Case law: 'informal' grievance satisfies requirements of statutory procedure - 26/08/2008

In this case, a Polish employee alleged that he was being treated less favourably than other nationals, but stated that he was bringing the matter to the employer's attention so it could be dealt with on an informal basis; failing that, he would lodge his formal grievance for racial discrimination under the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004.

When the employee subsequently brought his claim before the employment tribunal, without lodging any further grievance, the employer argued that the informal grievance raised by the employee could not be a statutory grievance because he had explicitly said that it was not, and the tribunal reluctantly agreed.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) overturned the tribunal's decision, stating that a step one grievance letter only needed to set out the nature of the grievance in writing and be sent to the employer, which in this case it did and was. However, since the employer had not followed the statutory grievance procedure, relying on its belief that there was no formal grievance, this would be taken into account in determining whether it would be fair for the tribunal to order an increase in any award that might be made.

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