- To settle grievances as close as possible to the point of origin.
- To ensure that the employer treats grievances seriously and resolves them as quickly
as possible. - To ensure that the employer treats the employees fairly and consistently.
Management and employees at all levels within the organisation are urged to give care-
ful consideration to grievances raised and should use their conflict resolution skills to
resolve grievances. In that regard:
- All managers and employees shall treat one another with sensitivity and respect,
- Where a grievance is lodged, an employee‘s employment should not be prejudiced
in any way whatsoever, - The employee has the right at all stages to be accompanied and assisted by a fellow
employee or by a trade union representative when dealing with grievances, and - An employee should be entitled to use this procedure when it is within a reasonable
period from when the grievance occurred.
In the interest of maintaining good working relations, an aggrieved employee is encour-
aged to first discuss any grievance verbally with the immediate manager provided that,
unless it would be unreasonable to expect an employee to do so. Where the grievance
has something to do with that immediate manager, the employee may proceed directly
to stage one of the formal grievance procedures. Where the manager fails to resolve the
grievance to the employee’s satisfaction within five working days or any other agreed
period between them, the aggrieved employee may complete a formal grievance form
and refer the matter to stage one, to be dealt with by a senior manager.
The formal procedure
- The employee must outline the grievance in writing and suggest a possible remedy
in the prescribed formal grievance form. The manager, who dealt with the grievance
at the informal stage, must complete the steps taken to resolve the grievance, and
comment on any suggested remedies. - Where the employee‘s immediate manager deals with the grievance at stage two, the
employee should discuss the grievance verbally with that person before completing
a formal grievance form. The form has to be dealt with by a senior manager. - Once the manager dealing with the grievance in stage two has received a formal
grievance form, he/she should invite the aggrieved employee to attend a grievance
meeting to discuss the matter and should make a concerted effort to resolve the
grievance within ten working days or any other period agreed between them. - The manager dealing with the grievance at this stage may agree with the employee
and the employee’s representative on the appropriate procedure to be followed in
each case. This may involve calling a meeting with the aggrieved parties using me-
diation, arbitration, a commission of enquiry or any other procedure that may be
deemed appropriate in the circumstances. - If the employee is still aggrieved, notwithstanding the effort to resolve the parties
earlier, the employee may use the means available in law for the protection of em-
ployee’s rights.