Spurious complaint turned up on appraisal documentation

[PippaFawcett]

DSIS had a complaint made about her at work which was found not to be substantiated and in her opinion it was malicious but her manager did not want to go so far as to say that to the complainer so brushed it under the carpet a little.

Now, it has turned up documented on her appraisal and she is very cross about it. She feels as it was found to be unsubstantiated then it has no place on the review of her annual performance and has asked for it to be removed but her manager has refused. Should she let it drop or ask HR to look into it?

I'd ask HR. Do they know about the complaint already, or has it only been dealt with by her manager?

Does she have the option to put her own comments on her appraisal?

Does it say on the appraisal that it was unsubstantiated? If not, I would be asking for that to be added.

No, it doesn't. I'm not sure whether HR knows about it or not, adding her own comments could be an option she just feels that it was a stressful experience to go through and it has nothing to do with the review of her performance.

Update in case anyone is interested. Her boss removed it so she is pleased that she doesn't need to pursue this further.

That's good news!