Gripes from company left in charge (5)
I believe the answer is:
colic
'gripes' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'company left in charge' is the wordplay.
'company' becomes 'co' (abbreviation).
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'in charge' becomes 'ic' (abbreviation for 'in charge').
'co'+'l'+'ic'='COLIC'
'from' is the link.
(Other definitions for colic that I've seen before include "Spasmodic abdominal pains" , "Abdominal pain suffered by babies and horses" , "Abdominal pain, especially in infants" , "Inner pain" , "Abdominal pain spasms" .)