Grievance Policy

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Understanding the Nature and Purposes of a Grievance Policy

Employees are important in any company. Human Resource officers and CEOs cannot stress enough the importance of people in achieving organisational goals.

However, no matter how much companies strive to have harmonious relationships within the organisation, conflicts and issues arise among members or between members and superiors.

There are grievances or complaints that may disrupt the workplace, and it is our priority to address them to maintain and/or restore the cohesiveness, morale, and productivity of our people and the team.

What is a grievance policy?

A workplace grievance is an employee's work-related complaint about any member of the company (e.g., another employee, a member of the management, or a shareholder) or about the job or workplace where a violation occurs.

A grievance policy is a procedure that allows employees to properly raise those grievances so that they will be addressed in a constructive manner.

Purposes of a Grievance Policy It is our way to make our people feel that they are important and that their concerns are taken seriously. It ensures that any work-related complaints are addressed using a fair process. It allows us to record complaints accordingly and see where concerns recur. Then, the company can make necessary adjustments in the area where improvement is needed. It should provide our employees with a sense of security and assurance that we, in the company, do not tolerate negative behaviours and violations that compromise the well-being and productivity of our people. Having a clear grievance policy helps improve employee morale, productivity, and retention. Finally, it prevents or limits complaints from reaching external agencies or from needing further legal action.

Which among the following are examples of workplace grievances?

Steps in Raising Grievances

As an employee, you do everything you can do to work amicably with all your colleagues and superiors or subordinates.

However, you find yourself in a situation where you need to raise a grievance.

** Step No. 1: Identify an initial contact person.** It can be your line manager or supervisor. In bigger companies, it can be an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Officer or a Harassment Officer. This person is primarily responsible for: listening to your complaints without forming any view of the merit of the allegations, providing information you need about the complaint process, providing you support should you want to resolve the complaints personally or options should you want to raise the complaint with an external agency. This person is ideally not the same person who will be investigating or making decisions regarding the grievance.

Where the allegations are not admitted or substantiated

The complainant may need to be investigated to find out the reason for the complaint.

All staff members may be encouraged or required to undergo refresher trainings regarding workplace behaviour. (We are careful not to single out or punish the respondent that's not proven to have violated the organisation's policy or code of conduct.)

All staff may be asked to reread the copy of the company's discrimination and harassment policy or code of conduct that will be re-issued by the company.

Qualities of a Good Workplace Grievance Process

Workplace grievances are important to be handled with care and caution from the time the grievance was raised until a final decision about it was made.

This is why we aim to resolve grievances in a manner that is timely, appropriate, and fair.

Confidential We provide assurance that all information presented will be used solely in addressing the grievances and limited to the people involved. We might require people involved to sign a Confidentiality Agreement that prohibits them from discussing information about the grievance with other employees. We make sure to properly store and manage records of complaints. In extreme cases, though, we clarify that only a certain degree of confidentiality can be provided as there might be a need to disclose certain information with another staff, a senior manager, or a third party to more objectively and efficiently address the complaint.