Guide
How to write a grievance letter
A formal grievance letter is how you put a workplace concern on the record. This guide covers what to include, how to lay out dates and evidence, and what to ask for — written for UK workplaces. It is general information about the process, not legal advice.
What a grievance letter needs to do
It needs to be clearly labelled as a formal grievance, be dated, describe specific events rather than general unhappiness, point to evidence, and state the outcome you are asking for. Everything else is presentation.
1. Check your employer's grievance procedure first
Look in your staff handbook, contract or intranet for the grievance policy. It normally tells you who to send the letter to, whether it must be in writing, and how long your employer has to respond. If there is no policy, the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures applies as the baseline: raise it in writing with your line manager, or with someone more senior if the concern is about them.
2. Put the basics at the top
Your full name, your job title, the date, and the name of the person you are sending it to. State plainly in the first line that this is a formal grievance so it cannot be mistaken for an informal chat. For example: 'I am writing to raise a formal grievance under the company's grievance procedure.'
3. Set out what happened, in date order
This is the part that decides how seriously your grievance is taken. Write each event as its own short paragraph or bullet: the date, who was there, what was said or done, and what happened afterwards. Stick to facts you can stand behind. Leave out adjectives, motives you are guessing at, and anything you heard second-hand unless you say so.
4. Say what effect it has had on you
Briefly explain the impact: on your work, your health, your pay, or your ability to do your job. Keep it factual and proportionate. If you have been signed off, had duties removed, or lost earnings, say so with dates.
5. Reference your evidence
List the emails, messages, rotas, payslips, notes or witness names that support each point, and attach copies where you can. You do not need to prove everything, but a grievance with dated evidence attached is far harder to dismiss than one without.
6. Say what outcome you want
Employers often complain that grievances don't say what the person is asking for. Be specific: an apology, a change of reporting line, adjustments, backdated pay, an investigation, mediation, or enforcement of an existing policy. Ask for a grievance meeting and confirm you would like to be accompanied.
7. Close it properly and keep a copy
Ask for written confirmation of receipt and a date for the grievance meeting. Sign off formally, send it by email so you have a timestamp, and keep a copy of everything you send and receive. If your employer does not respond, a short written chaser referring back to the original date is usually the next step.
A simple structure you can follow
- Your details, their details, the date.
- One line stating this is a formal grievance.
- A short summary of the concern in two or three sentences.
- A dated chronology of what happened.
- The impact on you.
- The evidence you are attaching or can provide.
- The outcome you are asking for, and a request for a grievance meeting.
- A formal sign-off.
Common mistakes to avoid
- • Writing it while angry — emotion in the text gives your employer something to focus on instead of the facts.
- • Mixing ten complaints together with no dates, so the investigator can only address the vaguest one.
- • Sending it to the person the grievance is about, when the policy names someone else.
- • Leaving out what you actually want to happen.
- • Not keeping copies, or sending it verbally so there is no record it was ever raised.
- • Waiting. Some workplace claims have strict time limits, so delay can cost you options later.
What happens after you send it
Your employer should acknowledge the letter, invite you to a grievance meeting without unreasonable delay, let you be accompanied at that meeting, give you a written outcome, and offer you the right to appeal. If the outcome does not resolve things, an appeal letter is usually the next formal step. Some workplace claims carry strict time limits, so it is worth checking where you stand early rather than after the process ends.
Want the letter written for you?
RightWords walks you through the same steps question by question, builds your chronology and evidence list as you go, and produces a polished grievance letter you can download as a Word document. We prepare documents and explain the process — we are not an AI lawyer and we don't provide legal representation.