Pros and cons of raising a grievance

Pros

"It was shocking the way the Kosovans at work always got lumbered with the worst shifts. I complained about it, which didn't go down too well. My boss started giving me the worst shifts too "since I like them so much …"."
Ron, London

If you raise a grievance about discrimination, it is against the law for your employer to treat you badly because of it. Lawyers call this victimisation. It doesn't matter if the discrimination relates to you or to someone else. It is also against the law to be treated badly for supporting someone else's complaint about discrimination, for example by giving evidence to support their grievance.

If you are victimised in this way you should raise a grievance using you work's procedure. You can make a claim at a tribunal if your work doesn't deal with the problem.

You might succeed in putting a stop to the discrimination. Things are unlikely to change if you don't make your feelings known.
If you make your employer aware of discrimination, it's up to them to put a stop to it. If they don't do all they reasonably can to stop it, you could take them to an employment tribunal and possibly get compensation. Your work can't be held responsible if they don't know about it.
In many cases, you won't be able to make a claim at an employment tribunal unless you have followed your work's grievance procedures first.

Sleazel law

Cons

It can be stressful. You will probably have to attend meetings with senior management. It's important that you stick with the grievance once you've raised it.
Raising a grievance may damage work relationships. No one likes to hear criticisms about themselves, even if they're true.
Think about the practicalities of your situation at work. Are things likely to change soon anyway? It might not be worth raising a grievance if your problem is only temporary.

If you are unsure about whether to raise a grievance, speak to an experienced adviser. If you are a member of a trade union, your representative should be able to help, or you could contact your local advice centre.