Employee Grievance Complaint

Question

Can anyone say that if an employee namely the clerk has put in a grievance complaint but is dismissed at the end of their probationary period whether a grievance complaint would still be heard or not now they are no longer employed by the PC

Answer 1

It all depends on what the Clerks contract of employment says and when their complaint was lodged and investigated by the employment committee and what the findings were. What also has to be remembered by the council is the grounds and procedures they followed to reach the conclusion to not retain the clerk after their probationary period. Their complaint may be based on the non continuation of the probationary period which, in a perfect world should have been recorded and assessed by the council fairly concluding that employment should cease. You would also have met your obligation to help in overcoming problems the clerk experienced.

Comments

I or the other councillors haven’t seen the clerks grievance complaint or I don’t think we have

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Points to consider - was the grievance complaint based on a protected characteristic; did it have whistle blowing implications e.g. finance; bullying impacting on mental well being?
These would impact on whether to proceed or if the individual would be protected by the victimisation part of Equalities Act 2010.

Despite being warned of their actions, the employment ctte of our parish council (3 of whom were named in the grievance) refused to step away until the situation had been sorted.  Instead they suspended the clerk to seek evidence of financial irregularities.  The individual continued to work for another parish and our council then added this to the list of misconduct.  Nothing found; no coflict of working elsewhere.
Now they are facing an Employment Tribunal - which, if they lose, will mean an increase to the precept that went up 50% last year.....

Answer 2

You are not legally obliged to follow your grievance procedure for an individual who is no longer employed, but it is good practice to do so and may help you if the matter is taken further by the former employee.

There are wider issues in the example you have outlined above. If a member of staff submits a formal grievance, you should not terminate their contract until the matter has been fully resolved. The correct course of action would have been to extend their probationary period, such that you retain the power to terminate their contract without notice at a specific date after the end of the grievance process. Depending upon the timing of the different actions, a tribunal might take the view that your decision to terminate was wholly attributable to the submission of a grievance. That is unfair dismissal.

Check your own policies and the individual's contract of employment to ensure that all relevant actions have been taken. Did you provide appropriate feedback to the employee during their probationary period, identifying any shortcomings and offering support for improvement? Are any of the perceived shortcomings a result of a protected characteristic? If termination is your chosen option, ensure that any final settlement includes the statutory entitlement to a notice period and accrued holiday entitlement, all of which must be paid.

Looking at the wider issue, a grievance from an employee often highlights wider issues within your organisation that need to be addressed, whether in relation to the current postholder or their successor.

Comments

The clerk went off sick for about half of the probationary period but carried on working as a clerk for another Parish, I was told that the probationary period could not be extended, it's quite a complicated one

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Other employment is not a consideration. You can't sack someone for being sick. Check the contract of employment for entitlement to paid sick leave and your employment policies regarding support for staff unable to perform their duties. If the sickness absence is related to a declared health condition, you are obliged to provide appropriate support.