to raise a grievance after leaving?

[disgruntledemployee]

Hi all,

I would like to know if you think I’m wasting my time (of which I have lots of so not really an issue!) or if there’s some serious repercussions for me.

I resigned from my job in April, I resigned because I’d faced discrimination. I cannot specifically say if it was due to a protected characteristic. I am mixed race so it is probable but the person who discriminated against me referred to my “background”. This could have been my educational background (of which is excellent, but I didn’t attend Oxbridge and they were personally against any non-Oxbridge staff “diluting talent”) or because of something else.

I reported it before resigning but nothing was done. On reporting, I was told it’s obvious we have a racism and sexism issue (this was said in a call by a department HR person, not the main independent HR - I have notes but nothing in writing by him).

I resigned because the comments he made led to an unfair appraisal, which then led to no work that can be used to gain promotion in future. There was not a shortage of work.

When I resigned I was PILON. However, it’s been 2 weeks since my termination and I am aggrieved that nothing was done. The employee had left but nothing formal was followed. This has seriously harmed my career in my eyes and has set me back a year and I will be without pay for a short period as I move to a new job.

I am not sure what I want to achieve with the grievance except for some form of accountability for their actions. I am aware I probably have very little for a tribunal.

Any advice?

This is a huge listed company.

Do it.
I had similar and left rather than go through a grievance, and really regret not speaking out. Just this morning I saw the organisation tweeting about diversity and inclusion, changing their icons for Pride ...and it's all lies

@bonfireheart sorry you’ve experienced the same. I have written a letter but a bit scared!

Are you a union member? They would be best placed to help you. It's highly unlikely that you can raise a grievance once you have left - you need to do that while still in the job. You may have grounds for a tribunal but to proceed with one you would need to demonstrate that you have exhausted the grievance process, which you haven't done I'm afraid.

What is the outcome you would like? If you can start with that, them it's often easier to work backwards and figure out the best way yo try to get it.

If you are not sure what you want to achieve it's going to be tough to know if/when you have succeeded isn't it?

Can you raise a grievance at a company you don't work at?

@araiwa

Can you raise a grievance at a company you don't work at?

Yes, constructive dismissal.

www.gov.uk/dismissal/unfair-and-constructive-dismissal

Go for constructive dismissal. Contact ACAS in the first instance - especially before you send the letter. Good luck.

I’m an Employee Relations manager. We would accept a grievance after leaving, but policy is clear that the full process won’t be followed and just a written response will be provided.

It’s not clear what you want to achieve. The accused employee has left, as have you, so there can’t be much action taken.

Constructive dismissal would be very hard to prove here, and not using the company’s complaints procedure would be frowned upon.

Having been through this with an employer (in my case sex discrimination) I would take a deep breath and leave it behind.

I had absolute concrete, written, proof and it was a nightmare. I did get some cash but nothing near the stress and grief it caused me.

While it is wrong, I would move on and "forget it" for your own health and piece of mind, especially if there is no concrete proof.

It is not clear from your post what your grievance is other than somebody said something about “background”, which could mean absolutely anything including many non discrimination things. And if there is anything that the person in questionable should be accountable for, who is going to do that considering they have left the organisation anyway, you would have to raise it with their new employer!

Move on.

I think the time to do it would have been while you were employed there.

They aren’t obliged to hear a grievance from someone who has left. Either just leave it and move on or contact ACAS for early conciliation.

@NavigatingAdolescence

I’m an Employee Relations manager. We would accept a grievance after leaving, but policy is clear that the full process won’t be followed and just a written response will be provided.

It’s not clear what you want to achieve. The accused employee has left, as have you, so there can’t be much action taken.

Constructive dismissal would be very hard to prove here, and not using the company’s complaints procedure would be frowned upon.

Agreed

@tickingthebox73

Having been through this with an employer (in my case sex discrimination) I would take a deep breath and leave it behind.

I had absolute concrete, written, proof and it was a nightmare. I did get some cash but nothing near the stress and grief it caused me.

While it is wrong, I would move on and "forget it" for your own health and piece of mind, especially if there is no concrete proof.

Agree. Wanting 'justice' and feeling angry about the unfairness of a situation is understandable, but grievance procedures and tribunals don't exist for 'justice' or accountability.

What you want to achieve from pursuing this is akin to trying to catch smoke in your hands. There is a strong prospect that it will take far more from you and your life than it will ever affect them, even if you succeeded at tribunal etc.

It won't bring you closure, change what has happened or change the position you are in. It will probably just make you more angry and disillusioned.

A year's delay to your progress feels major now but in the context of your life and career it is very minor. It doesn't have to be a disaster if you don't let it.

The best 'justice' you can get in this world is to not let something like this drag you down, but to move forward and achieve your (possibly altered) goals.

The first thing you will be asked if you do raise a grievance will likely be what outcome are you looking for/what does a good outcome look like for you.
I would consider that before submitting a formal grievance you definitely can post employment but the question is do you have the time and mental capacity to deal with it when you’ve already left

If it's not a protected characteristic, you'll need to have been there two years before you can consider constructive dismissal.

If you don't take action, leave a review on glass door.
www.glassdoor.co.uk/Reviews/index.htm

I don't think you should just leave it. People always need to called out on racism. Even though they've left, it may open the employer's eyes to ensure something similar doesn't happen in future etc.

A grievance is NOT the same as taking someone to a tribunal for constructive dismissal. A grievance is an internal process. To go to a tribunal for constructive dismissal you are going to have to first demonstrate that you have used and exhausted the grievance process. It is almost always not possible to start a grievance when you have already left (the point of raising a grievance is to ask the employer to address your issues and enable you not to leave).

For those who are suggesting a tribunal for constructive dismissal please bear in mind:

1. The OP did not use the grievance procedure before resigning so it will almost certainly be knocked back.
2. You need to have a watertight case with lots of evidence (obtained through the grievance process usually)
3. It is very expensive unless you are a union member and your union is paying.
4. It takes a VERY long time - many are currently taking around 2 years.

You can raise a grievance within 30 days of leaving

I don’t really want to go to tribunal. I believe my small department kept it under wraps from HQ. I want to basically make it known why I left and to stop other people suffering the same.
Racism is rife - the one person who said it to me (with proof) left, but there were other instances. It has caused me financial loss as I was told that it prevented a promotion (the feedback which was because the person didn’t like me).

I’d be happy with them just having to keep a record of it, even if I get a boring standard response.

Yes, raise it. Please raise it. I have personal experience (and know a very good lawyer). DM me if you want details.

@disgruntledemployee you deserve financial compensation for the income loss you have experienced. Please take it further. There will be evidence and potential witnesses to your claim. They can’t just ignore it. They will never admit to anything, you will never get an apology. In all likelihood you’d need to sign a WPA and get a settlement sum.
Please do it.

@DeathStare you can get a settlement without going to court. You can get a settlement without raising a formal grievance. @disgruntledemployee start by asking your firm for a subject access request. Then you speak to an employment lawyer.

@disgruntledemployee sorry final post from me but please come to the black mumsnet board if you want to talk to other women who have experienced similar.

When you say “the employee had left”, are you referring to the discriminator, or to yourself?

You can raise a grievance post termination, but they aren’t necessarily legally obliged to deal with it. Really, you’re expected to raise matters through formal channels whilst still in employment, or your ex employer has a reasonable argument to say they couldn’t have done anything about something they weren’t made aware of!

The other point (if the discriminator has left) is then what could they do to rectify the situation? Equal opportunities training (if it was based on a protected characteristic?). Are you looking for them to take action against the perpetrator, or just to formally raise awareness?

Submit a formal complaint if it will help you in some way, or if you feel that it should still be raised, but I’m in agreement that a Tribunal claim would be exceptionally difficult to win based on what you’ve outlined here, so it’s probably sensible not to go down that road.