Employment Grievance Appeal Letter

This document can be used to appeal a decision that an employer has made regarding a grievance or a complaint at work.

It is intended to be used after an Employment Grievance Letter has already been provided to the employer.

The Employment Grievance Letter is designed for employees who want to raise a complaint or grievance with their employer for the first time. Then, if the employer responds in a way that is not satisfactory to the employee, the employee can use this Employment Grievance Appeal Letter. Or alternatively, if the employer does not respond at all, the employee can use this Employment Grievance Appeal Letter.

It acts as a signed letter confirming that the employee disagrees with the employer's decision, and providing some reasons why. It is provided by the employee to the employer.

The document may be used for a wide range of grievances or complaints. This might include things such as bullying, discrimination, harassment, dangerous or unpleasant work conditions, complaints about a coworker, complaints about some kind of injury or damage to personal property, or any other kind of grievance regarding the employee's work conditions.

If the employee's grievance relates to their pay, and they are asking for a pay rise, then our Raise Request Letter might be more appropriate.

How to use this document

The document should be used after the employee has already raised the grievance with the employer. For example, it may be used after an Employment Grievance Letter has already been provided to the employer by the employee.

The document should be signed and dated by the person raising the grievance and provided to the appropriate individual within the employee's organisation who will be responsible for investigating the incidents, such as the HR Director. The person raising the grievance may wish to keep a copy of the document for their own records.

Applicable law

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth) and the National Employment Standards (NES) apply to many employment situations in Australia.

Many employment situations are also governed by modern awards or enterprise agreements. If such an award or agreement applies, then that will set out some additional minimum standards with which the employer must comply.

In relation to bullying, harassment, victimisation and discrimination, the following legislation might be relevant:

- Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Commonwealth)

- Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Commonwealth)

- Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Commonwealth)

- Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Commonwealth)

- Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Commonwealth)

Each state and territory has legislation in relation to work health and safety. Further information is available from Safe Work Australia.

In addition, general principles of contract law, as provided by the common law, will apply to any employment contract.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.