We're going to need some background - Grievances & Constructive Dismissal

If you are going to raise a grievance then the issues that you raise must have been raised through the internal process. You can't just slap in a grievance.

Having raised the issues, and not received a satisfactory response or outcome, then you can submit a grievance. In theory there should be a hearing arrange as soon as possible, ACAS say within 5 days, so I think that from 12th June to 7th July would be considered unreasonable. From the ACAS website "arrange a meeting, ideally within five working days, in private where there will not be interruptions"

If however, your employer fails to follow  a reasonable process, mishandles the process or fails to procede in a timely fashion then this can lead to a constructive dismissal claim.

As I am still in the process, I can only suggest that not receiving the grievance outcome letter until 29th July is also unreasonable. From the ACAS website "The meeting should be held without unreasonable delay whilst allowing the employee reasonable time to prepare their case.", "Employers and employees should raise and deal with issues promptly and should not unreasonably delay meetings, decisions or confirmation of those decisions" & "Employees should be informed in writing of the results of the appeal hearing as soon as possible." 

My employers claimed that it was a complex case, hence the delay. It wasn't.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the grievance meeting then you can appeal, this should be within 5 working days. I can see nothing in the ACAS guidelines to say that ex-employees are not allowed to have their appeal heard.

AI Says "While there isn't a strict legal obligation, it is advisable for employers to hear ex-employees' grievance appeals to avoid potential penalties at an Employment Tribunal and to prevent issues from escalating. Adhering to the Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) Code of Practice is recommended, as a failure to respond to a serious grievance could be seen as unreasonable or lead to a reduction in compensation if a tribunal claim is made.

Contructive dismissal can be claimed if, & these are examples from the ACAS webite,

• regularly not being paid the agreed amount without a good reason
• being bullied or discriminated against
• raising a grievance that the employer refuses to look into
• making unreasonable changes to working patterns or place of work without agreement
• It could be because of one serious incident or a series of things.

Whatever you think, if you are going to resign and claim constructive dismissal, I would suggest taking legal advice. You should be able to get some advice free of charge initially. Going forwards there are Solicitors who will take it on a no-win, no-fee basis. If they take it on then it would suggest that you will have a pretty decent chance of winning, otherwise they will be wasting their time.

Again from ACAS

Making a constructive dismissal claim

You usually have the right to make a constructive dismissal claim to an employment tribunal if you:

• are legally classed as an employee
• have worked for your employer for 2 years

There are strict time limits for making a claim to an employment tribunal. In most cases, you have 3 months minus 1 day from either:

• the last day of your notice period
• the day you resigned, if you did not give your employer notice

If you've decided to make a claim to an employment tribunal you must first notify Acas. This is a free service. There aren't many hoops to jump through either, the on-line form is fairly easy to complete, and you can keep going back to it, it self saves.

If you're considering making a claim to an employment tribunal, you can notify Acas. We'll then offer you our early conciliation service to try and resolve the problem without you having to go to an employment tribunal.

Important: Our early conciliation service is very busy. It could take 4 to 5 weeks for it to start. This means you might only have 1 to 2 weeks for early conciliation.

In my case I had less than a week to complete the process, so be on your toes. There may be a bit of toing and froing to do, so it can be a bit stressful to complete in time. My conciliator was extremely helpful and guided me through the process.

Now that there is a time limit you need to keep an eye on delaying tactics. I'm sure that it is pure coincidence in my case that my employers came back to me with the grievance outcome the day before I received my certificate to show that I had gone through the process. I'm guessing that this process is automated, subject to all the boxes being ticked, as my certificate cam through at one in the morning, so no time for haggling on the last day.

You can't go to tribunal without getting your certificate.

My solicitor completed the next step, but I think you have a month then to make your submission to the employment tribunal. It can be quite some time before you get a hearing, our preliminary date is 13th January, so don't hold your breath.

Going back to my appeal. It hasn't been investigated. They are claiming that as an ex-employee they don't need to hold it, however, having received a tribunal date it is somewhat irrelevant, it is just a further example of not my employers not following the process in a timely fashion and something additional that we can use in our case.

I will add the Company details at a later date.