How do we Raise “Grey” Grievances at Work?
What are grey grievances?
We already know that a standard grievance at work usually involves a period of investigation and, if necessary, disciplinary action being taken. This can be for harassment, poor conduct in the workplace, workload, reviews, or general day-to-day grievances that go against company policy.
Grey grievances are exactly as described - a grey area: something between appropriate or potentially inappropriate, and they’re more common than you’d think.
Have you ever been at work or witnessed something that didn’t seem quite right? Or, have you looked at your workload, responsibilities, and remuneration and felt unhappy but can’t quite pinpoint why? These can be considered “grey” grievances because they fall into the realm of a difference of opinion establishing whether it should be escalated or not.
Is it a grievance, or is it just a misunderstanding?
A grey grievance is “grey” because it can fall into the realm of misunderstanding or not having the “full picture”. It could be a classic case of Chinese whispers - where a situation has been blown out of proportion or we don’t have the facts, or it could simply be a misunderstanding: someone's actions or words were received in a way that they didn’t intend.
Particularly in a team or company that has multiple layers of management, you’re going to have a mix of personalities who, although, will fit the culture of your organisation, ultimately will have differing views on how things should be dealt with.
Bias can also come into play when looking at the grievance vs misunderstanding notion: misunderstandings are more likely to happen when there isn’t a foundation of a working relationship built there, and misunderstandings can also happen if there’s an established bias there already: if you already have reservations about someone, you’re naturally going to take what they say negatively in comparison to someone whom you have an excellent relationship with.
It’s complex - but what is important to know is that this exists in all workplaces and can be mitigated with the right approach and protocols put in place to protect employees as well as the overall organisation.
A three-step approach
#1 Get a full understanding of the situation (with timelines)
When raising a grievance, you want to ensure that you have a complete understanding of what you’re trying to put forward - the more vague your grievance is, the more likely it is to fall into the category of “grey” or be discarded entirely. To avoid this, focus on gathering the evidence to back up the grievance that you’re trying to make. A grey grievance is even harder to raise because it falls into the realm of a “misunderstanding” or a fine line between appropriate and inappropriate.
You want to get an understanding of:
Who are the perpetrator(s): Who is involved in the grievance or causing the grievance, what is their level, and what have they done?
Who is being affected currently: Who are the individual(s) that are dealing with the issue, have they voiced it, and what has been said thus far?
When has this happened: Whether it’s once or multiple times, get dates (as specific as you can) where possible.
Who are the witnesses: They may not have been directly affected, but they could have been witnesses to this grievance (whether directly, or being told about it by someone who is affected).
Any “solid” evidence (emails, call recordings, videos): Where possible, the more evidence the better - especially if the grievance is regarding communication, email threads will be incredibly helpful.
What do you want the outcome to be: Is it a formal disciplinary process? Is it a conversation? Define what you want the outcome to be first so there is an element of the process behind it.
#2 Weigh up who needs to be involved in raising the grievance
For a grievance to be escalated you need the right evidence (as well as the right people present) to ensure that it is taken seriously.
This can be a balancing act between individuals at a senior level whom you have a good relationship with through to stakeholders who are key decision-makers. If you have an HR function, it’s crucial to involve them to ensure that you’re going through the correct processes, too.
#3 Don’t expect an answer straight away
Any grievance takes time to escalate - the more serious it is, the longer it’ll take. Expecting an answer overnight is incredibly ambitious, however, ensure that you’re provided with a timeline so you aren’t left wondering what’s going on.
Ultimately, each organisation operates differently when it comes to raising grievances as well as the processing time of each one.
“When an employee raises a formal grievance, the employer should arrange to hold a meeting within 5 working days ideally.
The employer should allow employees enough time to prepare for the meeting.
The employer can arrange for someone not involved in the grievance to:
take notes at the meeting
act as a witness if necessary
To keep the procedure fair, the employer should:
consider information or evidence from all sides
see if a similar grievance has happened before and aim to follow the same fair procedure” - Acas
In summary, grey grievances needn’t be something to worry about - instead, they’re something to be aware of!
