If you have a problem

We want everyone to feel comfortable at work. If something’s worrying you, or you feel you’ve been treated unfairly, we encourage you to raise it so we can put things right. This is what our grievance procedure is for. 

Often, problems can be solved quickly by having an honest chat with your manager or colleague. We’ll always listen and try to resolve issues informally where possible. 

Raising a formal grievance: if you can’t resolve the problem informally, or it’s too serious to deal with that way, you can raise a formal grievance. To do this, write to your manager explaining:

• What the issue is 

• What’s happened and when 

• How it has affected you 

• What outcome you’re hoping for 
  
  

We’ll acknowledge your grievance and arrange a meeting with you. You can bring a colleague or trade union representative with you for support. 

Grievance meeting: at the meeting, you’ll be able to explain your concerns in detail. We may ask questions and may need to investigate further before making a decision. We’ll treat everything sensitively and confidentially. 

Outcome: once we’ve considered everything, we’ll write to you with our decision. If action is needed, we’ll explain what will happen and how we’ll follow up. 

Appeal: if you’re not satisfied with the outcome, you have the right to appeal. To do this, write to your manager within 5 working days of receiving the decision, explaining why you’re appealing.

We’ll arrange an appeal meeting with a manager not previously involved, and then confirm the final decision in writing. 

Key Points: 

• Raising a grievance will not affect your job security or how you’re treated. 

• We’ll handle matters promptly, fairly, and confidentially. 

• You’ll always have the right to be accompanied in formal meetings. 
  
  
  

If You See Something Wrong (Whistleblowing) 

We want Groundswell to be a safe, ethical, and honest place to work. If you ever see something that feels seriously wrong - like illegal behaviour, danger to people or the environment, or serious misconduct - we want you to feel confident speaking up. 

This is called whistleblowing. It’s different from a grievance: a grievance is about your own work situation, while whistleblowing is about wrongdoing that affects others or the organisation as a whole. 

What you can raise under whistleblowing:

• Criminal offences (e.g. fraud, theft, bribery). 

• Health and safety dangers. 

• Environmental damage or risk. 

• Misuse of company funds or resources. 

• Serious breaches of legal obligations. 

• Cover-ups of any of the above. 
  
  

How to raise a concern: 

• Speak to your manager in the first instance if you feel comfortable. 

• If not, or if your concern involves your manager, you can go directly to Jack or Lucy. 

• Put your concern in writing if possible, explaining what you’ve seen, when it happened, and who was involved. 
  
  

How we’ll respond:

• We’ll treat your concern seriously and confidentially. 

• We’ll investigate fairly and as quickly as possible. 

• We’ll keep you updated, though in some cases we may not be able to share all details for confidentiality reasons. 
  
  

Protection for you:

• You will not be victimised, disciplined, or dismissed for raising a genuine concern, even if it turns out to be unfounded. 

• If you believe you are being treated unfairly for whistleblowing, tell your manager immediately so we can act. 
  
  

External whistleblowing:

In some situations, you may feel it’s more appropriate to report concerns to an external body, such as a regulator. We’d encourage you to raise matters internally first, but it’s your legal right to go externally if needed.