Grievance Outcome Letter template
A grievance outcome letter is the written decision an employer gives an employee at the end of a formal grievance procedure — what was raised, what the investigation found, whether the grievance is upheld, partially upheld, or not upheld and why, what actions will follow, and how to appeal.
The outcome letter is where grievance handling most often falls apart at the last step. A decision delivered only verbally, or a letter that states a verdict with no reasons, no actions, and no appeal route, can undo an otherwise fair process — and if the dispute ever reaches a tribunal, this letter is the primary evidence of what was decided and whether the ACAS Code was followed.
This template gives you a ready-to-send letter with placeholder fields for the findings, decision, and actions, wording for each of the three possible outcomes, and the checks to run before sending it.
Full text, ready to adapt.
Highlighted fields are placeholders — replace them with your organisation's specifics. A starting point, not legal advice.
Grievance Outcome Letter
Letter · Company Policies
1. When to use this letter
Use this letter at the end of the formal stage of your grievance procedure — after the grievance meeting has been held, any investigation is finished, and the manager hearing the grievance has decided. It belongs to the "outcome and appeal" step of the grievance policy, and one should be sent for every formal grievance, whatever the decision.
Where several employees raised the same grievance together, send each person their own copy of the outcome. For an appeal outcome, adapt the same letter: state the appeal decision and the reasons, remove the appeal paragraph, and say whether the decision is final.
2. What to check before you send it
- The investigation is genuinely complete and the decision actually made — this letter records a decision, it is not the place to make one, and sending it with loose ends invites the appeal.
- Every point in the original grievance has a finding — check the letter against the employee's grievance letter point by point.
- Each action has a named owner and a date, and those people know before the employee does.
- The appeal deadline and route match your grievance policy, and the named appeal person is senior to — and wherever possible not previously involved in — the original decision.
- The letter does not disclose confidential detail about other employees; confirm that action is being taken in general terms instead.
- You are still within your policy's target of [number] working days from the final meeting — the ACAS Code expects the outcome without unreasonable delay.
3. The letter template
[Date]
Private and confidential
Dear [employee first name],
Outcome of your formal grievance dated [date grievance was received]
I am writing to confirm the outcome of the formal grievance you raised in writing on [date], which we discussed at the grievance meeting on [date of final meeting]. [If they were accompanied: You were accompanied at the meeting by [companion's name].]
In your grievance you raised the following concerns: [summarise each point of the grievance in the employee's own terms, numbered if there is more than one].
To look into your concerns I [describe what was done — e.g. reviewed [documents/records], spoke to [number] witnesses, and considered the points you made at the meeting]. My findings on each point are as follows: [set out the finding on each point, with brief reasons — address every point raised, not just the main one].
Having considered the evidence, my decision is that your grievance is [upheld / partially upheld / not upheld — delete as appropriate]. [Give the reasons for the decision plainly, in language the employee will recognise from their own grievance. If partially upheld, say exactly which points are upheld and which are not, and why.]
[If actions follow:] As a result, {{org.name}} will take the following actions: [list each action with an owner and a date — e.g. "[action], owned by [name/role], by [date]"]. [If an action concerns another member of staff — for example, disciplinary action is being considered — do not share the detail: "Some of the actions arising from your grievance concern another member of staff, and we are not able to share the details of those with you."]
[If not upheld:] Although your grievance has not been upheld, [state anything you will do anyway — e.g. an offer of mediation, a review of [process] — or delete this sentence].
If you are not satisfied with this decision, you have the right to appeal. To do so, write to [name/role] within [number] working days of receiving this letter, setting out the grounds of your appeal. Your appeal will be heard without unreasonable delay, wherever possible by someone not previously involved in your grievance, and you have the right to be accompanied at the appeal meeting by a colleague or a trade union representative. The outcome of the appeal will be confirmed to you in writing.
Whatever you decide, raising this grievance will not be held against you in any way. If you would like support, [describe what is available — e.g. our employee assistance programme, occupational health, or a conversation with [name/role]].
Yours sincerely,
[Name], [job title], {{org.name}}
4. Adapting the decision paragraph
- Upheld: "I have concluded that the concerns you raised are well founded and your grievance is upheld." Follow it immediately with the actions — an upheld grievance with no actions attached reads as an empty apology.
- Partially upheld: give each point its own verdict — "Your concern about [issue] is upheld; your concern about [issue] is not upheld, because [reason]." Never issue a single verdict over a multi-point grievance.
- Not upheld: give the reasons, not just the verdict, and take extra care with delivery — ACAS advises talking the outcome through with the employee privately so the decision does not fester into a second dispute.
5. Delivery and record-keeping
- Deliver the letter in a way you can evidence — hand it over at a short meeting or send it by [email/recorded delivery] — and talk it through in person where you can, especially when the grievance is not upheld.
- File the letter with the grievance record in [system/location], confidentially and separate from day-to-day personnel records, and retain it in line with our data retention policy.
- Diary the appeal deadline; if an appeal arrives, arrange the hearing without unreasonable delay and choose a manager not previously involved wherever possible.
- Track every action in the letter to completion — an upheld grievance whose actions quietly lapse is worse than one never upheld. Owner: [name/role].
How to adapt this template.
Finish the investigation and make the decision before you start drafting — the letter records the outcome, it does not produce it.
Replace every [bracketed placeholder] and delete the decision and action variants that do not apply.
Answer each point of the grievance separately — a single global verdict over a multi-point grievance reads as if points were ignored.
Check the appeal deadline and route against your grievance policy before sending, and confirm the appeal person is available.
Send it without unreasonable delay after the final meeting, then diary the appeal window and every action date.
Turn this template into trained, proven behaviour
A policy in a drawer proves nothing. In TrainedTeam this template becomes assigned training with knowledge checks, e-signature acknowledgments, version history, and an audit-ready record of who completed what, when.
Grievance Outcome Letter template FAQs
What should a grievance outcome letter include?
A summary of the grievance in the employee's own terms, what was done to investigate, the findings on each point, the decision — upheld, partially upheld, or not upheld — with reasons, any actions with owners and dates, and the right of appeal with the deadline and who to write to. The ACAS Code expects the decision in writing, without unreasonable delay.
How long does an employer have to give a grievance outcome?
There is no fixed statutory deadline. The ACAS Code's standard is "without unreasonable delay", and your own grievance policy should set a working-day target — missing a deadline you wrote yourself is the easiest criticism to hand an employee or a tribunal, so set a realistic one and hit it.
Does a grievance outcome have to be in writing?
The ACAS Code says grievance decisions should be communicated to the employee in writing, and a tribunal can adjust compensation where an employer unreasonably fails to follow the Code. A purely verbal outcome is also almost impossible to evidence later — deliver the decision in conversation if you like, but always confirm it in a letter.
Can an employee appeal a grievance outcome?
Yes. The ACAS Code expects the outcome letter to tell the employee they can appeal if they are not content. The appeal should be made in writing, heard without unreasonable delay by someone not previously involved wherever possible, with the statutory right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative, and the appeal outcome confirmed in writing.
What happens if a grievance is upheld against another employee?
The employer may need to start a disciplinary procedure against that person — but that process is confidential to them. Tell the complainant that appropriate action is being taken without sharing the disciplinary detail; the outcome letter in this template includes wording for exactly that situation.
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