The document defines grievances and outlines the grievance process. It states that a grievance is a formal complaint about any dissatisfaction that has been presented to management. The summary describes the typical stages of a grievance process, including an informal stage where the complaint is brought to a supervisor, and a formal stage where it is escalated to higher levels if unresolved. Finally, it notes that an effective grievance procedure provides a fair means for employees to resolve issues and helps build trust in the organization.

1. Grievances
By- Unnati Shah

2. • Dissatisfaction :Anything that disturbs an
employee , whether or not the unrest is
expressed in words.
• Complaint : A spoken or written
dissatisfaction brought to the attention of the
supervisor.
• Grievance : A complaint that has been
formally presented to a Management
representative or to a Union Official.

3. • A grievance can be defined as any sort of
dissatisfaction, which needs to be redressed
in order to bring about the smooth
functioning of the individual in the
organization.
• Broadly, a grievance can be defined as any
discontent of dissatisfaction with any aspect
of the organization.
• It can be real or imaginary, legitimate or
ridiculous, rated or unvoiced, written or
oral, it must however, find expression in
some form of the other.

4. • Discontent or dissatisfaction is not a grievance. They
initially find expression in the form of a complaint.
• When a complaint remains unattended and the
employee concerned feels a sense of lack of justice
and fair play, the dissatisfaction grows and assumes
the status of grievance.
• Usually grievance relate to problems of
interpretation of perceived non-fulfillment of one’s
expectation from the organization.

5. • The grievance procedure can be
divided into two parts:-
• A formal grievance redressal
process and
• An informal process of grievance
handling

6. It is required that the grievance must fall under the following
category to be considered one:
1. Compensation
2. Conditions of work
3. Continuity of service
4. Disciplinary action
5. Fines
6. Leave
7. Medical benefits
8. Nature of job
9. Payments
10. Promotions
11. Safety environment
12. Super Annuation
13. Supersession
14. Transfers
• There is need for deeper analysis of the policies, procedures,
practices, structures and personality dynamics in the
organization to arrive at the real causes of grievances

7. FORMS OF GRIEVANCES
1. FACTUAL.
2. IMAGINARY.
3. DISGUISED.

8. REASONS FOR GRIEVANCES
1. Economic : Wage fixation, wage computation, overtime, bonus.
Employees feel they are getting less than what they ought to get
2. Working Environment : Poor working conditions, defective equipment and
machinery, tools, materials.
3. Supervision : Disposition of the boss towards the employee, perceived
notions of favoritism, nepotism, bias etc.
4. Work Group : Strained relations or incompatibility with peers. Feeling of
neglect, obstruction and victimization.
5. Work Organization : Rigid and unfair rules, too much less work
responsibility, lack of recognition

9. EFFECT OF GRIEVANCES
a. Loss of interest in work and consequent lack of
moral and commitment
b. Poor quality of production
c. Low productivity
d. Increase in wastage and costs
e. Increase in employee turnover
f. Increase in the incidence of accidents
g. Indiscipline
h. Unrest, etc.

10. DISCOVERY OF GRIEVANCES
• a) Observation.
• b) Grievance procedure.
• c) Gripe Boxes.
• d) Open Door Policy.
• e) Exit Interview.
• f) Opinion Survey.

11. HANDLING GRIEVANCES
• when a grievance is held by an employee, he/she has the right to declare
a grievance in terms of a particular procedure usually laid down by the
company. “This would require the employee initially attempting to
resolve the grievance informally by discussing the nature of the
grievance with his/her supervisor or manager.
• However, if the grievance is not able to be resolved by the supervisor,
then the grievance is raised more formally by escalating it to a manager
one level higher than the level of management to which the grievance
was informally raised, possibly even involving a representative of the HR
department, where the organisation has its own dedicated HR
department.
• If the grievance remains unresolved, it can be raised to levels as senior
as those at Chief Executive and Managing Director levels within the
organisation.
• In the event that the grievance raised by the aggrieved party is not
resolved to their satisfaction, they have the right, once all steps laid
down in the company grievance procedure have been exhausted, to
declare a dispute to a dispute resolution body such as a bargaining
council or the Council for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration
(CCMA).

12. STEPS IN GRIEVANCES PROCESS
• Oral grievance.
• Written grievance.
• Grievance advanced to
employee/industrial relations.
• Arbitrations.

13. GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
• The manager should immediately identify
all grievances and must take appropriate
steps to eliminate the causes of such
grievances so that the employees remain
loyal and committed to their work.
• Effective grievance management is an
essential part of personnel management.
• The managers should adopt the following
approach to manage grievance effectively-

14. • Quick action- As soon as the grievance arises, it should be identified and
resolved. Training must be given to the managers to effectively and timely
manage a grievance. This will lower the detrimental effects of grievance
on the employees and their performance.
• Acknowledging grievance- The manager must acknowledge the grievance
put forward by the employee as manifestation of true and real feelings of
the employees. Acknowledgement by the manager implies that the
manager is eager to look into the complaint impartially and without any
bias. This will create a conducive work environment with instances of
grievance reduced.
• Gathering facts- The managers should gather appropriate and sufficient
facts explaining the grievance’s nature. A record of such facts must be
maintained so that these can be used in later stage of grievance redressal.

15. • Examining the causes of grievance- The actual cause of grievance should
be identified. Accordingly remedial actions should be taken to prevent
repetition of the grievance.
• Decisioning- After identifying the causes of grievance, alternative course
of actions should be thought of to manage the grievance. The effect of
each course of action on the existing and future management policies and
procedure should be analyzed and accordingly decision should be taken
by the manager.
• Execution and review- The manager should execute the decision quickly,
ignoring the fact, that it may or may not hurt the employees concerned.
After implementing the decision, a follow-up must be there to ensure that
the grievance has been resolved completely and adequately

16. • An effective grievance procedure ensures an amiable
work environment because it redresses the grievance
to mutual satisfaction of both the employees and the
managers.
• It also helps the management to frame policies and
procedures acceptable to the employees.
• It becomes an effective medium for the employees to
express their feelings, discontent and dissatisfaction
openly and formally.

17. DIFFERENT STAGES FOR REDRESSAL OF
GRIEVANCES
• Grievance Redresseal Procedure is followed at 3 levels for prompt action.
1. FIRST STAGE (MINE/DEPARTMENT LEVEL):
2. SECOND STAGE (AREA LEVEL): If the employee is not satisfied, he may
request the Manager/HoD to forward his Grievance to the Grievance
Committee constituted at Area level.
3. THIRD STAGE (CORPORATE LEVEL): If the employee is not satisfied with
the reply given by the Grievance Committee at Area level, he can
represent the matter to the Director at Corporate level.

18. BENEFITS OF GRIEVANCE HANDLING
PROCEDURES
1. It encourages employees to raise concerns without fear of
reprisal.
2. It provides a fair & speedy means of dealing of grievances.
3. It prevents minor disagreements developing into more serious
disputes.
4. It saves employer’s time & money as solutions are found for
workplace problems.
5. It helps build in organizational climate based on openness
and trust.

19. • THE "WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY" OF GRIEVANCES
• One of a supervisor's most important jobs is to handle, and settle grievances.
• Often, however, supervisors fail to document a grievance properly with the result the City
may lose factual information. When this happens, the employee may not get the relief he
is entitled to, or, the City may be faced with unnecessary costs. If every supervisor knew
and understood the basics of grievance investigation, they would be more effective
supervisors. Always check for the following:
• WHO is involved in the grievance, name or names, check or department number, and
seniority date? Don't forget the steward or Union representative who may be involved.
• WHEN did the grievance occur? Date and time, day of week, exact time when act or
omission took place, which created the grievance.
• WHERE did the grievance occur? Exact location, department, machine, aisle, etc.
• WHY is this a grievance? What has been violated the contract, supplement, past practice,
law, ruling or awards, personal rights, etc.?
• WHAT happened that caused the violation?

20. ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITES OF A
GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
• 1. Conformity with statutory provisions- Due
consideration should be given to prevailing legislation.
• 2. Unambiguous- should be clear and unambiguous.
• 3. Simplicity- simple and short.
• 4. Promptness- should be promptly handled and
necessary action should be taking immediately.
• 5. Training- supervisors and the union representatives
should be properly trained in all aspects.
• 6. Follow up- personnel department should keep track
of effectiveness and the functioning of grievances
handling.

21. STEPS IN GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL
PROCEDURE
• 1. Identify grievance at the earliest.
• 2. Define the grievance correctly.
• 3. Collect data.
• 4. Prompt Redressal.
• 5. Implement and follow up.

22. REFERENCES
• http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/grievances-what-
employers-need-to-know-to-avoid-or-deal-with-them/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grievance
• http://scclmines.com/GRIEVANCE%20PROCEDURE.html
• http://meecl.nic.in/pfc/Vol5_GRIEVANCE_REDRESSAL.pdf
• http://www.businesspartners.co.za/knowledge-hub-
cat/industry-focus/advice/posts/handling-grievances-in-
the-workplace-819/#sthash.sMeLHGoO.dpbs
• http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/s/o/Acas-Guide-on-
discipline-and-grievances_at_work_(April_11)-accessible-
version-may-2012.pdf
• http://www.managementstudyguide.com/employee-
grievance.htm

23. THANK YOU