In Procek v Oakford Farms Ltd, the Claimant presented a grievance which expressly stated that it was informal, and that a failure to address it would result in a formal grievance, under the 2004 Regulations, being lodged. A further grievance was never lodged.
The EAT held that the letter was nevertheless a valid grievance under the Employment Act 2002. It was stated that the only question to be asked is whether it satisfies the requirements laid down for a Step 1 grievance letter. This merely requires that the grievance is set out in writing and sent to the employer, and that had been done.
As the employer was not aware that it was a grievance, a statutory uplift in compensation was not applied as it was pointed out that the tribunal had a discretion under s31(4) of the 2002 Act to conclude that it would not be “just and equitable” to apply any uplift.
