Beyond Complaints: What Is a Workplace Grievance and Why It Matters

Not every workplace concern is created equal. Sure, it’s frustrating if someone misses a deadline or forgets to book a meeting room, but that’s worlds apart from an employee facing harassment, discrimination, or unsafe working conditions.

How a workplace concern is classified changes everything for human resources. Some situations can be resolved with a simple conversation, while others trigger a formal process with serious implications for employee wellbeing, legal compliance, and company culture.

Getting the classification right protects employees, supports compliance, and provides insights for preventing future issues.

In this article, we’ll explore what a workplace grievance really is, how it differs from an everyday complaint, the types of issues that commonly trigger grievances, and why getting it right matters—not just for policies, but for people. 

What is a Grievance in the Workplace?

Before designing processes or responding to concerns, HR needs to understand what qualifies as a grievance vs. a complaint. 

• Employee complaints are usually informal concerns or disagreements, like minor scheduling conflicts or interpersonal issues, that can often be resolved without a formal process. 
• A grievance is a documented, formal complaint that typically signals a breach of employee rights, company policy, or employment law. 

Common examples of workplace grievances:

• Policy violations: Discrimination, harassment, breaches of health and safety standards, or violations of employee rights.
• Operational concerns: Unsafe machinery, excessive workload, unclear job expectations, or systemic process failures.
• Behavioral issues: Bullying, misuse of authority, repeated unprofessional conduct.
• Legal or contractual matters: Conflicts over employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements, or company policies.

Grievances trigger a structured grievance procedure, including acknowledgment, investigation, resolution, and follow-up, while complaints can often be resolved informally by managers or HR.

Understanding root causes, like poor leadership communication, unclear policies, or insufficient training, helps prevent recurring grievances.

Case example: An employee repeatedly reports that their line manager makes offensive comments. The first incident might be addressed informally, but repeated behavior triggers a formal grievance due to its severity and ongoing impact.

Grievance vs Complaint: Key Differences

Not every workplace concern carries the same weight, and knowing the difference matters. HR needs to quickly recognize what’s a simple complaint and what rises to a formal grievance, because that classification shapes everything that follows.

How the two differ:

Why it matters: Treating a complaint like a grievance can waste HR resources, while treating a grievance as a simple complaint can expose the organization to legal and reputational risk.

Common Workplace Grievances

Once HR knows what counts as a workplace grievance, the next step is understanding where each one fits so teams can respond appropriately. Most types of grievances in the workplace fall under three main categories:

1. Policy-Based Grievances

These arise when company policies, labor laws, employee handbook guidelines, or code of practice are allegedly violated. Examples include:

• Unequal pay or discrimination based on sexual orientation, age, or national origin.
• Breaches of health and safety policies.
• Violations of contract of employment terms or collective bargaining agreements.

Mini case study: A manager consistently denies flexible working requests to women returning from maternity leave. This constitutes a policy-based grievance because it violates company policy and potentially anti-discrimination law.

2. Behavioral or Interpersonal Grievances

Even without policy violations, repeated negative behaviors can create a hostile work environment. Examples include:

• Bullying or harassment by coworkers or managers.
• Misuse of authority, public shaming, or retaliation.
• Patterns of unprofessional conduct affecting morale.

Mini case study: A team lead publicly ridicules a junior employee during weekly meetings. No written policy was broken, but repeated incidents make this a behavioral grievance impacting employee wellbeing and culture.

3. Operational or Systemic Grievances

Grievances can also highlight structural or systemic problems in an organization. Examples of operational grievances include::

• Chronic understaffing creating unsafe or stressful conditions.
• Ambiguous performance review or promotion systems.
• Inconsistent communication of company policies or unclear workflows.

Mini case study: Employees in a warehouse report repeated near-misses with machinery due to a lack of training. Even if no one is injured, this operational grievance points to systemic risks affecting health and safety.

Adding metrics and trend tracking for each category helps HR prevent recurrence and identify systemic risks.

Who Can File Grievances?

Grievances aren’t limited to the person directly affected. Anyone who experiences or witnesses a policy breach, unsafe conditions, or unfair treatment can raise one. 

It might be a single employee speaking up, a group reporting a shared issue, or a manager flagging something on behalf of their team. HR, union reps, or compliance officers can also initiate the process when they spot a concern. And in rare cases, even contractors or external partners may report an issue if it affects their work or safety.

Common questions HR departments hear:

• Can I file a grievance against a coworker? Yes, if their behavior breaks policy or infringes on legal rights.
• Is it worth filing? Absolutely. Grievances support proper documentation, trigger a formal process, and guarantee follow-up.
• What counts as a grievance? Any policy violation, legal concern, or repeated unresolved conflict that affects the workplace.

Clear reporting channels, anonymity options, and awareness campaigns improve participation and trust in the grievance process.

Handling Employee Grievances

Once a grievance is filed, the next step is to move with care. The aim isn’t just to “close the case,” but to protect employee rights by resolving the issue properly.

The grievance process, in short:

• Acknowledgment: Confirm the grievance, share timelines, confidentiality expectations, and what happens next.
• Triage: Evaluate seriousness and urgency to determine the right handling path.
• Investigation: Interview relevant parties, review evidence, and document every step.
• Resolution: Deliver findings, implement corrective actions, and communicate outcomes clearly. Importantly, a grievance does not automatically lead to disciplinary action. Only if the investigation uncovers misconduct or violations of company policies might formal disciplinary steps be taken.
• Follow-up: Check in to make sure the issue is genuinely resolved and that the employee feels safe and supported.

Additional best practices:

• Track metrics: time to resolution, recurrence trends, satisfaction rates.
• Record insights for preventive strategies: manager coaching, process improvements.
• Use dashboards to monitor grievance trends across departments.

For a more detailed walkthrough, our guide on Reporting a Grievance at Work breaks down each step.

Legal Considerations

Mishandled grievances can expose organizations to significant legal risk. Understanding these risks helps HR design a grievance policy that works in practice.

Retaliation and Whistleblower Claims

Employees must be able to report grievances without fear of retaliation. This includes demotion, exclusion from projects, or negative performance reviews. Protecting whistleblowers is legally mandated in many jurisdictions.

Mini case study: A warehouse employee reports unsafe equipment. Retaliation by the manager leads to a whistleblower claim against the company, resulting in fines and reputational damage.

Non-Compliance with Employment Laws and Agreements

Grievances can involve violations of company policies, employment law, or collective bargaining agreements. Examples include:

• Pay disputes and working hour violations.
• Ignored harassment or discrimination complaints.
• Misapplication of union agreements.

Proper documentation and a formal grievance procedure demonstrate compliance and mitigate risk.

Discrimination, Harassment, or Unfair Treatment

Issues based on protected characteristics like gender, race, sexual orientation, or disability can lead to:

• Regulatory complaints to bodies like the EEOC.
• Litigation for harassment, discrimination, or unfair treatment.
• Cultural and reputational damage, even if unsubstantiated.

Health and Safety Compliance

Grievances about unsafe equipment, work conditions, or repetitive strain highlight regulatory risk. Ignoring them can result in legal fines or employee injury claims.

Mini case study: Employees report repeated near-misses with faulty machinery. Proper investigation leads to equipment upgrades and reduces both legal and operational risk.

Documentation and Process as Protection

A well-handled grievance process supports your employees and protects your entire organization. When procedures are unclear or inconsistently applied, companies are far more vulnerable to cultural breakdowns and legal challenges. 

Key protections for the organization include:

• Clear timelines for acknowledgment, investigation, and resolution.
• Written records of all communications, evidence, and actions.
• Confidentiality and non-retaliation assurances.
• Transparent escalation paths for employees.
• Period review to maintain compliance amidst evolving regulations.

Documented processes, clear escalation paths, and regular review mitigate legal risk. Tracking recurring patterns provides early warning for compliance issues.

How FaceUp Supports Complaints and Grievances

Distinguishing between everyday complaints and formal workplace grievances matters, and FaceUp makes that distinction easy for both HR and employee relations teams.

Informal complaints can be submitted quickly, giving managers space to resolve smaller issues before they escalate. Employees can also choose anonymous reporting, encouraging honesty and protecting those who might otherwise hesitate to speak up.

When a concern crosses into grievance territory, FaceUp supports the full formal process: acknowledgment, triage, investigation, resolution, and follow-up. Everything is recorded, time-stamped, and stored in one place, helping HR vs ER apply the right level of intervention, stay compliant, and keep investigations consistent.

The result: employees feel heard, complaints are handled early and efficiently, and grievances are managed with the structure and transparency they require.

Why Distinguishing Grievances from Complaints Matters

Understanding the difference between a complaint and a grievance is about reading the room, protecting your people, and taking action where it counts.

Because not every concern at work carries the same weight. Someone missing a deadline is frustrating. Someone facing harassment or unsafe conditions? Something serious is wrong. 

Handled properly, grievances can actually strengthen a workplace. They spotlight issues before they escalate, demonstrate that employee voices matter, and help HR and management build a culture where concerns become a learning moment.

Don’t let signals slip through the cracks. Book a FaceUp demo to see how our tools make sure complaints are handled quickly and grievances get the attention they deserve.