One in three organisations report increase in employee grievances

Pay and grading were both cited as one of leading causes as surging inflation continues to bite.

In line with this, industrial action has substantially increased recently, too – according to ONS, 252,000 working days were lost in 2019 due to strikes, meanwhile 467,000 days were lost in November 2022 alone.

The trend looks set to continue through 2023, as already in January workers across multiple sectors including teaching, ambulance, Royal Mail, and nurses for the first time in their history, all voted to go on strike, demonstrating the rise in tension between employees and their employers.

XpertHR’s research found the top three reasons for grievances centre on relationships with managers or colleagues – bullying or harassment (67%), relationship with manager (54%), relationship with colleague (49%).

Meanwhile, over a third of respondents (37%) reported pay and grading as the main cause of grievances as salaries continue to be outstripped by rising inflation.

More than four in 10 (42%) respondents said line managers were ineffective when it comes to resolving issues with employees prior to the escalation to a formal grievance or disciplinary situation.

HR’s role in resolving employee grievances is perceived slightly differently among professionals – while 95% said their role is to support line managers conducting an investigation, just 70% see it as their role to support the employee that is raising the grievance.

Noelle Murphy, senior HR insights manager at XpertHR, said: “With ongoing tension between affordable pay awards and soaring rates of inflation, the cost-of-living crisis is creating a perfect storm when it comes to workplace relations for many employers.

“The findings underpin the change in the employee-employer relationship, and HR must adapt its policies and practices to address this change. HR need to push employers to drive a culture that is sufficiently open to address minor issues effectively before they escalate and provide support to all staff. 

“Ensuring all those involved in the investigation process have support is one of the main ways to achieve an outcome that is effective while minimising the negative impact on the individual and wider business.”