hello. an unsuccessful applicant has raised a Grievance due to the fact that they were not shortlisted for interview. the application form has been seen by a number of people who all agree not to shortlist the person. has this person got a case? they believe that they met the criteria whereas the panel did not.

Hi Mark,

As a matter of course I would treat the complaint seriously but you don't mention in your query whether or not the individual in question is an existing employee, which makes a difference to how you handle it.

If the individual is an employee then regardless of whether or not you think their complaint is groundless you have to follow the statutory grievance procedure.

If the individual is not an employee then you can pretty much respond to it how you wish.  Having said that you would be advised to take the issue seriously as in a worst case scenario you could be facing a tribunal claim.

You do not comment on what your recruitment procedures are or on what basis the individual was not selected for interview.  These factors will have an influence on the 'validity' of the complaint being made - was it a subjectve decision which could (arguably) have been based on a form of prejudice or was it an objective decision based on specific factors which can be explained clearly to the individual concerned?

Before responding to the individual I would recommend that you get more detailed advice so you can cover the issues arising from the facts of how the decision was made, etc.  If you want to have a more detailed discussion about your options please drop me a line. 

Hope this helps.

Dave Gilfillan