Grievances and its handling procedures

Understanding Grievance Procedure in Human Resource Management

If an organization has to move towards excellence, maintenance of harmonious and cordial relationship is a vital condition.

Similar to organization’ expectations from the employees in terms of work, the employees have expectation in terms what they have contributed.

Failure to meet with each others expectation or the deviations from what has already been accepted may lead to indiscipline, grievance and stress are of continuing in nature and often judicial- legal process may not be of much help in resolving them.

Defining grievances “Grievance Handling Procedure” – Prof .M.S .Rao

“It is not always who is right and who is wrong. But it is always what is right and what is wrong.” – Prof. M.S. Rao , Chief Consultant, MSR Leadership Consultants, India.

What is Grievance?

Grievance is all about violation of the contract, practices, rules and regulations. As human beings are different there is bound to be grievances among employees leading to conflicts at the workplace. To avert any kind of conflicts within the organization, there is need for a proper grievance procedure so that the employees feel that their grievances are addressed and redressed.

Features 1. A grievance refers to any form of discontent or dissatisfaction with any aspect of the organization.

2. The dissatisfaction must arise out of employment and not due to personal or family problems.

3. The discontent can arise out of real or imaginary reasons. When employees feel that injustice has been done to them, they have a grievance. The reason for such a feeling may be valid or invalid, legitimate or irrational, justifiable or ridiculous.

4. The discontent may be voiced or unvoiced, but it must find expression in some form. However, discontent per se is not a grievance. Initially, the employee may complain orally or in writing. If this is not looked into promptly, the employee feels a sense of lack of justice. Now, the discontent grows and takes the shape of a grievance.

5. Broadly speaking, thus, a grievance is traceable to be perceived as non-fulfillment of one’s expec tations from the organization.

Causes of Grievances Grievances may occur due to a number of reasons:

1. Economic:

Employees may demand for individual wage adjustments. They may feel that they are paid less when compared to others. For example, late bonus, payments, adjustments to overtime pay, perceived inequalities in treatment, claims for equal pay, and appeals against performance- related pay awards.

2. Work environment:

It may be undesirable or unsatisfactory conditions of work. For example, light, space, heat, or poor physical conditions of workplace, defective tools and equipment, poor quality of material, unfair rules, and lack of recognition.

3. Supervision:

It may be objections to the general methods of supervision related to the attitudes of the supervisor towards the employee such as perceived notions of bias, favoritism, nepotism, caste affiliations and regional feelings.

4. Organizational change:

Any change in the organizational policies can result in grievances. For example, the implementation of revised company policies or new working practices.

5. Employee relations:

Employees are unable to adjust with their colleagues, suffer from feelings of neglect and victimization and become an object of ridicule and humiliation, or other inter- employee disputes.

6. Miscellaneous:

These may be issues relating to certain violations in respect of promotions, safety methods, transfer, disciplinary rules, fines, granting leaves, medical facilities, etc.

Characteristics of Grievances1- It May Be Unvoiced Or Expressly Stated

2- It May Be Written Or Oral

3- It May Be Valid, Legitimate Or Untrue Or False.

4- It May Relate To The Organizational Work

5- An Employee May Feel An Injustice Has Been Done.

6- It May Affect The Performance Or Work.

7- Grievances generally give rise to Unhappiness, Frustration, Indifference, Discontent, Poor Morale, And Poor Efficiency.

Types of Grievances A-INDIVIDUAL

B-GROUP

C-UNION

D-POLICY

A - Individual• An individual grievance is a complaint that an action by management has violated the rights of an individual as set out in the collective agreement or law, or by some unfair practice.

• Examples of this type of grievance include: discipline, demotion, classification disputes, denial of benefits, etc.

• The steward should file the grievance, not the employee on his/her own, as it is in the interest of everyone in the union that the grievance be handled properly.

• When an individual’s rights have been violated and that person refuses to file a grievance, the steward should file the grievance on behalf of the union – especially if the contract specifically permits. In this way, the steward will defend the collective agreement and protect the rights of all employees covered by it.

• The management’s argument that the steward cannot file an individual grievance on behalf of the union is false.

B - Group•A group grievance is a complaint by a group of individuals, for example, a department or a shift that has been affected the same way and at the same time by an action taken by management.

•An example of a group grievance would be where the employer refuses to pay a shift premium to the employees who work on afternoon shift when the contract entitles them to it. Clearly, they should grieve the matter as a group rather than proceeding by way of individual grievances.

C - Policy• A policy grievance is a complaint by the union that an action of management (or its failure or refusal to act) is a violation of the agreement that could affect all who are covered by the agreement.

• Group grievances are often treated as policy grievances, but strictly speaking, they should be considered separately. A policy grievance normally relates to the interpretation of the contract rather than the complaint of an individual.

• However, a policy grievance may arise out of circumstances that could also prompt an individual grievance, insofar as the union claims the action taken by management implies an interpretation of the collective agreement that will work to the detriment of all employees.

• For example, management assigns a steady day-shift employee to work on an off shift without regard to seniority. The union might grieve in an effort to establish that seniority must be considered in such an assignment, even though the individual involved might have no complaints against the shift change. The point is that the outcome or the precedence of the grievance may have a detrimental effect on the local union at some point in the future and the union must challenge it

D - Union• A union grievance may involve a dispute arising directly between the parties to the collective agreement.

• For example, the union would grieve on its own behalf if management failed to deduct union dues as specified by the collective agreement.

• In these cases, the union grievance is one in which the union considered its rights to have been violated, and not just the rights of individuals in the local union.

Grievance Procedures Grievance procedures are a means of dispute resolution that can be used by a company to address complaints by employees, suppliers, customers, and/or competitors.

A grievance procedure provides a hierarchical structure for presenting and settling workplace disputes. The procedure typically defines the type of grievance it covers, the stages through which the parties proceed in attempting to resolve matters, individuals responsible at each stage, the documentation required, and the time limits by which the grievance must be presented and dealt with at each stage.

The best-known application of grievance procedures is as a formal process outlined in labor union contracts.

Grievance procedures do not necessarily have to be so formal and elaborate, and in fact, overly formal grievance procedures often discourage the airing of disputes in a timely manner. In small businesses, the procedures may consist of a few lines in an employee manual or the designation of a single ombudsman to deal with problems as they develop.

Peer review of employee concerns is another popular way to address grievances. On the other hand, some larger companies may create an entire department dedicated to fielding complaints from employees or customers.

Whatever form they may take, grievance procedures are intended to allow companies to hear and resolve complaints in a timely and cost-effective manner, before they result in litigation.

Knowing that formal procedures are available often encourages employees to raise concerns or question company policies before major problems develop. It also makes managers less likely to ignore problems, because they know that upper management may become involved through the grievance process.

In union settings, grievance procedures help protect employees against arbitrary decisions of management regarding discipline, discharge, promotions, or benefits. They also provide labor unions and employers with a formal process for enforcing the provisions of their contracts.

Although having grievance procedures in place is important in both unionized and non-unionized settings, companies must support their written policies with consistent actions if they hope to maintain good employee relations. To make a grievance procedure work, all parties must approach it with the attitude that it serves their mutual interests. Ideally, an effective grievance procedure helps management discover and correct problems within an operation before they cause serious trouble. It can provide a vehicle through which employees can communicate their concerns to upper management.

Typical grievance procedures• In a union environment, a typical grievance procedure begins with an employee presenting a problem to his or her immediate supervisor within a certain time period after the offending event has occurred. The supervisor then has a set amount of time to either respond or send the grievance on to be addressed by the head of the department.

• At this point, a union representative enters the negotiations on behalf of the employee. If the situation is still not resolved, the grievance continues up the chain of command to the plant manager and the president of the local union. If the labor union fails to follow the procedures at any point, the contract usually specifies that it must drop the grievance. Conversely, the company is usually obligated to resolve the grievance in the employee's favor if management fails to follow the procedures outlined in the collective bargaining agreement.

• If the situation still cannot be resolved, the final step in the grievance process is for both parties to present their side to a pre-designated arbitrator. The arbitrator's role is to determine the rights of both parties under the labor agreement, and his or her decision is usually final.

• The labor contract generally specifies the type of arbitrator used, the method of selecting the arbitrator, the scope of the arbitrator's authority, and the arrangements for the arbitrator's payment. A potential intermediate step involves presenting the grievance to a mediator, whose job is to help the parties solve their own differences before they reach the formal arbitration phase. Mediation is usually less time consuming and expensive than arbitration. In addition, the mediator may be able to teach the two parties dispute resolution skills that may be helpful in solving future problems.

Essential ingredients for grievance procedure

I. The grievance process must be clear and simple.

II. It must be well-defined.

III. It must conform to the current legislation without any prejudice.

IV. There should not be any delay in the grievance process as it might result into crisis.

V. Regular training must be provided to the supervisors and seniors who involve in this process so that they can handle effectively.

VI. Finally, there has to be follow-up to check the status of the grievance and for improving the systems better from time to time.

Steps in grievance handling procedureo Identify the grievance and acknowledge the same.

o Listen carefully to the complainant.

o Define the grievance clearly.

o Gather the complete information with facts and figures.

o Analyze and search for multiple solutions to the grievance and finally select the best feasible and possible solution and implement the same.

o Ensure that there is follow-up at each stage for successful grievance procedure.

Prescriptions during grievance procedure

• If you are not the appropriate person, refer to the right person. • Spend adequate time with the complainant.• Be cool and composed during the process.• Check for facts and figure rather than hearsay.• Practice attentive listening skills.• Find out what bugs the complainant.• Don’t have any preconceived notions about the involved parties.• Don’t threaten people. • Always try to settle the grievance at the lower level amicably rather than dragging to the higher levels where it might become more complicated.• Conduct the grievance hearing privately.• Make necessary changes, if there are any irregularities in policies and procedures. • Keep the entire grievance process confidential.• Always make the process win-win.

Preventive Measures Quick action- As soon as the grievance arises, it should be identified and resolved. Training must be given to the managers to

effectively and timely manage a grievance. This will lower the detrimental effects of grievance on the employees and their performance.

Acknowledging grievance- The manager must acknowledge the grievance put forward by the employee as manifestation of true and real feelings of the employees. Acknowledgement by the manager implies that the manager is eager to look into the complaint impartially and without any bias. This will create a conducive work environment with instances of grievance reduced.

Gathering facts- The managers should gather appropriate and sufficient facts explaining the grievance’s nature. A record of such facts must be maintained so that these can be used in later stage of grievance redressal.

Examining the causes of grievance- The actual cause of grievance should be identified. Accordingly remedial actions should be taken to prevent repetition of the grievance.

Decisioning- After identifying the causes of grievance, alternative course of actions should be thought of to manage the grievance. The effect of each course of action on the existing and future management policies and procedure should be analyzed and accordingly decision should be taken by the manager.

Execution and review- The manager should execute the decision quickly, ignoring the fact, that it may or may not hurt the employees concerned. After implementing the decision, a follow-up must be there to ensure that the grievance has been resolved completely and adequately.

2 Golden rules of handling grievances

A very helpful question to ask an employee raising a grievance is “what outcome do you want from this grievance?”

This tends to focus the employee’s mind on the solution he or she is looking for rather than just the problem.

BE PREPARED FOR A GRIEVANCE.

Check that there is an up to date procedure in place, published in the handbook, that supports the resolution of grievance issues in your workplace.

Noted… Please also note an employee can raise a grievance during a disciplinary process.

The disciplinary process may be temporarily suspended or if the grievance and disciplinary cases are related it may be appropriate to deal with both issues concurrently.

The size of the business may require an expert outside advisor

E.g. experienced HR professional to hear the Grievance, the Appeal or even the Disciplinary.

Bo Employee

Thank You