Grievance Handling

Presented By : Pulakesh Tahbildar

Roll No. : PM-211-836-0048
Industrial Relations
MBA, 3rd Semester
What is
grievance?
A grievance is any dissatisfaction
or feeling of injustice
connection having with
employment situationone’s
which is
brought the attention of
to
management.
Difference between Dissatisfaction , Complaint and Grievance

▪ Dissatisfaction – is anything that disturbs any employee,

whether or not the unrest is expressed in words.

▪ Complaint – is a spoken or written dissatisfaction

brought to the
attention of the supervisor or the shop steward.

▪ Grievance – is a complaint that has been formally presented to

a management representative or to a union official.
Four Key Features of a Good Grievance
Handling Procedure by Torrington and Hall

1. Fairness
2. Facilities for Representation
3. Procedural Steps
4. Promptness
Main Objectives of Employee Grievance Handling

▪ To enable the employee to air his/her grievance.

▪ To clarify the nature of the grievance.
▪ To investigate the reasons for dissatisfaction.
▪ To obtain, where possible, a speedy resolution to the problem.
▪ To take appropriate actions and ensure that promises are kept.
▪ To inform the employee of his or her right to take the grievance
to the next stage of the procedure, in the event of an
unsuccessful resolution.
 Reasons of Grievances
▪ Economic – Employees may demand for individual wage adjustments.
▪ Work environment – It may be undesirable or unsatisfactory conditions of work.
▪ Poor quality of supervision – It may be objections to the general methods of
supervision related to the attitudes of the supervisor towards the employee such as
perceived notions of bias, favoritism, nepotism, caste affiliation and regional
feelings.
▪ Organizational change – Any change in the organizational policies can result
grievances.
▪ Employee relations – Employees are unable to adjust with their colleagues, suffer
from feeling of neglect and victimization and become and become an object of
ridicule and humiliation, or other inter-employee dispute.
▪ Miscellaneous – These may be issues relating to certain violations in respect of
promotion, safety methods, transfer, disciplinary rules, fines, granting leaves,
medical facilities, etc.
 Effects of Grievance
On the production:
• Low quality of production
• Low productivity
• Increase in the wastage of material, spoilage/leakage of machinery
• Increase in the cost of production per unit
On the employees:
• Increase in the rate of absenteeism and turnover
• Reduction in the level of commitment, sincerity, and punctuality
• Increase in the incidence of accidents
• Reduction in the level of employee morale.
On the managers:
• Strained superior-subordinate relations
• Increase in the degree of supervision and control
• Increase in indiscipline cases
• Increase in unrest and thereby machinery to maintain industrial peace.
Elements for a Sound Grievance Handling Procedure

▪ Well defined communication channels.

▪ The procedure should be simple, to understand.
▪ Properly defined steps for redressing of grievances.
▪ Should have logical sequence of steps.
▪ Favourable attitude of concerned authorities responsible for redressing.
▪ Fact base approach for redressal of grievances.
▪ Proper communication of procedure to all employees and authorities.
▪ Respect for decisions of redressing authority.
▪ Periodical review of grievance handling procedure.
 Recommendations of the
NCL
National Commission of Labour has provided a
statutory backing for formulation of effective
Grievance Procedure which should be

simple

flexibl
e
less
cumb
rous
on the line of Model Grievance
Employee Discipline
What is Employee Discipline?

▪ Actions imposed by an organization

on its employees for failure to
follow the organization's rules,
standards, or policies.
Objectives of Employee Discipline

▪ To obtain a willing acceptance of the rules and regulations or

procedures of an organization so that organizational goals may be
attained.
▪ To develop among the employee a spirit of tolerance and a desire
to make adjustments.
▪ To give direction or responsibility.
▪ To increase the working efficiency or morale of the employees so
that their productivity is stepped up and the cost of production
brought down and the quality of production improved.
▪ To create an atmosphere of respect for the human personality or
human relations.
Employee Discipline – Characteristics

▪ Immediate - immediate disciplinary action must be taken for violation of

rules.
▪ Consistent - there should be high consistency in a sound disciplinary
system.
▪ Impersonal - impersonality should be maintained by refraining from
personal or subjective feelings.
▪ Prior warning and notice - a sound disciplinary system should give
advance warning to the employees as to the implications of not
conforming to the standards of behaviour/code of conduct in an
organization.
Employee Discipline – Major Factors to Consider
in Discipline

1. Seriousness of the Problem

2. Duration of the Problem
3. Nature of the Problem
4. External Influence
5. Degree of Familiarity
6. Disciplinary Practices
7. Management Support
Important causes of
indiscipline :

1. Organizational Factor
2. Individual Factor - Individual differences caused by education,
experience, values, attitudes, beliefs, intelligence, personality, etc.,
cause employees to behave differently in an organization. Therefore,
some individuals conform to rules and standards of behaviour in
much wider context than others.
3. Environmental Factor - Since an organization is also one of the
members of the society, discipline observed by the society manifests
in organizations. Indiscipline prevailing in family, educational
institutions, political system, religious institutions, break-down of
social control mechanism, etc., casts its ugly shadow on the
organizational climate.
Kinds of Punishment: Minor and Major Punishment

Minor Major
▪ Oral Reprimand ▪ Pay cut
▪ Written Reprimand ▪ Demotion
▪ Punitive Suspension ▪ Suspension pending
▪ Loss of Privilege enquiry
▪ Fine ▪ Discharge.
▪ Transfer
General Types of Disciplinary Actions Available when Employees Fail
to Meet Expected Levels of Performance

1. Verbal counseling
2. Written warning
3. Suspension
4. Termination
 EXAMPLE
Grievance Procedure of the Textile
Labour Association,
Ahmedabad

This association has oldest & best developed Grievance

settlement systems in India.
Union employs full time inspectors who visit the
factory and interview different officers on behalf of
worker members to resolve complaints.
Matters not solved by the inspectors are taken
up by Union Officers with the Senior Management
or , if required, with Mill Owners’ Association.
 CONCLUSION
• Grievance arise on matters like wages, working hours,
promotions, demotions, transfers, discharge &
dismissals.
• Such grievances are normal and enlightened
managements prepare effective procedure to handle
them.
• Such procedure is also used to identify areas of
conflict in union management relations and arrange
timely corrective measures.
THANK
YOU