FREE online courses on Employee Grievances and Discipline - Essential Pre
requisites of a Grievance Procedure
Every organization should have a systematic grievance
procedure in order to redress the grievances effectively. As explained above,
unattended grievances may culminate in the form of violent conflicts later on.
The grievance procedure, to be sound and effective should possess certain
pre-requisites:
(a)
Conformity with statutory provisions:
Due consideration must be given to the prevailing legislation while designing
the grievance handling procedure.
(b)
Un-ambiguity: Every aspect of the
grievance handling procedure should be clear and unambiguous. All employees
should know whom to approach first when they have a grievance, whether the
complaint should be written or oral, the maximum time in which the redressal is
assured, etc. The redressing official should also know the limits within which
he can take the required action.
(c)
Simplicity: The grievance handling
procedure should be simple and short. If the procedure is complicated it may
discourage employees and they may fail to make use of it in a proper manner.
(d)
Promptness: The grievance of the
employee should be promptly handled and necessary action must be taken
immediately. This is good for both the employee and management, because if the
wrong doer is punished late, it may affect the morale of other employees as
well.
(e)
Training: The supervisors and the
union representatives should be properly trained in all aspects of grievance
handling beforehand or else it will complicate the problem.
(f)
Follow up: The Personnel Department
should keep track of the effectiveness and the functioning of grievance handling
procedure and make necessary changes to improve it from time to time.
(a)
Employee dissatisfaction or grievance should be identified by
the management if they are not expressed. If they are ventilated, management has
to promptly acknowledge them.
(b)
The management has to define the problem properly and
accurately after it is identified/acknowledged.
(c)
Complete information should be collected from all the parties
relating to the grievance. Information should be classified as facts, data,
opinions, etc.
(d)
The information should be analyzed, alternative solutions to
the problem should be developed and the best solution should be selected.
(e)
The grievance should be redressed by implementing the solution.
(f)
Implementation of the solution must be followed up at every
stage in order to ensure effective and speedy implementation.
