I want my grievance heard by an independent manager. Can this be arranged?

To avoid any suggestion of bias or suspicion that your manager has already made up his or her mind about the outcome, your grievance should be heard by a manager who has not been involved in the subject matter of the grievance. Where the grievance is against your line manager, it should ideally be heard by a manager who is both independent and more senior.  

In a very small organisation, it might be difficult in practice to arrange for your grievance to be heard by a manager who hasn’t been previously involved. In these circumstances, the person hearing the grievance should remind themselves of the need to remain impartial and to listen fairly to both sides.  

Sometimes an external organisation, such as Acas, can become involved. Acas offers a mediation service for in-work disputes. You can find more information about mediation in the free guide produced by the TUC in conjunction with Acas, Mediation: a guide for trade union representatives.