Grievance hub
Workplace Grievance Letters and Guides
A grievance is the formal way of telling your employer, in writing, that something at work is wrong and asking them to look into it. Most UK employers have a written grievance procedure setting out who to send it to and what happens next. Not every workplace problem has to become a formal grievance — sometimes raising it informally resolves it — but a written grievance creates a dated record and normally leads to a meeting and a response.
These guides are general information about the process, not legal advice.
Writing your grievance
How to write a grievance letter
The structure UK employers expect, section by section.
Grievance letter template
A fill-in-the-blanks template you can copy and adapt.
Grievance letter checklist
What to check before you press send, with a worked example.
Grievance letter examples
Worked examples across common workplace situations.
Free sample grievance letter
A complete finished letter, written around a made-up scenario.
Evidence for a workplace grievance
What to gather, what to attach, and what counts when it was all verbal.
Grievances for particular situations
Grievance against your manager
Who receives it, how to structure it, and a full example letter.
Bullying at work
Making a pattern of incidents visible without overstating any one of them.
Bullying by your manager
Who to write to when the grievance is about the person you report to.
Behaviour of a colleague
Informal steps first, then a factual, workable formal grievance.
Bullying or harassment
Recording a pattern of behaviour and its effect on you.
Unfair treatment
Describing differences in treatment factually.
Writing to HR
Who to address it to and what HR does with it.
Informal or formal complaint
When a quiet word is enough and when to put it in writing.
After you have sent it
HR has not replied
Checking, chasing in writing and escalating without losing the record.
Grievance before resigning?
What people weigh up before leaving over how they have been treated.
How to write a grievance appeal letter
Challenging the findings in an outcome letter you disagree with.
The grievance procedure, step by step
Meeting, outcome letter and appeal.
Preparing for a disciplinary hearing
If a separate disciplinary matter is raised with you.
Resignation and constructive dismissal
What to think about before resigning over how you have been treated.
Common reasons employees raise grievances
These are the subjects people most often write about. Whether any particular situation should be handled as a formal grievance depends on your employer's own procedure and your circumstances.
- • bullying or intimidating behaviour
- • harassment
- • unfair or inconsistent treatment
- • concerns about discrimination
- • pay, deductions or unpaid hours
- • unmanageable workload
- • the way a manager has handled something
- • how a workplace process was followed
- • requests for reasonable adjustments that have not been resolved
If your concern is about adjustments to how you work, start with our reasonable adjustments guide; if it is about hours or location, see flexible working requests.
Create your personalised workplace grievance letter
Answer a few questions and RightWords helps you organise your dates, people and evidence, then prepares a personalised letter based on the facts you confirm — delivered as a Word document. Document preparation and general information — not legal advice.
Related guides
Sources and further information
Written by RightWords
Last reviewed: 10 September 2026
Information checked against current official guidance.
We do not provide legal advice or legal representation. If you require legal advice, please consult a qualified solicitor.