CONTENTS

Introduction
GRIEVANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURE

1. Policy

1.1 It is the Institute of Family Therapy’s policy to ensure that employees with a grievance

relating to their employment can use a procedure that can help to resolve grievances as

quickly and as fairly as possible.

1.2 This Policy is relevant only to employed staff.

1.3 This Policy and Procedure does not form part of your contract of employment.

2. Procedure

The Procedure will have an informal stage and two or three formal stages,

dependent on the level at which the matter is first heard.

3. Informal stage

3.1 This Procedure will apply where an employee has a grievance arising from their

employment.

3.2 If you have a grievance arising from your employment, you should, in the first instance,

discuss it informally with your immediate line manager and a note should be kept of this

meeting.

If your grievance is about your line manager, then you should direct your grievance to the

Director of Operations, who will then ensure that your grievance can be heard by an

appropriate person.

3.3 It is hoped that the majority of concerns will be resolved in this way.

3.4 All evidence submitted will be available to relevant parties.

4. Formal stages

There are normally three formal stages to the Grievance Procedure, but this will be

dependent on the level at which the first formal stage was heard.

The Chair of the Board of Trustees will not normally be directly involved in

meetings and will hear any appeal that is lodged.

4.1 Stage 1

4.1.1 If you feel that the matter has not been satisfactorily resolved through informal

discussions, you should put your grievance in writing to your immediate line manager,

unless your grievance is about them. In this event, you should write to the Director of

Operations or, if it relates to the Director of Operations, to the Director of IFT.

If the grievance is in relation to the Director of IFT, you should write to the Chair of the

Board of Trustees who will nominate a Trustee to hear your grievance.

4.1.2 The person nominated to hear your grievance will invite you to a meeting as soon as

possible – and normally within ten working days of receiving your written grievance – to

resolve the matter.

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You will have the right to be accompanied by an IFT work colleague or, if you are a

member of a trade union, by an official of that union.

The person hearing the grievance will be accompanied by a management

colleague or fellow Trustee, who will act as note-taker for the meeting.

4.1.3 It may be that IFT will need to secure additional information or interview other parties in

order to achieve a proper understanding of the matter and the meeting may need to be

adjourned to enable this to happen.

If your grievance is about an IFT colleague or Trustee, they will be specifically invited to a

separate meeting to respond to the grievance that you have raised.

The duration of any such adjournment may range from a few hours to a number of days,

dependent on the investigation required and the availability of people to be interviewed.

Although every effort will be made to expedite things in as short a period as possible, the

priority will be to seek to gain all relevant information. You will be kept informed of the

progress of events.

4.2 Stage 2

4.2.1 If you feel that your grievance is still not resolved, you should write to the Director

of IFT confirming this and summarising the reasons for your grievance. (This is important

as some aspects of the original grievance may have been addressed.)

4.2.2 You will be invited to a meeting to discuss your complaint with a member of the Senior

Management Team or a Trustee, as appropriate, dependent on the level at which the

Stage 1 was heard.

You will have the right to be accompanied by an IFT work colleague or, if you are a

member of a trade union, by an official of that union.

4.2.3 As with Stage 1, there will be the possibility of adjournments and other interviews.

If there are no specific reasons for a delay, you will receive the written confirmation of the

conclusions within five working days of the meeting.

4.2.4 Dependent on the level of management and/or Trustees already involved in previous

stages, this may be the final stage of the Procedure, subject to the right to appeal.

4.3 Stage 3

4.3.1 If you feel that your grievance is still not resolved – and subject to 4.2.4, above – you

should write to the Director of IFT confirming this and summarising the reasons for your

grievance. (This is important as some aspects of the original grievance may have been

addressed.)

4.3.2 You will be invited to a meeting to discuss your complaint with a member of the Senior

Management Team or a Trustee, as appropriate, dependent on the level at which Stage

2 was heard.

4.3.3 As with Stage 1, there will be the possibility of adjournments and other interviews.

If there are no specific reasons for a delay, you will receive the written confirmation of the

conclusions within five working days of the meeting.

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5. Appeal

5.1 If you feel that your grievance is still not resolved, you should write to the Chair of the

Board of Trustees confirming this, summarising the reasons for your grievance – this is

important as some aspects of the original grievance may have been addressed – and

confirming your wish to lodge an appeal.

5.2 You will then be invited to have a meeting with the Chair of the Board of Trustees to

discuss your appeal. The Chair will be accompanied by another Trustee or other

appropriate person nominated by the Chair for this purpose.

You will have the right to be accompanied by an IFT work colleague or, if you are a

member of a trade union, by an official of that union.

5.3 The decision of the Chair of the Board of Trustees will be final.