Managers Guide to Grievance

Transcription

1 Managers Guide to Grievance TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1. Introduction 2 2. The Guidelines 2 An Informal Grievance 2 A formal Grievance 4 Group Grievances 7 The Appeal Process 7 Issues already dealt with via other Booths policies 9 3. Frequently asked questions Other related documents 10 Page 1

2 Manager Guide to Grievance 1. Introduction If you are reading these guidelines a member of your team may have or be in the process of raising a *grievance with you. These are guidelines to help you as the Manager to ensure that you are fully aware of the processes that must be followed in relation to grievances and your responsibility within it. In addition you know where to go should you need any support. *A grievance is a concern, problem or complaint that an employee may want to raise with the company. 2. The Guidelines AN INFORMAL GRIEVANCE Should a member of your team raise a grievance with you, firstly you need to check whether they are happy to proceed informally. This means that the matter will be dealt with by you and hopefully resolved quickly to everyone s satisfaction. You should make them aware that they could still progress to a formal grievance should they choose to do so. We always encourage employees to raise matters informally as a first option. There may be insistent when you feel a matter is too serious to be dealt informally and you may need to recommend that the formal route is followed immediately. Gathering evidence Prior to the informal meeting depending on the issue raised, it may be appropriate for you make some discreet investigations. It is very important that you exercise confidentiality at all times, as the employee and any other parties implicated should be protected at all times. The Meeting Ensure that the meeting is private and free from interruptions. Your role will be to chair the meeting and make the decision on how to resolve the issue. You should make notes of all the key discussion points agreed outcomes and any actions. There is no legal right for the employee to have a representative present at the meeting. This right is only applicable in a formal grievance hearing. However if you feel that it will assist the employee in going through the process and/or they have a disability that means that they require additional support then it would be reasonable to grant them permission to take in a companion. A Representative A companion should be either a fellow Booths employee or a full time union official or a certified lay union official. A family member can attend if an employee: Page 2

3 Is under the age of 18. (the standard rules apply that the companion can take notes, ask questions and address the meeting but may not answer questions directed at the employee) Has a disability and requires assistance to understand the situation. In this case it may be appropriate for the companion to answer questions directed at the employee. Please seek advice off the HR department if you are at all unsure. Introduction - setting the scene Thank them for attending the meeting. Explain that it is an informal meeting, called by them to discuss their complaint. It is not a formal Grievance hearing. If you have allowed them to bring a representative explain their role. Explain that you will be making notes of the key discussion topics and the agreed outcomes/actions. Explain that you will be handing over to them to ask them to explain their concern/complaint in more detail. Explain that at the end of the meeting you will together agree on the outcome/actions. Ask them if they have any questions about the process before you begin. During the meeting: Ask lots of open ended questions to get to the facts. Ensure that you give the employee every opportunity to explain what their concern/complaint is. When you have reached the end of the meeting, ask the employee if they have any further comments to add before you talk about how you feel you could resolve the issue. Summarise what s been discussed and highlight any issues that need to be investigated further (if applicable). Agreeing the outcome After considering all the information that you have available to you and what has been discussed during the meeting, you need to decide what the most appropriate action is. Ideally this should be within the meeting, or within a 24 hour period. Discuss with the employee how you feel you can resolve the issue. Agree what the actions are that need to now take place/if applicable. Check that the employee is happy with your proposal. Agree to review things (if necessary) within an agreed timescale. Actions following the informal meeting Pass any notes/documents to Office/Admin/Support Manager to place on the employees Personnel file within 2 days of the meeting. Page 3

4 Progressing to a formal grievance hearing Should the employee want to progress to a formal grievance hearing. You must inform them that they now need to submit their grievance in writing. They must clearly state their concerns and their preferred outcome. You must request the support of a colleague to hear the Grievance. Inform the HR Department so that they are aware of the grievance. All the notes and any evidence from the informal meeting should be sent to the Manager who will be hearing the Grievance. Ensure the notes are in date order, with the most recent on the top. A FORMAL GRIEVANCE If you are the Manager hearing a formal grievance, you need to send a formal invite letter to the employee, as follows: The time date and location of the meeting (ensuring that you are giving the employee at least 2 days notice from the day they receive the letter). What their grievance is? All the evidence that will be referred to during the meeting. A copy of any notes from the informal meeting if there has been one. The right to have a companion present, a booths employee or a full time union official or a certified lay union official. That they should submit any additional evidence that they may wish to be considered at the meeting to the Manager hearing the grievance at least 24 hours before the meeting. Attendees In addition to you there should also be another Manager/Supervisor/HR with you who will be responsible for taking the notes throughout the meeting. They will also act as the Company Representative. In addition the employee has the right to bring a representative. Employee Representative The employee s representative, may take notes, address the meeting on behalf of the employee and answer questions, but may not answer questions directed at the employee. They may help the employee to present their case and to sum up at the end of the meeting. Should the employee choose not to have a representative present ensure that you check in the meeting that they were aware of their right to have a representative present but that they chose not to exercise this. Delays to the meeting If the employee or their representative is genuinely unable to attend the grievance hearing, then offer them a reasonable alternative date and time, within 7 days of the original meeting. In most cases a meeting should only be re scheduled once. Page 4

5 Dealing with a disability If an employee has a disability then we need to consider making reasonable adjustments to our process, one of these may be that their companion takes a more leading role in the meeting. Should you have a situation like this please refer to the HR team for further guidance. The Meeting Introduction setting the scene Ensure that the meeting is private and free from interruptions. Thank them for attending the meeting. Explain that this is a formal grievance hearing called by them to discuss their complaint/concern. Introduce everyone and explain roles. Specifically that the Company Representative will be taking detailed notes and they will be asked to sign and date each page to confirm it is an accurate reflection of what has been discussed. Let the employee know that they/or their companion can request an adjournment at any time (within reason). Discussing & clarifying Begin by asking the employee to explain what their complaint/concern is including any evidence that they may have. Ask lots of open questions to ensure you understand what has happened/the issue, who else was involved etc. Ensure that you give the employee enough time to explain their concerns and put forward a proposed solution. Once you have asked all the appropriate questions and you understand the employees concerns, ask: o The companion if they have anything to add. o Advise the employee that you have reached the end of the meeting and check if they have anything further to add? Summarise what has been discussed and highlight any further areas of investigation if necessary. Adjourning Inform the employee that you will now adjourn the meeting. Ask them to read sign and date the notes (at the bottom of each page) to say that they agree that they are a true reflection of the meeting. Make a note of the time that the meeting is adjourned. Making a decision In the adjournment you must consider all the information that you have available to you. The time that this takes will vary from case to case, but is largely determined by you. Page 5

6 Resolving the issue You must consider everything that has been referred to including the employees suggested solutions. Is this the right outcome? Is it fair? What are the impacts of this to other employees to the business? Do you have an alternative solution? Reconvening the meeting Once you have made your decision ask the employee and their representative to return to the meeting room and inform them of: Your decision The reasoning behind your decision Any specific next steps/actions Their right of appeal They will receive the outcome letter within 2 days of the meeting which will confirm your decision. The right to appeal You must inform the employee of their right to appeal. If they would like to appeal they must: Submit their appeal in writing within 5 days of the receiving the outcome letter. Detail within their appeal letter their grounds for appeal. An employee cannot appeal just because they don t agree; they must give a rationale for the appeal. Delaying the decision In circumstances where you believe that there is information missing or you need to understand something further, you can advise the employee to return to work and you will inform them within an hour or later that day of your decision. If you require more time, inform the employee that you will let them know within 24 hours. Ensure that you note the time and summary of any conversation that you have if the decision is not delivered straight away and place this note with the rest of the paperwork. Once you have made your decision you must inform the employee of your decision verbally, this can be over the phone rather than in person if it is more appropriate and then you must follow this up in writing. If you require longer completing further investigations then in exceptional circumstances this would usually take no longer than 5 days. Should this be the case Page 6

7 you must explain this to the employee, including the reasons why. You must keep them up to date during the 5 days and keep a record of your conversations. Next steps Pass all the paperwork and the notes that you have taken to the Office/Admin/Support Manager and request the employees personnel file to be updated and the relevant outcome letter to be sent out. You will need to provide the correct wording for the letter. Confirming your decision Within 2 days of the meeting you must confirm your decision in writing to the employee. Your letter should include details of their complaint and any evidence referred to. Your decision and how you reached your decision. Any actions that now need to take place. Their right to appeal and the process to follow should they wish to appeal. GROUP GRIEVANCES Should you be made aware that a group of employees wish to raise a work related complaint or concern you need to follow the below steps: Make the HR department aware of the issue. Make them aware of the grievance policy. Advise them that they need to nominate a group representative who will act on behalf of the group. It will be the responsibility of that person to present the groups compliant/concern and to feed back to the group. Confirm whether they are happy as a first step to try and resolve the matter informally. If not then proceed to the formal route. Follow the same steps as with a single grievance. THE APPEAL If you are hearing an appeal you need to ensure you are independent i.e. have not been involved in the original case and/or decision. You need to have another Manager/Supervisor/HR with you in the meeting to take detailed notes and act as a Company Representative. The employee also has the right to a representative as in a disciplinary meeting. Where possible the Appeal Manager should be a more senior Manager not in the same reporting line or from another department (or store) who has not previously been involved in the case. The purpose of an appeal An appeal is the opportunity for an employee to appeal against the original decision if they believe it was unfair. They may have additional evidence or feel that evidence was over looked during the grievance hearing. The appeal meeting is not generally a Page 7

8 re-hearing but an opportunity to determine if the original decision was fair based on the employees grounds for the appeal. An appeal meeting Ensure that the meeting is private and free from interruptions. Introduction setting the scene Thank them for attending the meeting. Explain that this is a formal Appeal meeting. Introduce everyone and explain their roles. During the meeting Ask the employee to put forward their reasons for their appeal. Explore all the relevant issues that are raised, ask lots of open ended questions. Ask the companion if they have anything to add. Once you are happy that you have explored thoroughly all the issues raised, ask the employee and the companion if they have any final comments. Summarise all the key points raised. Adjourn the meeting, and ask the employee to read sign and date the notes (as before). Make a note of the time you adjourned. During the adjournment Consider all the key points that were raised and be able to answer the following question:- Do you feel in the light of this that the outcome of the grievance hearing was fair? The time that is taken to adjourn is determined by you. Outcome - Options The options available to you are: To uphold the original grievance decision. To overturn the original decision and make a new decision on how to resolve the issue. The decision Once you have made your decision, ask the employee to return to the meeting room and inform them of: Your decision. The reasoning behind your decision. Any specific next steps/actions that need to take place. That your decision is final and this is now the end of the procedure. They will receive the outcome letter within 2 days of the meeting which will confirm your decision. Page 8

9 Delaying the decision In circumstances where you believe that there is information missing or you need to understand something further, you can advise the employee to return to work and you will inform them within an hour or later that day of your decision. If you require more time, inform the employee that you will let them know within 24 hours. Ensure that you note the time and summary of any conversation that you have if the decision is not delivered straight away and place this note with the rest of the paperwork. Once you have made your decision you must inform the employee of your decision verbally, this can be over the phone rather than in person if it is more appropriate, then followed up in writing. If you require longer, completing further investigations then in exceptional circumstances this may take no longer than 5 days. Should this be the case you must explain this to the employee, including the reasons why. You must keep them up to date during the 5 days and keep a record of your conversations. Next Steps Pass all the paperwork and notes to your Office/Admin/Support Manager and request the employee s personnel file to be updated and the relevant outcome letter to be sent out. You will need to provide the correct wording for the letter. GRIEVANCES RELATING TO OTHER POLICIES. An employee cannot use the grievance procedure to raise issues already dealt with under any other of Booths policies. For example if they have raised a complaint under the Harassment policy or the Flexible working policy. The same matter cannot be re-raised using the grievance policy. The same applies for a grievance issue, the same complaint cannot then be raised using an alternative booths policies. 3. Frequently Asked Questions An employee has raised a complaint with me and is happy to proceed down the informal grievance route. They would however like to have a companion present, should I agree to this? As this is not a formal meeting there is no legal right for them to have a companion present. You should only agree to this if you feel strongly that it will assist the employee in going through the process and/or they have a disability that means that they require additional support. Page 9

10 If it is an informal meeting do I need to have another Manager (company representative) with me to take notes? No, you should aim to keep the meeting informal and the more people attend the more the meeting starts to resemble a formal meeting. Only in exceptional circumstances where you feel it is likely that an in depth account of the discussions should be made should you consider asking a colleague to attend. I am organising a formal grievance hearing for one of my team; they want to bring a family member as a companion is this ok? A companion should be either a Booths employee or a union official. The only circumstance where we would agree to a family member attending is: Under the age of 18. (the standard rules apply that the companion can take notes, ask questions and address the meeting but may not answer questions directed at the employee) Has a disability and requires assistance to understand the situation. In this case it may be appropriate for the companion to answer questions directed at the employee. Please speak to a member of the HR team if you are at all unsure. 4. Other related documents Booths grievance Policy Employee guide to grievance Booths disciplinary policy Employee guide to disciplinary Managers guide to disciplinary Performance management policy Employee guide to performance management Managers guide to performance management Sickness policy Employee guide to sickness Managers guide to sickness Booths handbook Booths values Page 10

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