Taking action

Complaining and grievance procedures

You can make an informal complaint or use your work's grievance procedure to complain formally about discrimination. Your workplace has a duty to tell you what their grievance procedure is. In England, Scotland and Wales your work’s grievance procedure should follow the Acas Code of Practice.

For more information see:

'Dealing with discrimination at work – how to use the grievance procedure’. Covers England, Scotland, and Wales.

‘Discipline and grievances at work – the Acas guide’. Covers England, Scotland and Wales. (See the link on the right hand side)

‘Resolving disputes at work: a guide for employees’. Covers Northern Ireland. (See the link on the right hand side)

Conciliation

This is where people on different sides of a dispute use an independent professional (called a ‘conciliator’) to help them find a solution they’re all happy with. A conciliator is completely neutral, so won’t take sides.

You can try and use conciliation at any time during an employment dispute. But it is entirely voluntary. So, if your employer doesn’t agree, you won’t be able to do it.

For more information on conciliation contact:

Acas in England, Scotland and Wales
Labour Relations Agency in Northern Ireland

See the links on the right hand side.

Bringing a claim in an employment tribunal

If using the grievance procedure didn’t sort your problem out, you could think about bringing a claim in an employment tribunal. You will usually have three months to make a claim to an employment tribunal. You’d usually do this to get compensation, but tribunals have other powers too.

You are far more likely to get a good result if you get an adviser to help you prepare your claim and to represent you at the hearings. See Get advice! for more information.

If you can’t get help with your claim, it can be complicated and time-consuming. You will need to work out what you need to prove, get the evidence together, and follow the tribunal process. Although you will be at a disadvantage if you go it alone, don’t lose heart: it has been done before!

For more information on employment tribunals contact: