WORKPLACE COMPLAINT PREPARATION
Workplace grievance evidence: how to organise your complaint
Prepare a workplace grievance with a clear account, dated events, relevant emails and a specific outcome. Includes an evidence checklist and fictional example.
By ProofPackAI · Updated · General preparation guidance, not legal advice
QUICK ANSWER
What should you do next?
Check your employer’s grievance procedure, put your concerns in writing and explain what you want the employer to do. Acas recommends including relevant evidence. Organise each concern separately, with dates and supporting records, so the recipient can understand what needs investigating.
Start with the question you need investigated
Instead of presenting every difficulty at work as one long story, identify the particular action, decision or pattern you are concerned about. Describe what you personally observed, what a document records and what you have been told by someone else as separate things.
Use the recipient and process specified in the employer’s policy. This guide concerns organising information, not deciding whether conduct is unlawful or whether you have a tribunal claim.
Match each concern to the relevant evidence
- Pay concern: the relevant payslip, agreed pay terms and your calculation of the difference.
- Working-hours concern: rota, timesheet and the messages about the disputed change.
- Communication concern: the complete relevant email thread, not an isolated line.
- Meeting or incident: your dated note identifying who was present, what happened and when you wrote the note.
- Earlier attempt to resolve things: your message, any acknowledgement and the employer’s response.
A fictional example of an organised grievance point
Concern: my September payslip appears to omit six hours that I recorded as worked. Record A1 is the payslip; A2 is the submitted timesheet; A3 is my email asking payroll to check the difference. The timeline records the shift date, timesheet submission and follow-up.
Requested outcome: please investigate the difference, explain the calculation and correct any underpayment identified. This is an invented organisation example, not a finding that money is owed or advice about a legal claim.
Keep the pack relevant and safe to share
Do not include unrelated colleagues’ records, passwords or confidential business material simply because you can access it. Check that you are entitled to use each record. Preserve originals and clearly label any working copies or redactions.
If evidence is missing, list what is missing and why it matters rather than inventing it. Where a date is uncertain, say so. An organised pack can expose gaps; it cannot prove an allegation by itself.
Prepare for the response, not just the first letter
Keep the version of the grievance you submit. When the employer replies, save the response with its date, note which points were answered and identify anything still unresolved. Check the policy for the next step and seek appropriate advice where needed.
ProofPackAI can help organise your account, chronology and evidence into a pack. You review and submit it yourself. The service is not affiliated with Acas or your employer and does not provide representation or legal advice. Acas also provides free guidance and a grievance letter template; a paid pack is optional.
BEFORE YOU ESCALATE
Complaint pack checklist
- ✓Employer’s procedure and recipient checked
- ✓Each concern described factually
- ✓Dates and participants recorded where known
- ✓Relevant evidence labelled
- ✓Requested action clearly stated
- ✓Unrelated personal information excluded
- ✓Originals and submitted version retained
Common questions
Do I need every document before writing a grievance?
Record what you have and identify important gaps honestly. Check the employer’s procedure and seek advice if timing matters; this guide does not determine deadlines.
Can I include notes of a conversation?
You can describe your own recollection, clearly identifying it as such. Record the date, participants and when the note was made. Do not present recollection as a verbatim transcript.
Will ProofPackAI tell me whether I have a legal claim?
No. It helps organise the information you supply. For advice on rights, deadlines or tribunal proceedings, consult Acas or an appropriate adviser.
Official information to check
Processes and time limits can change. Confirm the position for your complaint using the relevant official service: