Grievance Management for HR Leaders

Recently, there have been many instances where employees – either as individuals or as a group – took to the streets about improper and unfair practices or specific incidents at their workplace. In many cases, it is the employees at a higher position than the victims who perpetuate some sort of injustice owing to their power of position. There are also cases where colleagues at the same level were offenders. In all circumstances, however, the employer, too, suffers the brunt of the consequences. They should be, given that they are in charge of the workplace’s culture, regulations, and rules.

Here are the major trends emerging from the analysis of news related to workplace incidents:

• The most common reason for employee grievances is Bullying. It can take many forms of harassment, such as verbal abuse, physical threats, or seeking sexual favors.
• The next item on the list is employee complaints about their relationships with their managers. These can include feeling micromanaged, being treated unfairly, or not being given enough feedback.
• Employees also complain about their workload. This can include feeling overworked, lacking time to complete tasks, or being given unrealistic deadlines.
• Pay and benefits are another common source of employee grievances. Most often, the complaints are about not being paid enough, not receiving promised benefits, or not being treated fairly when considering promotions and raises.
• Working long hours and not being able to take holidays is impacting employees’ healthy work-life balance. There are more complaints about not being able to achieve a work-life balance.

While not all instances end up in the public domain, they still impact the company’s productivity and reputation.

What Is Grievance at the Workplace?

A grievance is a wrongdoing that could cause a complaint. The victim or an observer usually perceives it. Employees express these as concerns, complaints, or unhappiness in the workplace. These grievances may develop for a variety of reasons, including unfair treatment, workplace policies, management choices, working conditions, harassment, or any other concerns affecting the employee’s well-being or job satisfaction.

Laws and Acts That Govern Grievance Management at the Workplace

The following laws govern grievance management in the workplace in India:

• Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 (IESOA): Section 11 of this act requires every industrial establishment to have a set of standing orders with provisions for settling disputes between the employer and the workers.
• Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (IDA): Section 9C mandates that every employer employing at least 20 workmen set up a Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) to resolve disputes arising from workers’ grievances.
• Factories Act, 1948 (FA): Section 74 requires every factory employing 100 or more workers to constitute a Works Committee to promote measures for securing and preserving amity and good relations between the employer and workers and to settle any difference of opinion or misunderstanding that may arise between them.
• The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013: This act was introduced relatively recently to provide protection against sexual harassment of women in the workplace. It lays out guidelines for the prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and all associated matters.

In addition to the above laws, there are a number of guidelines and circulars from the government that provide further guidance on grievance management at the workplace:

• “The Code of Discipline for Industrial Establishments,” issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in 1958.
• “The Guidelines on Grievance Redressal Mechanism in Industrial Establishments,” issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in 2003.
• “The Circular on Grievance Redressal Mechanism in Public Sector Enterprises,” issued by the Department of Public Enterprises in 2010.

All these laws, acts, circulars, and guidelines aim to ensure that employees receive a fair and impartial grievance management process and that employers are held accountable for their actions.

Understanding the Impact of Grievances

For successful grievance management, understanding its gist is crucial. Grievances, if not addressed in time, can have a significant impact on both employees and employers.

For Employees, Grievances Can Arise Due To

• Increased stress and anxiety: Grievances can contribute to increased stress and anxiety for employees and could negatively impact their physical and mental health.
• Low morale and motivation: Decreased productivity directly results from employees feeling demoralized or lacking motivation. This happens when grievances are not addressed promptly.
• Damaged relationships: Ineffective handling of grievances could result in damaged relationships at the workplace.

For Employers, Grievances Can Lead To

• Damaged reputation: For many organizations, their reputation and goodwill in the market are paramount. Employee grievances could potentially damage reputations if not handled appropriately. Even if the grievances are addressed, they still leave a bad mark on the company in the industry in which it operates, and it takes a very long time to overcome and repair the damage.
• Increased costs: Improper grievance management can cost employers money, including legal fees, productivity loss, and employee turnover.
• Legal liability: Organizations face exposure to legal liability if the grievances are not effectively managed. These lawsuits could be costly, and settlements could be very expensive, too.

Employers should have a well-defined and fair grievance management policy and procedure to handle grievances effectively and timely. Proper grievance management can help avert the negative impact of grievances or minimize it to a great extent.

Grounds and Roots of Grievance

We briefly touched upon the sources of grievances earlier. Understanding them better will lead to implementing better policies and procedures, translating to effective grievance management. Let us discuss in detail some of the most prevalent causes of employee complaints:

Discrimination and Harassment

Differences should boost creativity and innovation in the workplace. Unfortunately, some differences, such as race, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, may become reasons for discrimination. Employees may feel harassed if targeted for being different from the majority. For example, an employee who receives persistent comments or offensive actions will experience a hostile workplace. This is one of the most common reasons for grievance.

Unfair Treatment

In several instances, employees may register a grievance when they are being unfairly treated. For example, an employee may feel unfairly treated even after outperforming all the goals, or someone else may be promoted.

Non-compliance With Policies

Discriminatory application of policies, rules, and procedures by the organization or perception of unfair advantage provided to others will trigger a grievance complaint by the affected employee.

Unreasonable Work Demands

Unreasonable work demands or unrealistic goals may result in long work hours. Setting unrealistic work expectations or not providing clarity on roles and responsibilities could be a way of harassing the employee by a supervisor.

Lack of Communication and Transparency

Employees may feel victimized or marginalized and file a grievance complaint when the required information is deliberately held from the employee. This could happen in many ways, including withholding timely feedback, information, and training regarding the organization’s policy changes or important decisions. When this happens, employees feel that they are deliberately kept in the dark to stunt their growth in the organization. If an employee perceives any of this, they could raise a complaint.

Poor or Unsafe Working Conditions

Many factors contribute to unsafe working conditions. Physical safety is paramount in factories where machinery is used. Management ignoring equipment malfunctions or not providing safety gear may result in injuries that could have been avoided. If management routinely disregards health and safety regulations, it could cause scenarios for injuries to employees. There are also complaints about employees’ privacy being deliberately compromised by management or the organization, resulting in safety concerns.

Violation of Employee Rights

From denying legitimate breaks to forcing employees to work overtime without additional pay to terminating the job without a reason, these are employee rights violations. If proven, these could result in heavy penalties to the organization as they break labor laws. If only a select few employees are impacted by these actions, it is discrimination and harassment, as discussed above.

Whistleblowing

When an employee complains to the designated authority about unethical or illegal practices within the company, it is known as whistleblowing. Usually, employees choose to raise such issues anonymously if they fear retaliation. Ideally, employees should be able to complain without fear of retribution, even if their grievances may ultimately be proven to have no factual basis.

Not every complaint or grievance may be legitimate. Some begrudged employees may frivolously file complaints to take revenge on their supervisors or colleagues. That said, employers should take every complaint seriously and investigate it as thoroughly as possible. The next section discusses how to do that and the key steps in handling grievances.

Effective Ways to Handle Grievances at the Workplace

Here are some steps to take to handle grievances and take appropriate action:

• Listening: The first step in the grievance management procedure is to listen empathetically to the employee’s concerns. Asking questions only to understand from their perspective and clarify employee concerns and paying uninterrupted attention goes a long way in ensuring that the employee is fully heard.
• Investigating: It is a process of determining the facts in the case without bias. This could involve interviewing several employee colleagues and reviewing emails or documentary evidence. Facts can be established by keeping an open mind and being objective in the investigation approach.
• Act: Following a successful investigation, decisive action is needed to address an employee grievance. Several possible actions include updating policies and procedures or providing relevant training to the employee. The actions should resolve the employee’s concerns and must be done promptly.
• Communicate: It is important to keep the employee updated on the progress of the redressal process. This helps build trust in the process and confidence in the employee that their concerns are taken seriously.
• Follow up: The resolutions to employee concerns and the actions taken to address them may take time to show results. Follow up with the employee to see if all the concerns are resolved. Doing so would earn back some trust for the company.

Here are some important tips while handling grievances:

• The investigation should be impartial and fair.
• Employees should be kept informed of the progress of the investigation.
• All interactions with the employee and others should be documented.
• Respectful and professional conduct is essential throughout the process.
• The company’s grievance management should be followed consistently.

Establishing a Systematic Grievance Management Framework

While common sense and some good practices are a great place to start, establishing a systematic grievance management framework is well worth the time and effort. While the framework will benefit quickly and efficiently addressing and redressing complaints, it will also provide an opportunity to understand and prepare for the possible scenarios. Here are the steps to create a functional framework:

Identify the Sources of Grievances

Identifying, understanding, and documenting all possible sources and types of employee grievances will help address them in the best possible way.

Develop a Grievance Policy

The employee grievance policy should cover the steps involved in raising a complaint by the employee and the processes and procedures for investigating and addressing grievances. The policy should clearly define what constitutes a grievance, the channels employees can submit grievances, timelines for resolution, and the principles of confidentiality and impartiality.

Establish a Grievance Process

Create a simple process accessible to every employee. Ensure that the process itself is fair and allows for appeal of decisions.

Communicate the Policy

Ensure all employees know the grievance policy. Communicate the policy through various channels, such as employee handbooks, intranet portals, email communications, and employee meetings. Provide training or information sessions to educate employees on how to utilize the grievance management process effectively.

Establish Multiple Grievance Channels

Offer multiple channels for employees to submit grievances. This could include direct reporting to supervisors or managers, dedicated grievance email addresses, anonymous reporting systems, or an ombudsman office. Each channel should be clearly communicated to employees, emphasizing confidentiality and non-retaliation.

Designate Grievance Officers

HR can designate several grievance officers to review and investigate complaints. The officers are expected to be fair in their approach, thorough in their investigations, and decisive in providing the resolutions. Appoint trained individuals or a dedicated team to handle grievances impartially and confidentially. These grievance handlers should have the necessary skills and knowledge to investigate and resolve complaints effectively. Consider providing additional training to enhance their understanding of conflict resolution, communication, and applicable laws and regulations.

Provide Training to Employees

Include the process in the periodic mandatory training to ensure every employee knows it. This will ensure they understand their rights and know who to approach when needed.

Ensure Timely and Fair Investigations

Once a grievance is filed, it should be promptly acknowledged, and investigations should be initiated without delay. The investigation process should be fair, thorough, and unbiased. All relevant parties should be interviewed, and evidence should be gathered to make informed decisions.

Provide Mediation or Alternative Dispute Resolution

Consider offering mediation or alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve grievances amicably. Mediation can involve a neutral third party facilitating communication and negotiation between the parties involved. This approach can be used for some disputes that may have arisen out of misunderstandings between the parties. This will help improve understanding, encourage collaboration, and find mutually acceptable solutions faster.

Take Corrective Actions and Follow-Up

Resolution of grievance should result in corrective and preventive actions. Those actions should be clearly communicated to the involved parties on time. A review mechanism should ensure the resolution is satisfactory and all the recommended actions are taken.

Document and Track Grievances

Maintain detailed records of all grievances, including the nature of the complaint, steps taken, findings, and outcomes. This documentation is essential for tracking trends, identifying recurring issues, and monitoring the effectiveness of the grievance management framework.

Monitor the Grievance Process

The process should be periodically reviewed to improve or enhance it based on new learnings or changing circumstances. Regularly assess the effectiveness of the grievance management framework through employee feedback, surveys, and trend analysis. Identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments to enhance the overall process.

The below precautions would ensure a robust and systematic grievance management framework:

• The language used to create the document should be easily understandable to all.
• Grievance officers should be trained to conduct investigations, document evidence, and resolve issues fairly.
• Employees should be able to raise their complaints anonymously.
• Review periodically and monitor the effectiveness of the process to improve it.

Benefits of a Grievance Framework

Here are some of the benefits of having a systematic grievance management framework help to:

• Resolve grievances fairly, effectively, and efficiently.
• Build trust between employees and leaders.
• Promote a positive and productive work environment.
• Protect the employer from legal liability.

HR’s Role in Grievance Management

Human Resources plays a significant role in grievance management at the workplace. Here are some key responsibilities of HR in effectively managing employee grievances:

Developing Grievance Policies and Procedures

HR is responsible for developing and implementing clear grievance policies and procedures. They create guidelines that define how grievances should be reported, processed, and resolved within the organization. These policies should comply with relevant labor laws and regulations.

Learn about the top 10 HR Policies every organization should be implementing.

Communicating Grievance Policies

HR ensures all employees know the grievance policies and procedures. They also educate employees about their rights and responsibilities in the process. The policies are communicated through employee handbooks, intranet portals, training sessions, and regular updates.

Receiving and Documenting Grievances

Accurately recording the complaint is very important to ensure that a satisfactory resolution can be found as soon as possible. The HR department acts as the first point of contact for employees who may want to raise a complaint. They receive and document grievances in their entirety. They ensure that all the necessary information is collected, including the nature of the grievance, the parties involved, and any supporting evidence or documentation.

Conducting Impartial Investigations

HR plays a key role in conducting impartial investigations into employee grievances. They gather relevant information, interview all parties, review documentation, and objectively evaluate the evidence. HR ensures that investigations are conducted in a fair and unbiased manner, adhering to principles of natural justice.

Maintaining Confidentiality

Protecting the privacy of employees will encourage them to come forward with their concerns. HR maintains strict confidentiality throughout the grievance management process. They ensure that the information is shared only on a need-to-know basis with the parties involved in the case.

Mediation and Conflict Resolution

HR may facilitate mediation or other conflict resolution methods for effective grievance management. They may act as mediators or involve trained professionals to help facilitate productive discussions and negotiations between the involved parties. HR aims to find mutually agreeable solutions that address the underlying concerns of both parties.

Providing Guidance and Support

HR guides and supports employees and managers throughout the grievance process. They help employees understand their rights and options, provide advice on possible courses of action, and guide managers on how to handle grievances effectively and in compliance with company policies.

Ensuring Compliance with Legal Requirements

HR ensures that the organization’s grievance management practices are in compliance with relevant labor laws, regulations, and employment standards. They stay updated on legal developments and adapt grievance processes accordingly to avoid legal risks and liabilities.

Monitoring and Reporting

HR monitors and tracks the progress and outcomes of grievance cases. They maintain records of grievances, investigations, and resolutions. HR may also analyze trends and patterns to identify systemic issues and recommend organizational improvements to prevent future grievances.

Continuous Improvement

HR plays a role in continuously improving the grievance management process. They seek feedback from employees and stakeholders, evaluate the framework’s effectiveness, and implement changes as needed. HR ensures that lessons learned from previous grievances are applied to enhance the overall grievance management system.

By fulfilling these responsibilities, HR creates a fair, transparent, and supportive work environment where employee grievances are addressed promptly and effectively. HR’s involvement helps foster trust, resolve conflicts, and promote employee satisfaction and engagement.

Conclusion

Implementing a grievance procedure is imperative to avert troublesome consequences. A proper policy will foster fairness and help you avoid legal lawsuits. Remember, the purpose of managing grievances is not merely to avoid collateral damages but to enforce a positive work environment. So take this first step—draft a grievance policy and implement it before it becomes necessary. Investing in a grievance management system may require upfront costs; however, it can yield substantial long-term savings. A well-managed grievance process is a future investment, creating a foundation early on for trust and respect. Both make up a thriving workplace.

FAQ

1. Isn’t a Formal Grievance Process Too Cumbersome?

Formal processes are usually slow. Because they work on the philosophy of not overlooking even the smallest detail while investigating. It helps in communication and avoids misunderstandings. Eventually, if the grievance management process is documented, it allows you to identify trends and improve your workplace culture.

2. How Can I Discourage Frivolous Grievances?

Defining what complaints are acceptable and what is unacceptable can be an effective way to avert frivolous grievances. This will help create boundaries between genuine matters and inflated conspiracies. However, it should also ensure a clear path for legitimate grievances to be heard and addressed.

3. What Are the Costs Involved in Grievance Management?

While creating and implementing a grievance policy costs a little, a well-run grievance process saves much more money from the futuristic perspective. It helps avert costly lawsuits and impedes turnover from increasing.

4. How Can I Ensure Managers Handle Grievances Effectively?

Train managers to handle grievances. This makes them reliable enough to conduct a fair investigation and better at mediating and communicating clearly with both parties.

5. What if a Grievance Goes Public?

Always choose to keep matters confidential unless faced with a safety risk. However, if the grievances are highly publicized, the company must be ready to address public concerns. It is important to remain calm and composed in the event of being falsely accused.

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