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Introduction
Globus aims to foster good relations amongst
employees and between employees and management.
The Company is committed to facilitate the
constructive and speedy resolution of any
grievance and recognise that this commitment
is critical to maintaining harmonious relations.
The purpose of this policy
is to provide a productive, rewarding and
non-discriminatory environment for all employees.
This environment should be characterised
by co-operation, mutual respect and open
communication directly between management
and employees.
What is a grievance?
A grievance can be about
anything done, or not done, by management
or another employee or employees, which
you feel affects you unfairly or unjustly.
A grievance can also be about discrimination,
harassment, or any other employment related
decision or behaviour which you think is
unfair, unjust or upsetting.
This Grievance Handling
Policy gives you advice about what to do
if you have a grievance and what will happen
if you make a formal complaint.
How will your grievance
be handled?
If you come forward with
a grievance it will be treated with the
utmost confidentiality. It is important
that you also maintain confidentiality in
order to avoid idle gossip and the possibility
of defamation proceedings.
If you decide to go ahead
and make a formal complaint, it will be
taken seriously and investigated in an impartial
manner. This may mean that you, the person
complained about, and any witnesses will
be interviewed. Again, confidentiality will
be assured. No decision will be made until
the investigation is complete.
If you do come forward
with a complaint, you will not be treated
unfairly or victimised as a result.
If a complaint is made
against you, be assured that you will not
be prejudged. You will have an opportunity
to tell your side of the story. You may
bring someone with you at the time to give
you some support.
You will be notified of
the proposed time to investigate and deal
with the issue within 3 working days of
the lodging of the complaint.
What are your options
if you do have a grievance?
· Speak to the
person causing the problem. While this may
not be appropriate in some cases, it may
be the easiest way of resolving the issue
if you do feel comfortable with speaking
to the person. You can tell them that their
behaviour, decision, action etc was unfair,
offensive, discriminatory etc, and why you
believe this to be so. The person may have
been totally unaware of the affect of their
behaviour or decision on you. By telling
them you will give them a chance to address
the situation.
· Speak to your manager. If you do
not want to speak to the person directly,
you can tell your manager about your grievance.
Managers are required to set aside the time
necessary for a fair and frank discussion.
With your agreement, they may approach the
person complained about and talk to them
informally about your grievance. Alternatively
you may decide to make a formal complaint.
· Make a formal complaint. If you
do decide to make a formal complaint, this
can be done by putting the complaint in
writing and reporting it to your manager
or the Group General Manager. You may have
a fellow employee attend the meeting with
you when you report the complaint. The written
complaint should contain a description of
the incident(s), decision, behaviour in
question, the time and date of the incident(s)
etc, the names of any witnesses, your signature,
and date of the complaint.
At any stage of the grievance,
the employee may contact their union for
assistance and/or representation.
The Investigation
Once a formal complaint
is made, the matter will be investigated
by the Group General Manager or his/her
nominee. If the Group General Manager, or
nominee, feels that there is a reason why
he/she should not conduct the investigation,
then another senior manager will be appointed
to conduct the investigation.
The Group General Manager,
or nominee, will then interview you, any
witnesses, the person against whom the complaint
is made, and that person’s supervisor.
You and the person against whom the complaint
is made may have a support person with you
when the interview is being conducted.
If the complaint is substantiated,
the appropriate action will be taken.
If the complaint is not
substantiated, you will be given an explanation
as to why that finding was made.
You should be aware that,
if the complaint is found to have been completely
fabricated, (or made for reasons of malice
) or you are implicated in wrong doing as
a result of the investigation, appropriate
disciplinary action may be taken against
you.
What are the outcomes?
If the investigation reveals
that your complaint is a valid one, a number
of actions may be taken, depending on the
nature of the complaint. The person against
whom the complaint is made may be required
to give you a written apology; he/she may
be given a written warning, counselling,
transfer, demotion, or be dismissed.
If the investigation is
inconclusive, i.e. the complaint cannot
be proved due to lack of evidence, the Company
may nevertheless take a number of actions.
These may include training of all staff,
and monitoring behaviour of all staff.
If the complaint is found
to have been completely fabricated, appropriate
action may be taken against you, including
counselling, a written apology to the person
complained about, an official warning, transfer,
demotion, or dismissal, depending on the
seriousness of the allegations.
Outside Agencies
If you are not satisfied
with the way in which your grievance was
handled, you may take it to an outside agency
such as the appropriate union, Anti-Discrimination
Board or the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission.
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