Guides

The importance of understanding your type of grievance

Written by Danae Shell | Jul 24, 2025 2:48:46 PM



Okay, here's something that I want anyone in the UK who's making any kind of complaint to their employer to really, really understand.

When you complain, make sure you've got straight in your head if the things you're complaining about are morally wrong or also legally wrong.

And just to be clear, you can file a grievance about things that aren't illegal but are still wrong.

There are lots of awful things people can do to each other that aren't illegal.

It is so important to know the difference because of how you handle that conversation and how you manage your expectations.

If something is just morally wrong and not illegal, then you need to understand you have less leverage. The leverage you have is different.

It's more of a reputational risk for your employer. And you need to manage the expectations about what you want the outcome to be.

If it's also legally wrong, then you have have more and different leverage. The leverage of potentially going to Tribunal, costly legal bills for them, et cetera.

So know which is which, so you can manage your asks.