How to Write a Grievance Letter About Bullying at Work

What people mean by bullying at work

"Bullying" is a workplace term rather than a single legal claim in its own right in the UK. Employers treat it through their own policies. Some behaviour described as bullying may also engage other rules — for example where it relates to a protected characteristic — but that is not automatic, and it is not something to assert in your letter. Describe the behaviour and let the employer assess it. Acas publishes general guidance on bullying at work that is worth reading before you draft.

Behaviour worth documenting

• • repeated humiliation, particularly in front of others
• • shouting or aggressive tone
• • intimidating behaviour, such as standing over someone or blocking a door
• • exclusion from meetings, messages or social contact that others receive
• • undermining — work redone without explanation, decisions reversed publicly
• • criticism that is constant, personal, or unrelated to any agreed standard
• • deliberately withholding information you need to do your job
• • inappropriate comments about you personally
• • repeated targeting where others doing the same work are treated differently
• • hostile emails or messages, especially outside working hours

Where the person concerned is the manager you report to, the question of who receives the letter changes. Our guide to writing a grievance letter against a manager covers that and the power-imbalance points worth raising.

Specific incidents beat broad accusations

An investigator can only look into something they can locate in time.

Dates fix the event. The words used show what actually happened rather than how it felt. Witnesses give the investigator somewhere to go. Context explains why an ordinary-sounding remark mattered.

Building the chronology

Start with a plain list before you write any prose: date, place, who was there, what was said or done, and anything written down at the time. Put it in order, oldest first, and number it. Include the small entries — a cancelled one-to-one, a removed task, a message left unanswered. It is the sequence that carries the point.

The free workplace incident timeline builder does this in your browser with nothing saved or sent, and you can copy the result straight into your draft.

Supporting information

• • emails, including ones you sent at the time raising something
• • Teams, Slack or WhatsApp messages, exported or screenshotted with the date visible
• • meeting notes and agendas
• • names of people who were present — without pressing anyone to give a statement
• • diary or notebook entries written on the day
• • an incident log you keep going forward
• • any previous complaint you made, and any reply
• • rotas, task allocations, appraisals and calendar invitations that show a change over time

Choosing what to include, and what to leave in reserve, is covered in more depth in our guide to evidence for a workplace grievance.

Example bullying grievance letter

A fictional illustration, to show the structure and tone. Use it as a shape, not as wording to copy.

Marcus Hale
9 Oakthorpe Close
Cardiff CF14 3RB

12 August 2026

Ms Erin Doyle
People Manager
Trelow Care Services Ltd

Dear Ms Doyle

Formal grievance — conduct of Mr T. Aldridge, Shift Supervisor

I am raising a formal grievance about the way I have been treated by my shift supervisor,
Mr T. Aldridge, over the last four months. I have set out the incidents in date order.

1. On 4 May 2026, at the 07:00 handover, Mr Aldridge said, in front of six colleagues, that I was
   "the slowest person on this unit". Nadia Rahim and Ben Cooke were present.

2. On 22 May 2026, I was left off the shift rota email that goes to the whole team. I only learned
   of a change in my start time when I arrived. This has happened three further times since
   (5 June, 19 June, 7 July 2026).

3. On 14 June 2026, Mr Aldridge redid my medication check without telling me and told the incoming
   supervisor it had needed correcting. I asked him about it the same day and he said, in substance,
   that I should be grateful he checks.

4. On 30 July 2026, when I asked to be included on the rota email, he replied "raise it if you
   like, nothing will happen". I have kept that message.

I raised the rota emails informally with Mr Aldridge on 23 May 2026 and again on 20 June 2026.

Since May I have been dreading handovers and have twice swapped shifts to avoid them. I saw my GP
on 5 August 2026.

I would like these incidents investigated, the rota communication corrected so I receive the same
information as colleagues, and the conduct at handovers addressed.

I can provide the messages, rota emails and my dated notes. Please confirm receipt and let me know
the meeting date. I would like to be accompanied by a colleague.

Yours sincerely

Marcus Hale
Senior Care Assistant

What outcome should I ask for?

Ask for something the employer can actually do: an investigation into the numbered incidents, a change to how work or rotas are communicated, interim arrangements while it is looked into, mediation, or the conduct being addressed directly. If you want to be told the outcome in writing, say so. Running through the grievance letter checklist before you send is a good final pass.

What happens after I submit the grievance?

Typically the employer acknowledges the letter, arranges a grievance meeting, carries out an investigation, and then writes to you with an outcome and any right of appeal. Timescales come from your employer's own procedure rather than from a single national rule. Our step-by-step grievance procedure guide walks through each stage, and if nothing comes back at all, see what to do when HR does not respond.

Common questions

If you feel unsafe

If behaviour has involved threats or physical contact, that needs your employer's urgent attention and may be a matter for the police rather than the ordinary grievance timetable. If your health is affected, speak to your GP. Support is also available through a trade union, Citizens Advice or Acas.