SUPERVISORY

MANAGEMENT

Handling Discipline &

Grievance
 What Is Complaint?
Complaint is an indication of employee
dissatisfaction

What is Grievance
Any complaint or dissatisfaction arising out of
employment relationship at the workplace
Issues that May Cause Grievance Include
Terms and condition of employment
Health and safety
Work relations
Bullying and harassment
New working practices
Working environment
Organizational changes
Discrimination
Grievance Principles
The employee should have the right to
secure consideration of his complaint or
grievance without fear of victimization.

Under no circumstances should the

employee’s job status, security, working
conditions or relationship with management
be jeopardized because he has filed a
complaint or appealed to a higher level
Grievance Principles
Management should develop a grievance procedure
providing for quick consideration. Justice delayed is
justice denied” is very relevant.
The procedure must be fair and equitable. The
employee should be given every opportunity to
present his grievance.
Participation by employee or his representative in
formulation of procedures
Employee must be aware of procedures
Grievance Principles
The employer should be prepared to consider
changes in policy when it causes undue
hardship or irritation
Employees should be encouraged to bring
their difficulties to the attention of
management where they can be frankly and
considerately examined.
It should be kept in mind that both
‘management rights’ and ‘employees rights’
are involved in dealing with grievance
Grievance Procedures
Grievance procedures are formal
communication channels designed to settle
complaints as soon as possible after the
problem arises.
Supervisors are usually the closest to the
problem, however, the supervisor may be the
subject of the employee’s grievance
 Stage 1
• The employee must present his grievance to his immediate
supervisor within five (5) days after the alleged incident.

• The supervisor shall investigate the complaint and if he

considers it justified to do so, shall remedy the complaints
but in any event give a reply to the employee within five (5)
working days.

• It is usually accepted that the first stage must involve the

supervisor.

• It is a general principle that the union delegate should not

normally accompany the grievant at the first stage.
 Stage 2
• If the employee is dissatisfied with the answer of his
immediate supervisor, he shall within five (5)
working days after the supervisor’s answer submit
his claims in writing to his manager.

• The manager shall within five (5) working days

investigate the complaint and hear the complaint at
a time and place appointed by him and if he
considered it justifiable to do so shall remedy the
complaint or reply within five (5) working days after
it is heard by him.
 Stage 3
• If the answer from the manager is not satisfactory
to the employee, the employee shall submit the
complaint in writing within five(5) working days to
the general manager or his nominee.

• The complaint must give the following:

• A brief statement of the complaint and the facts upon
which it is based
• the remedy and/or correction required.
 Stage 3 cont’d
• The general manager or his nominee shall
within five (5) working days after the receipt
of the written complaint investigate the
complaint and hear the complaint at a time
and place appointed by him.

• If he considered it justifiable to do so shall

remedy the complaint or reply within five (5)
working days after it is heard by him
 Stage 4
If the employee is not satisfied with the
answer of the general manager or his
nominee, then the company and the union
may within fourteen(14) days after the reply
either agree to refer the matter immediately
to arbitration or jointly or separately refer
the grievance to the Ministry of Labour.
POINT TO NOTE
If the employee shall fail at any stage
to take the next step within the
specified time, he shall be deemed to
have waived further prosecution of the
grievance, and the grievance shall be
deemed to have been dropped.
 Arbitration
Arbitration is a dispute resolution
process in which the disputing parties
present their case to a third party
intermediary (or a panel of arbitrators)
who examine all the evidence and then
make a decision for the parties.
 Mediation
Mediation is a form of third-party
intervention in which the mediator helps
the parties negotiate an agreement which
they then have the option of accepting or
rejecting.
In some cases, mediators play a problem-
solving role focused upon negotiating an
agreement to the immediate dispute.
 Mediation
In other cases mediation focuses more
upon improving relationships, with the
assumption that the improved
relationship will lead to conflict
resolution or constructive confrontation.
If the grievance procedure is successfully
operated it can:
Enable employees to air their complaints
without fear of victimization
Assist management to identify legitimate
causes of friction and correct them, thus
preventing minor problems from becoming
major ones.
This will contribute to better industrial relations,
and as a consequence higher morale and
efficiency.
Discipline in the Workplace
 Discipline in the Workplace

Discipline in the workplace is the means by

which supervisory personnel correct
behavioral deficiencies and ensure
adherence to established company rules.
The purpose of discipline is to correct
behaviour.
It is not designed to punish or embarrass an
employee.
Discipline in the Workplace
A positive approach may solve the
problem without having to discipline.

However, if unacceptable behavior is a

persistent problem or if the employee is
involved in a misconduct that cannot be
tolerated, management may use
discipline to correct the behaviour.
Discipline in the Workplace
Discipline should be restricted to the
following:
the issuing of letters of warning,
letters of suspensions, or
actual termination.
Discipline in the Workplace
Employers should refrain from
"disciplining" employees by such
methods as
altering work schedules,
assigning an employee to do unpleasant
work, or
denying vacation requests.
EXAMPLES OF MISCONDUCT
Examples of misconduct which could
result in discipline:
Excessive tardiness
Failure to notify of an absence
Insubordination
Rude or abusive language in the workplace
Dishonesty
Theft
THE DISCIPLINE PROCESS

The process has two stages:

The investigation stage
The discipline stage
The Investigation Stage
This is the most important part of the
discipline process.
Cases are often won or lost based upon the
amount of effort put into the investigation
At this stage the manager should be
gathering facts and evidence to confirm what
took place
The Investigation Stage
Evidence might include
witness statements,
a report from a private investigator,
documentary evidence,
interviewing witnesses to the incident,
interviewing the employee involved in the
misconduct.
The Discipline Stage
Once management has heard the employee’s
explanation in the interview, verified the facts and
gathered all the evidence, the decision to
discipline can be made.

Ideally, the decision should be made after

discussions with other people in management, and
talking about the specifics of the case with the
Human Resources Department
The Discipline Stage
Factors to be taken into consideration
are:
the employee’s past record,
the severity of the incident,
was the employee provoked.
The Discipline Stage
Ideally, discipline will not be issued
"verbally" to an employee.

Discipline should be issued in writing to

an employee and only after the
investigation and interviews have taken
place.
 Taking the Action
Dismissal should be the penalty in cases of
gross misconduct only, in any other case,
the penalty should be progressive.
For minor offences, an oral warning should
be given.
Where there is a build up of minor offences
or in cases of more serious offences, a
warning letter should be issued.
LABOUR LAWS
Trade Union Act, 1919
This governs the establishment, function and
conduct of registration of trade unions.
Outlines the procedures for gaining
membership and settling industrial disputes
The legality of trade unions
Submission of Statements of Accounts
Rules of trade unions
The procedures for handling disputes
REDUNDANCY
1. An employee who has been continuously
employed for at least 104 weeks is considered
to be dismissed by reason of redundancy if:-
the employer ceases to carry out work that he/ she
was hired to do;
the kind of work that he/ she was hired to do has
been reduced;
the employer’s business has been shut down;
he/ she has suffered personal injury as a result of an
accident or developed a disease because of the nature
of the job
REDUNDANCY
2. A seasonal worker who has worked
with an employer for not less than 90
days in each season for two or more
consecutive seasons may be dismissed
by redundancy:
for the reason stated at (1);
if the employer fails to provide him with
employment in any season
Employee’s Rights
If an employee is dismissed by redundancy, he/ she is
entitled to a written statement indicating how the
redundancy payment has been calculated.

An employee, who has been laid off without pay for

more than 120 days, may give notice in writing to his/
her employer that he/ she chooses to be regarded as
dismissed by reason of redundancy.

The effective date should be specified and should not be

less than fourteen (14) days or more than sixty (60)
days after that date of the notice.
Employment Termination and
Redundancy Payments Act, 1974
The notice required to be given by an employer to
terminate the contract of employment of an
employee who has been continuously employed
for four weeks or more shall be-
Not less than 2 weeks’ notice if period of
continuous employment is less than 5 years
Not less than 4 weeks’ notice if period of
continuous employment is 5 years or more but
less than 10 years
Employment Termination and
Redundancy Payments Act, 1974
not less than six weeks’ notice if his period of
continuous employment is ten years or more but less
than fifteen years;
not less than eight weeks’ notice if his period of
continuous employment is fifteen years or more but less
than twenty years;
not less than twelve weeks’ notice if his period of
continuous employment is twenty years or more

The Notice must be in writing unless it is given in the

presence of a credible witness.
WHO IS LIABLE TO MAKE REDUNDANCY
PAYMENTS
Where an employee who has been
continuously employed for the period of one
hundred and four (104) weeks is dismissed
by his employer by reason of redundancy,
the employer or any person to whom
ownership of the business is transferred
within twelve (12) months of the date of
dismissal, shall be liable to pay the employee
a sum called the “redundancy payment”
Holiday with Pay Act, 1974
Under the Holidays With Pay Order, 1974 there are four (4)
categories of paid benefits/ entitlements.
These are:
1. Holidays With Pay (Vacation Leave)
2. Sick Leave With Pay
3. Gratuity
4. Sick Benefit

Under the act, people who work more than 110

consecutive days are entitled to vacation and sick leave
of at least two weeks a year
How much VACTION LEAVE should be granted
A worker who has worked more than 220 days in any year of
employment, is entitled to two (2) normal working weeks of
vacation leave for that year ; or

A worker who has worked a minimum of 110 days but less

than 220 days in any year of employment, is entitled to one
day vacation leave for every 22 days on which he/ she has
worked.

A worker with ten (10) or more years of service, who has

worked at least 220 days in any year of employment, is
entitled to three (3) normal working weeks of vacation leave
for that year.
 When should VACATION LEAVE
be granted
Vacation Leave earned in any year of
employment:
shall be granted by the employer during the following
year of employment; or
may, by agreement between the worker and employer,
be granted in the year in which it was earned; or
may be carried forward and added to vacation leave
earned in two (2) succeeding years of employment in
accordance with the provisions of an agreement with the
employee or his trade union.
 How VACATION LEAVE is to be granted
The days of vacation leave should be consecutive working
days on which the employee would normally be called upon
to work for his/ her employer ;

Vacation leave may also be granted in two periods of

consecutive working days;

Sunday, Good Friday, Christmas Day and a general public

holiday cannot be counted in any days of vacation leave;
Vacation leave cannot be granted during a period of notice
given by an employer to end employment
Minimum Wage Act, 1938
Jamaica has a national minimum wage. Those
who work a 40-hour week in Jamaica must be
paid at least $5,000.00 Jamaican dollars.

The minimum wage for industrial security

guards is $7,239.40 per 40-hour work week.
Maternity Leave Act, 1979 - Entitlement

Any female worker who has been employed

continuously for fifty- two (52) weeks or
more by the same employer on the date that
the maternity leave begins;

Any female worker who has been engaged

in seasonal employment with the sam
employer for at least fifty-two (52) weeks
during the past five (5) years.
LENGTH OF MATERNITY LEAVE
A worker is entitled to maternity leave for
twelve (12) weeks for each pregnancy;

However, in the case of illness of mother or

child, subsequent to the expiration of twelve
(12) weeks, an additional fourteen (14) weeks
may be granted on submission of a medical
certificate and this should begin immediately
after the first twelve (12) week period.
WHO QUALIFIES FOR MATERNITY
LEAVE WITH PAY
Any female worker who
is entitled to maternity leave;
is at least eighteen (18) years old, and
has not been granted maternity leave by the same
employer for three (3)previous pregnancies;
informs her employer of the date she is expected
to go on maternity leave at least three (3) months
in advance or as soon as is reasonably practicable
thereafter.
MATERNITY LEAVE PAY
A worker who qualifies for paid maternity leave is
entitled to at least eight (8) weeks with pay.
If a worker has been granted maternity leave with
pay by an employer for three (3) pregnancies, she
is entitled to maternity leave without pay.

Maternity leave is payable no earlier than eleven

(11) weeks before the expected week of delivery.