is a complaint the same as a grievance?

[pom-pom]

I was wondering if a written complaint to my employer is classed as a grievance even if I haven't stated it to be a grievance. My mother works as a legal secretary at a solicitors dealing with matrimonial law (but not employment law) and seems to think that a complaint is different to a grievance because I wrote a letter of complaint to my employers without stating it was a grievance and they have assumed that it is.
Is this right?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yes it is the same and ET's have ruled this as so.

One need not even write the word 'grievance' anywhere on a letter either. Even a solicitor's letter to an employer has been deemed as a grievance.

[pom-pom]

I read that there's a time limit that it can be taken to an employment tribunal. If I sent a letter of complaint on the 3rd of February and my employer havent done anything for me, can it still be taken to an ET?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

It's your employer's problem that they failed to follow the grievance procedure, it's not yours, you followed it.

I take it the 3rd February's complaint was a direct response to what you are complaining about?

What is the nature of the complaint?

In any case, you have a further three month extension to file an ET claim so you are still in time.

[pom-pom]

I actually started a thread about it 2 weeks ago titled "can I take legal action" as I am signed off sick with depression but my employer refuses to accept that its the companys fault.
The letter that I sent on 3rd February did recieve a reply and i met with my employers on the 14th march. At this meeting my employers told me that they would investigate my complaint and then meet me a fortnight later to discuss it further but this never happened and I was ignored for a month and a half. And I ended up having to be the one calling, emailing, faxing etc until I eventually recieved some acknowledgement from them that they were going to sort something out for my return to work as I was being bullied and didn't want to go back.
they are now lying to me by saying they haven't recieved any sick notes as evidence of my depression. They have also said that they don't believe that I was bullied and that it was just a personality clash. So they have wasted all this time and made me wait for this "investigation" only to be told it was me overreacting! Also, because they haven't recieved these sick notes (which I know they have), they haven't paid me any statutory sick pay since the start of my sickness in January!