Questions

What is the proper procedure that needs to be followed, when is the presence of an independent chairperson necessary, and what happens if the grievance is not resolved to the satisfaction of the employee?

What to do when the situation arises? Addressing grievances in the workplace is synonymous with a balancing act – a levelled playing field needs to be maintained. There are those employers who are too soft and make a ruling on a grievance without establishing whether the complaint holds any merit, and then there are those employers who ignore grievances and tend to victimize the employee who lodged the complaint.

Common grievances and confidentiality clauses: Grievances can be defined as gripes or feelings of discontent or dissatisfaction held by employees relating to poor or unfair treatment whether perceived or actual. Among some of the more common grievances are those relating to unfair treatment with regards to pay development, being passed over for promotional opportunities and adverse assessments on performance evaluations and assessments, as well as unacceptable treatment from co-workers involving disrespect, name calling and ostracism.

Grievances usually involve two parties, namely, the aggrieved party and the party against whom the grievance is laid, unless of course the grievance is of a collective nature in which case there would be multiple parties involved sharing a common grievance. Consistent with the principles of protection of information and the non-disclosure of confidential information in the employment context, information shared during a grievance hearing should not be disclosed to parties not in attendance at the hearing nor to those not required to have this kind of information, although there is no prohibition on lending from the principles and the lessons learned from a grievance to send out a communiqué to staff to highlight these principles.