Recent employment tribunal rulings could make it easier for employees to bring claims, as well as increase the level of compensation by up to 50%, law firms were warned this week.

The advice from City firm Trowers & Hamlins follows a series of tribunal rulings that have relaxed the definition of what constitutes a ‘grievance letter’, which employees have to submit before bringing claims.


Partner Richie Alder explained that if law firm employers fail to recognise what constitutes a grievance letter and do not initiate formal procedures as required, tribunals will award up to 50% extra in compensation to employees for successful claims.


He added: ‘Employees can only pursue claims if they have raised grievances in writing first, so if the definition of what constitutes a formal grievance letter is relaxed, the potential for claims is increased.


‘It is important for employers to know what now constitutes a grievance so that they know when to initiate the correct grievance procedure. Recent rulings have really muddied the waters, which puts employers at greater risk of being penalised by tribunals for not instigating the grievance procedure when they should.’


Those rulings included a tribunal deciding that a female employee’s letter applying for a variation to her working pattern constituted a grievance – even though the letter itself did not suggest that the request should be treated as such.


Another tribunal ruled that a three-page resignation letter constituted a grievance letter. It said there was no formality required in a statutory grievance letter and that all an employee need do was set out his or her complaint in writing. Even though the grievance was contained in a letter of resignation, the correct grievance procedure should still have been followed.


Other recent cases saw rulings that employees do not have to comply with contractual grievance procedures for a letter to amount to a valid statutory grievance, and that a statement of grievance does not have to be written by the claimant personally (in this case, it was a solicitor’s letter).


Mr Alder advised that if an employee raises a complaint in writing, even though he does not specifically state that it is a grievance, the employer should seek confirmation that it is a grievance and then implement the standard procedure.