about the disciplinary process
• Grievances relating to the lead-up to the disciplinary process
• Grievances unrelated to the disciplinary process
• Running a grievance hearing after the disciplinary process
• Grievances that are ongoing when the disciplinary process is commenced
• Conclusion

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