Complaints involving senior leaders
Formal grievances about the conduct, decisions or management approach of directors, owners or senior managers.
Independent grievance investigations
Take the heat out of conflict. Establish the facts fairly.
Dekela provides impartial, outsourced investigations into complex formal grievances, including complaints involving senior leaders, workplace fairness and systemic management concerns.
Impartial · Acas-aligned · Fixed-fee scoping
SMEs, charities & regional employers Independent fact-finding Fair opportunity to be heard Clear written findings
When internal neutrality is difficult
A formal grievance deserves a fair and credible response.
An unresolved complaint can damage working relationships, increase absence and make an already difficult dispute harder to resolve. Where the grievance involves senior management, the internal HR team or complex organisation-wide concerns, independence may be essential to confidence in the process.
Dekela gathers relevant evidence, hears the people involved and reports objective findings against an agreed scope. The employer retains responsibility for the formal grievance outcome and appeal.
Grievance investigations at a glance
- For UK SMEs, charities and regional businesses
- Senior-level, systemic and complex grievances
- Independent, impartial fact-finding
- Structured interviews and evidence review
- Defined scope and transparent pricing
When to appoint externally
Bring independence where the organisation cannot provide it internally.
Minor concerns may be resolved informally. A formal external investigation becomes particularly valuable where seniority, prior involvement or complexity creates a real or perceived conflict.
| The internal challenge | The Dekela outsourced approach |
|---|---|
| The grievance concerns a senior leaderInternal staff may feel unable to challenge a director, owner or influential manager objectively. | Independent reporting lineWe work to agreed terms of reference outside the management hierarchy and test evidence consistently. |
| Internal HR is already involvedThe team may have advised on earlier decisions or become part of the complaint itself. | Conflict-free fact-findingWe check independence at the outset and create a clear separation between the investigation and outcome decision. |
| The allegations are complex or systemicLong histories, multiple witnesses and overlapping complaints can make the scope drift or create unreasonable delay. | Defined, managed investigationWe turn the grievance into precise questions, identify proportionate evidence and keep the work focused. |
What we investigate
Independent fact-finding for complex workplace grievances.
Every case is scoped around the written grievance, relevant policies, people involved and the decision the employer needs to make.
Pay & workplace fairness
Concerns about unequal treatment, pay decisions, opportunities, workload allocation or inconsistent application of policy.
Systemic or team-wide concerns
Alleged patterns of poor management, exclusion, favouritism, breakdowns in trust or wider cultural problems.
Working relationships & treatment
Complex interpersonal disputes, communication failures, dignity concerns and complaints about day-to-day treatment.
Does the grievance include discrimination, bullying or sexual misconduct? Explore our bullying and harassment investigation service.
SME case study
A formal grievance involving a company director.
A regional employer received a grievance alleging bullying and unfair treatment by an operations director. The internal HR team had worked closely with the director and did not have sufficient independence to lead the investigation.
Dekela agreed clear terms of reference, interviewed the complainant, director and relevant witnesses separately, and reviewed the communications and policies needed to test each allegation.
The outcome
The evidence indicated significant communication and management failures but did not support every allegation as framed. The report gave the employer a reliable basis for its grievance outcome and informed a separate discussion about mediation and management improvement.
Details have been generalised to protect confidentiality.A full and fair procedure
How an independent grievance investigation works.
We establish a precise scope, gather evidence from all sides and provide clear findings for the appointed outcome manager.
- 01
Scope & investigation plan
We analyse the written grievance, identify each issue, agree terms of reference and set a proportionate timetable.
- 02
Neutral fact-finding
We conduct fair, non-judgmental interviews with the complainant, people responding and relevant witnesses.
- 03
Policy & evidence review
We consider relevant contracts, policies, communications, records and comparable practice within the organisation.
- 04
Findings & handover
We report findings against each issue and explain the evidential basis so the employer can decide the outcome and next steps.
Current official guidance: Acas formal grievance procedure · Acas Code of Practice · Acas investigations at work
Common questions
Independent grievance investigation questions, answered.
For advice about a live situation, speak to our team in confidence.
What if an employee refuses to attend a grievance meeting?
The employer should explore the reasons, explain the purpose of the meeting and consider reasonable alternatives such as a video meeting, written questions, a different location or reasonable adjustments. If the employee still does not engage, the organisation may need to decide the grievance on the available evidence, documenting the opportunities it provided and any limitations this creates.
Does the employee have a right to see the investigation report?
The employee should receive the grievance outcome and reasons. Whether the full report or supporting material can be shared depends on fairness, the organisation’s procedure, confidentiality and data-protection considerations. Information may need to be redacted or summarised to protect third parties while still giving the employee enough detail to understand and appeal the decision.
Can a grievance lead to disciplinary action?
A grievance investigation may identify evidence that warrants a separate disciplinary process. The grievance findings should not automatically determine disciplinary guilt. Any conduct allegation should be put to the relevant employee through a fair process, with investigation and decision-making roles separated where practicable.
Confidential initial conversation
A complex grievance deserves an impartial response.
Share a high-level outline in confidence. We’ll discuss the issues, independence requirements and an appropriate fixed-fee investigation scope.