How do I raise a grievance about disability discrimination?

Put it in writing: send your employer a formal grievance setting out what happened and why it was disability discrimination, then follow the Acas Code through a grievance meeting and an appeal.

The first step: a written grievance

Raise it informally first if you can, but if that does not work or the matter is serious, put a formal grievance in writing. The Acas Code asks you to do this without unreasonable delay and to send it to a manager who is not the person you are complaining about. Keep it factual and dated. A workable opening is: “I am raising a formal grievance about disability discrimination. On [date] [what happened], and I believe this was discrimination because of my disability under the Equality Act 2010.” Then say what you want to happen next.

You do not need a formal diagnosis to raise this. Under the Equality Act 2010, disability is defined by the effect of a physical or mental impairment, not by a diagnosis or by whether your employer has accepted one, so do not let a missing label stop you from complaining now. If you need adjustments to the grievance process itself, ask for them in the same letter.

The second step: the meeting, then the appeal

Your employer should hold a grievance meeting without unreasonable delay. You have a statutory right, on a reasonable request, to be accompanied by a colleague or a trade union representative, who can speak for you and confer with you but cannot answer questions on your behalf. After the meeting your employer should give you their decision in writing. If you are not satisfied, you can appeal in writing, and the appeal should be heard by someone senior who was not involved the first time.

What to ask the grievance process to adjust if you are disabled:

• Extra time, or breaks during the meeting.
• A support worker or advocate present alongside your companion.
• Questions or documents sent in advance, or in an accessible format.
• A meeting held remotely, or in a quieter, low-sensory room.

If the employer is reading this

Following the Acas Code here is not optional housekeeping. A tribunal can increase a compensation award by up to 25% where an employer has unreasonably failed to follow the Code. Separately, the duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act applies to the grievance procedure itself, so refusing a disabled employee extra time, a support worker or an accessible format can become a fresh discrimination claim on top of the original one.

The escalation route, and the clock

If the grievance and appeal do not resolve it, you can notify Acas for early conciliation and then make a claim to an employment tribunal. The deadline is tight: a discrimination claim must normally be brought within three months less one day of the act you are complaining about. Raising the grievance does not pause that deadline. Only notifying Acas for early conciliation stops the clock. So your internal grievance and the tribunal time limit run in parallel and must be tracked together. For what the law counts as discrimination, see what disability discrimination at work means.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.