Topic 7 – Grievance, Discipline and Redundancy Procedures

Tutorial Solutions
Shivani Swastika Lal – 2007004229

1. A grievance is a complaint made to the employer by an employee which needs further

action from the employer. A grievance is a disagreement that an employee presents with
their boss at work. Where appropriate, efforts should be made to solve the problem
informally. Examples include punishment, demotion, assault, unsuitable classification or
denial of overtime received. Within a contract law, grievance is when injustice, wrongs or
accidents as a plaintiff offer a basis for formal speech. The accusation itself can be a
grievance, too. The department of human resources is typically where complaints occur,
but even businesses may file complaints. Such as feeling like they lost a contract offer
because another company had friends on the committee or feeling like there was some
form of prejudice like stopped them from taking equal consideration. The definition of a
dispute is any difference of opinion between an employee and the boss, or the boss and
the union. A dispute is characterized as a disagreement over legal duties or rights, or as to
what degree or form of compensation the complaining party may assert for violating
those duties or rights. A dispute may arise if a claimant feels that they have received an
inadequate insurance award, or if they feel that a contractor is in breach of the terms of
the contract, such as with late arrival of deliverables.

2. Employee Dissatisfaction:
 Limited Growth of Career - Not getting the chance to climb the ladder and
develop the career is another area that can encourage unhappiness with a position.
It is important to realize that not everyone wants to step the ladder upwards for
this dimension. This may mean that the employee may leave for another company
which may have better career development opportunities.
 Lack of Interest-This is a very simple concept; that one should not begin one's
career with a job that is not the person's area of interest. Another reason workers
are dissatisfied is a lack of interest in work. Most of the employees want to
perform engaging and challenging job duties.
 Poor Management- In an organization, the management team plays a significant
role. Managers are responsible for empowering the workers inside the company,
preparing, coordinating and managing. Bad management is a key reason workers
perform poorly in the workplace. Managers with weak leadership skills appear to
give no input on employee performance. Not having the necessary leadership is
just another excuse to be disappointed. People want leaders to lead them. They
want to work with people who have inspiration and a vision. Without those men,
 an employee may feel like the organization is only floating through space, looking
for something to crash into.
 Non - supportive Boss - With businesses downsizing and cutting capital,
administrators are more concerned with the bottom line, rather than the actual
people who may have a direct impact on the bottom line. Managers who
disengage from their workers and concentrate solely on outcomes without
offering encouragement, motivation or support are often unaware of being a major
cause of work dissatisfaction.

3. The grievance / dispute process is similar to the (where it exists) collective bargaining
mechanism, in that it provides workers with a measure of continuous power and control
over actions that concern them. The grievance / dispute process is concerned with
determining rules as much as it is with interpreting and applying them. Four separate, yet
related, forms can be defined in which the grievance / dispute mechanism is central to the
collective bargaining framework:
 Industrial Jurisprudence – this means that workers or employers can use it to
ensure that management follows the terms of any collective agreement or their
own policies and decisions, e.g. complaint resolution.
 Continued administration of collective agreements – if the mutual legislation
formed by the initial collective agreement is to be retained by workers and
employers, they must continue to discuss its definition and implementation with
management when specific circumstances occur within the work place.
 Fractional negotiation – the grievance / dispute mechanism can be used to reach
consensus on issues protected by a collective agreement.
 Settlement of any inability to agree that occurs during negotiations – the
process can allow all parties to send their case to an external scrutiny by referring
the matter to dispute proceedings at an industry level, or by involving a third party
such as an employment tribunal.

4. Grievance procedures are a means of dispute resolution which a company can use to
deal with complaints from employees, suppliers, customers and/or competitors. A
grievance process allows for a bureaucratic system to discuss and resolve disputes in the
workplace. The process usually specifies the type of grievance it encompasses, the steps
in which the parties seek to settle disputes, the persons responsible at each stage, the
paperwork needed and the time limits for raising and dealing with the grievance at each
point. The aim of a grievance / dispute policy is to decide the organizational environment,
priorities and way managers (individually or collectively) are required to respond to any
grievance or dispute put forward by employees. The Policy can include statements such
as: Management recognizes the right of workers to send grievances to management,
individually or collectively through a recognized union. Any conflict that can arise
 between management and workers or union should be resolved quickly and without
recourse to industrial action, whenever possible.

5. A grievance is a concern, an issue or a complaint posed with an employer by an

employee. An employee can raise a grievance for a variety of reasons and circumstances,
including, but not limited to, a change in their terms and conditions of employment,
workplace bullying or harassment, compensation and discrimination. Employers should
have appropriate procedures in place to handle a grievance.

 Step 1-Informal approach-An employer will make an initial effort to settle a

dispute informally whenever feasible. This will include talking to the person who
made the complaint to understand how they would like to address the matter. The
informal solution tries to try and keep the matter from worsening and resolve the
issue early. At this point, it is important to listen and take into account what the
employee has to say, to reassure them that the issue is being taken seriously and
will be dealt with. When an informal solution is not acceptable, or the issue is not
resolved, then the employer must go back to the formal method.
 Step 2- A Formal Staff Meeting- This may include holding an employee
grievance hearing. The employee shall have the constitutional right to be
supported by a trade union leader or work partner at a grievance hearing. The
meeting gives the employee an opportunity to clarify the grievance and provide
data, facts or evidence to support the complaint. The employer will try to define
the facts such as who, what, where, where, why and how the issue came to be.
After the employee has clarified their grievance in detail, it can often be possible
to settle it at this point, depending on the nature of the complaint.
 Step 3 – Grievance investigation – When a grievance review is to be undertaken,
it would require interviewing witnesses and any people involved in the matter.
This will hopefully shed some light on the issue and the truth of the case.
 Stage 4 — Claim resolution — Until the inquiry has been concluded and all the
facts have been identified and a decision has been made on whether to accept the
claim in full or in part or whether to deny it. The employee will be informed of
the decision. When the claim is upheld it may at this point be resolved. If the part
is upheld or denied, however, or the employee remains aggrieved, the procedure
can move on to the next level.
 Step 5 – Grievance appeal- The result of the grievance will inform the victim of
his or her right to appeal. The chair of the appeal hearing will then decide why the
employee challenges the ruling, and what the employee tries to remedy. The case
should be reviewed, the reasons for appeal investigated and treated equally before
the conclusion of an appeal is reached.
6. Discipline- Occurs when an employer imposes a driving interference in the job actions of
an employee. The intervention seeks to inspire, support, motivate or force the employee
to be a dedicated and conscientious adherent of the employer 's objectives. The two
parties have a degree of confidence and acceptance.

Dismissal- termination of an employee's employment contract by his or her employer in a

correct, fair and legal manner, after giving the notice required. May occur where the bond
of trust between an employer and an employee is irreparably broken. The conduct of the
employee in the partnership has clearly demonstrated that the employee did not want to
become or remain an adherent of the interests of that specific employer.

The term dismissal refers to any case where the employer terminates the employment
contract. This can take various forms:
 Dismissal with notice or payment instead of disciplinary or other notice for
disciplinary purposes
 Summary dismissal without notice or payment instead of notice (usually for
disciplinary reasons arising from a formal disciplinary process investigation).
 Instant firing – for administrative grounds without warning (with or without
payment in lieu of notice), nut without any formal inquiry into the actions of the
employee.

7. The Disciplinary and Dismissal procedure is a structured step-by - step method for taking
action against the suspected wrongdoing of the employee that involves: -
 Issuing a notice of allegations by the line manager to the employee and requesting
a response from the employee to those allegations.
 Referring the case to the higher authorities for action, the higher authority shall
decide and refer the case to the disciplinary committee.
 Conducting the committee's disciplinary hearings and reporting to the superior
authority.
 Final action by the higher authority, by taking into account natural justice values

Dismissal Process:
 Find out the problems.
 Inform your employee in writing of the problems.
 Carry out a disciplinary hearing or an employee meeting.
 Inform the employee in writing about the decision.
 Grant the employee an appeal right.
 The aim of the disciplinary procedures is to establish an appropriate framework through
which management can exert control over employees when their performance or conduct
fails to meet the standards expected.

I believe these procedures will result in effective decision making reason being the means
by which laws are complied with and expectations are established is a disciplinary
process. The method can specifically be used to support and motivate workers to improve
rather than simply inflict punishment. It offers a mechanism for coping with any
perceived behavior or performance failures and can help an employee become successful
again. The method should be equal, efficient and consistent. Therefore, a disciplinary
policy is necessary to create a consistent protocol in case of severe or repetitive
wrongdoing that the employer will be using. This, in effect, will show that employees are
working equally and regularly with employees. Hence, these procedures enhance
productivity and performance and employees are handled equally and uniformly, the
future lawsuits for discrimination (there is no minimum service period required for this
form of claim, and the compensation award is uncapped).

8. The term redundancy should refer to any situation where changes in the economic,
organizational or technical role of the company result in a reduced level of employment.
Its addition to many challenges, the structure of industry is complex and continuously
evolving and so it is almost unavoidable that there will always be some redundancies.
Redundancies are an important part of an organization's effort to cut costs and boost its
competitive advantage, and they may also occur in diverse and financially stable
organizations. Four principal causes of redundancy can be identified:
 Structural decline of the manufacturing industries which are older and usually less
productive or technologically developed.
 Decrease in the level of an entity, a single sector or the economy as a whole.
 Technological transition requiring less labor to provide a given level of service or
production.
 Job situation reorganization to make more effective use of existing plant and
equipment and to reduce costs.