How to handle a complaining employee

Your employee’s had enough. They cannot work in these conditions, they say. They huff and puff that the office is like an igloo, and they can’t feel their hypothermic fingers tapping on their keyboard…

An exaggerated example yes, but I think we can all agree that a complaining employee is every employer’s nightmare.

Because what if turning up the heating isn’t enough? What if they want to take things further? What if the problem is bigger and more destructive than you think?

Fortunately, there are ways to help resolve the issue and protect your business if your employee does ever make a complaint. You just have to follow these important HR steps…

See if you can resolve the complaint informally

If your employee makes a complaint, don’t be too hasty to jump into an official procedure. In most cases, you can handle it informally.

For example, let’s say your employee has verbally complained about having too much work. And they’re at breaking point and ready to quit. They might just need their manager to step in and reduce their workload or help them manage their tasks more effectively.

And if your employee is happy to try to resolve the issue informally, all the better for your working relationship. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take their complaint seriously, but you don’t have to escalate to a formal process if it’s not needed.

But while it’s good to try to avoid a formal process, never attempt to make light of a complaint or try to brush it under the carpet. If your employee feels you didn’t address their complaint, they could leave and claim constructive dismissal.

So, make sure you discuss the issue with your employee and ask them how they would like you to resolve it. And when you’ve taken the agreed steps, follow up to check if they feel it’s been resolved.

If it hasn’t and your informal approach isn’t working, then you may have to start a formal process.

Check your handbook

When you’re dealing with a formal complaint, you should dig out your trusty company handbook.

In your handbook, there should be a section in there on your grievance procedure. This should tell you the process for handling your employee’s complaint and the steps you should take.

By law, you have to have a grievance procedure in writing that all your staff can access, whether it’s in their handbook or their contract.

At this point, if your employee has only made a verbal complaint, ask for it in writing. But do make allowances if it’s not possible for them to do that i.e. because of a disability.

Hold a grievance hearing

The next step is to invite your employee to a formal grievance hearing.

Your employee does have a right to bring someone with them to this meeting, whether it’s a colleague or a trade union representative. So, remind them of this in your invite.

This meeting is a chance for you and your employee to discuss the complaint so you can fully understand it and find ways to resolve the issue together.

Investigate

After the hearing, you can start your investigation and gather evidence.

You might collect evidence by speaking to witnesses and scouring through old emails and paperwork. Try to gather as much information as you possibly can and do your best to keep the complaint confidential.

If you’re investigating an issue between feuding colleagues, you should interview both colleagues and investigate any concerns from both sides. Then, when you assess your evidence you can come to a fair and reasonable conclusion.

You can learn more about how to carry out a fair grievance investigation here.

Decide on an outcome

Once you’ve finished your investigation, you can look at your evidence and decide whether it does, doesn’t, or kind of does back up your employee’s complaint.

If there is evidence to back up the complaint and it involves other people, you may need to start a disciplinary procedure off the back of it.

It’s tricky to decide who’s right and who’s wrong if you’re investigating the breakdown of a relationship between colleagues. You might find both of their sides to be valid. In this case, you may suggest using mediation as the next step if you haven’t already used it. This allows them to work with an impartial third party to help resolve their issues.

As an outcome, you might decide to:

• uphold the complaint i.e. you accept the complaint and will take steps to resolve the issue
• partially uphold the complaint i.e. you accept the complaint to an extent and will take steps the resolve the issue
• dismiss the complaint i.e. not take any further action

Whatever you decide, it’s important to let your employee know without unreasonable delay and in line with any timescale set out in your policies and procedures.

Give them an opportunity to appeal

You should also give your employee an opportunity to appeal your decision if they want to.

If you don’t and your contract says you have to allow appeals, your employee could claim for breach of contract. And even if your contract doesn’t say that, they could still quit and claim constructive dismissal.

If your employee does appeal, you should set up a separate appeal meeting – ideally held by someone who hasn’t already been involved in the situation.

An employee complaint can be extremely damaging to your business if left unresolved and could end in a costly claim against you. So, it’s important to leave no stone unturned and seek advice if you’re concerned about a staff feud or an unhappy worker.

A HR expert can address your concerns and make sure you take the right steps to help keep your employee happy and protect yourself from risk. So, if you have any questions just give us a call.