Every business should have a strong policy on grievance procedures.
While the ultimate goal is to ensure your workplace remains harmonious, there will be times when employees may fall out, managers may overstep the mark or an employee may want to raise a concern about the work environment or a colleague.
A grievance procedure allows employees to raise any such concerns before they get out of hand.
The goal of grievance procedures is to address the matter before the employee deems it so serious that they look for a trade union or a lawyer to solve it for them.
It's an important part of Irish employment law, so you can read this guide to ensure you stay legally compliant.
Is there a law requiring employers to have grievance procedures?
While it is not set down in law that employers must have grievance procedures in place, there is a Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (SI No. 146 of 2000) setting out the disciplinary and grievance procedures that should apply if no agreed procedures exist in the workplace.
The Code of Practice: Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures includes details of the critical features of a grievance policy to ensure it complies with fair procedures and the principles of natural justice.
The code sets out that a grievance procedure should:
- Be in writing.
- Be set out in language that is clear and easily understood.
- Be communicated to all employees at the start of their employment.
- Be applied consistently with all grievances to be fairly examined and processed.
What kind of grievances are likely to arise at work?
A grievance at work can arise for a variety of different reasons. The following grievance at work examples could happen in any workplace:
- Bullying in the workplace complaints.
- Workload complaints.
- Work conditions complaints.
- Pay and benefits complaints.
The procedure
With any grievance in the workplace, it’s important to try and resolve it as quickly as possible. This is why it’s vital to have an effective grievance process in place to effectively handle employee grievances.
You should follow the grievance handling procedure consistently for all grievances that are raised.
In general, there should be no undue delay in opening and moving through the stages of the grievance procedure in HRM.
As a general rule, you should try to resolve grievances informally between the employee concerned and his or her immediate manager or supervisor. Not all complaints can be dealt with on an informal or private basis and if that is the case you will need to open a formal grievance procedure.
A formal grievance is likely to require an investigation which must be carried out by an impartial third party to ensure there can be no allegations of bias.
Both the employee raising a grievance and any other employees who are involved in the complaint have certain rights/entitlements during the grievance process.
The grievance procedure must comply with the general principles of natural justice and fair procedures which include:
- That employee grievances are fairly examined and processed.
- That details of any allegations or complaints are put to the employee concerned.
- That the employee concerned is given the opportunity to respond fully to any such allegations or complaints.
- That the employee concerned is given the opportunity to avail of the right to be represented during the procedure.
- That the employee concerned has the right to a fair and impartial determination of the issues concerned, taking into account any representations made by, or on behalf of, the employee and any other relevant or appropriate evidence, factors, circumstances.
Need our help?
So as you can see a grievance procedure is vital to ensure complaints don’t snowball into a wider workforce distraction.
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