Module 15:

GRIEVANCE MANAGEMENT:
INTRODUCTION, NATURE, CAUSES, PROCEDURE, SIGNIFICANCE,
MODEL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
1. LEARNING OBJECTIVEs

2. INTRODUCTION

3. MANIFESTATIONS OF GRIEVANCE AND RELATED TERMS

4. FEATURES

5. THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF GRIEVANCE

6. FORMS OF GRIEVANCE

7. EFFECTS OF GRIEVANCES

8. THE BENEFITS OF A GRIEVANCE HANDLING PROCEDURE

9. OBJECTIVES OF A GRIEVANCE-HANDLING PROCEDURE

10. THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

11. ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITES OF A GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

12. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON LABOUR

13. MODEL GREIVANCE PROCEDURE

14. SUMMARY
 1. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of the module the students should be able to understand:
 to understand the meanings of grievance, causes of grievance
 ideal procedure for settling grievance in organisations
 features of model grievance settlement procedure
 challenges involved with the settlement process.

2. INTRODUCTION
Employment contracts entail reciprocal and mutual expectations and obligations of employees and
employers. Employees' expectations arising out of an employment contract become employers'
obligations and employers expectations become employees' obligations. An employee would feel
aggrieved if his/her expectations were not fulfilled. An employer considers an employee to be
undisciplined if his/her expectations about the employee, arising out of the employment contract, are
not fulfilled. Thus grievance and indiscipline are two sides of the same coin.
Employees have certain expectations of the management in terms of their conditions of
service, working environment, satisfaction of their variety of needs, freedom of expression, and
equitable, just, and fair treatment, which they often make known to the management through various
means of upward communication, Failure on the part of the management to meet those expectations
leads to what is called employee grievance.
3. MANIFESTATIONS OF GRIEVANCE AND RELATED TERMS
An aggrieved employee is a potent source of indiscipline and bad working. According to Julius, a
grievance is “any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether expressed or not, whether valid or not,
arising out of anything connected with the company which an employee thinks, believes or even feels
to be unfair, unjust or inequitable.”

Individual or Collective Grievances

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines a grievance as a complaint of one or
more workers with respect to wages and allowances, conditions of work and interpretation of service
conditions covering such areas as overtime, leave, transfer, promotion, seniority, job assignment and
termination of service.
 The National Commission on Labour observed that “complaints affecting one or more
individual workers in respect of their wage payments, overtime, leave transfer, promotion, seniority,
work assignment and discharges would constitute grievances”
It is important to make a distinction between individual grievances and group grievances. If
the issue involved relates to one or a few individual employees, it needs to be handled through a
grievance procedure. But when general issues with policy implications and wider interest are
involved, they become the subject matter for collective bargaining. Ideally in an individual grievance
redressal, trade union should have less or no role while in grievances of a collective nature and wider
ramifications, trade union need to be involved.
For our purpose, in this unit, grievance has a narrow perspective; it is concerned with the
interpretation of a contract or a award as applied to an individual or a few employees.
Dissatisfaction, Complaint and Grievance
According to Pigors and Myers, three terms 'dissatisfaction', 'complaint', and 'grievance' indicate the
various forms and stages of employee
dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction is “anything
that disturbs an employee, whether or not he
expresses his unrest in words.' A complaint
is a 'spoken or written dissatisfaction,
brought to the attention of the supervisor and
the shop steward'. A grievance is simply a
"complaint that has been ignored,
overridden, or dismissed without due
consideration”.
A grievance in the context of a
business organisation is always expressed
either verbally or in writing. If the discontent remains unexpressed, it does not constitute grievance for
the reason that the management cannot take note of such subliminal process, which are not ventilated.
This does not mean that the management should not be concerned at all with unexpressed discontent.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that in an organisational setting such unexpressed grievance are not
capable of being handled through the grievance procedure. Thus, the grievance is more formal in
character than a complaint. While a complaint can be either oral or written, a grievance is always in
writing. Un-redressed, piled-up individual grievances may often assume the form of industrial
disputes, thereby attracting the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 or leading to a snap
industrial action such as work stoppages, or disorderly behaviour.
4. FEATURES
If we analyse this definition, some noticeable features emerge clearly:
a. A grievance refers to any form of discontent or dissatisfaction with any aspect of the
organisation.
b. The dissatisfaction must arise out of employment and not due to personal or family problems.
c. The discontent can arise out of real or imaginary reasons. When the employee feels that
injustice has been done to him, he has a grievance. The reasons for such a feeling may be
valid or invalid, legitimate or irrational, justifiable or ridiculous.
d. The discontent may be voiced or unvoiced. But it must find expression in some form.
e. However, discontent per se is not a grievance. Initially, the employee may complain orally or
in writing. If this is not looked into promptly, the employee feels a sense of injustice. Now the
discontent grows and takes the shape of a grievance.
f. Broadly speaking, thus, a grievance is traceable to perceived non-fulfillment of one's
expectations from the organisation.
5. THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF GRIEVANCE
As can be seen from the given definition, the meaning of grievance is restrictive in nature.
The management and the union of an enterprise collectively arrive at the decision as to what will
constitute a grievance in the given organizational context. When individual grievances are not
redressed and the same situation affects other workers, fit may become a collective grievance.
Collective grievances normally come under the purview of collective bargaining.
 Although the precise nature of grievance will differ from one organization to another, in
general they tend to fall under the following categories in most Indian organizations:
I. Promotions
a. Supersession
b. Acting promotion
c. Seniority
d. Pay fixation
II. Compensation
a. Increments
b. Payment
c. Recovery of dues
III. Amenities
a. Inequitable distribution
b. Entidement
c. Medical benefits
IV. Service Matters
a. Transfers
b. Continuity of service
c. 'Superannuation
V. Disciplinary Action
a. Punishment
b. Fines
c. Victimization
VI. Nature of Job
a. Job allocation
VII. Condition of Work
a. Safety
b. Hazards
VIII. Leave

S. Chandra's study on grievance procedure and practices revealed the following as some of the main
causes of employee grievances:
 Amenities  Nature of job
 Compensation  Promotions
 Conditions of work  Payments
 Continuity of service  Safety environment
 Disciplinary action  Superannuation
 Fines  Transfers
 Leave  Supersession
 Medical benefits  Victimization
The list is indicative and not comprehensive. The causes of grievances mentioned above are for
identifying the nature of a grievance and to decide whether that grievance can be formally taken up
for redressal through the formal grievance handling machinery. The deeper causes leading to those
grievances need to be analysed so that preventive as well as corrective steps could be taken by the
management.
6. FORMS OF GRIEVANCE
A grievance may take any one of the following forms: (a) factual, (b) imaginary, (c) disguised.
a. Factual: A factual grievance arises when legitimate needs of the employees remain
unfulfilled, e.g., wage-hike has been agreed but not implemented citing various reasons.
b. Imaginary: When an employee's dissatisfaction is not because of any valid reason but
because of a wrong perception, wrong attitude or wrong information he has gathered. Such a
situation may create an imaginary grievance. Though management is not at fault in such
instances, still it has to clear the 'fog' immediately.
 c. Disguised: An employee may have dissatisfaction for reasons that are unknown to himself. If
he/she is under pressure from family, friends, relatives, neighbours, he/she may reach the
work spot with a heavy heart. If a new recruit gets a new table and almirah this may become
an eyesore to other employees who have not been treated likewise previously.
7. EFFECTS OF GRIEVANCES
Grievances can have several effects which are essentially adverse and counterproductive to
organisational purpose. The adverse effects include:
a. Loss of interest in work and consequent lack of morale and commitment
b. Poor quality of production
c. Low productivity
d. Increase in wastage and costs
e. Increase in employee turnover
f. Increase in absenteeism
g. Increase in the incidence of accidents
h. Indiscipline
i. Unrest
Grievances, if they are not identified and redressed, may affect adversely the workers, managers and
the entire organisation. The effects include:
a. On production:
i. Low quality of production
ii. Low quality of production and productivity
iii. Increase in the wastage of material, spoilage/leakage of machinery
iv. Increase in the cost of production per unit
b. On employees:
i. Increases the rate of absenteeism and turnover
ii. Reduces the level of commitment, sincerity and punctuality
iii. Increases the incidence of accidents
iv. Reduces the level of employee morale
c. On managers:
i. Strains the superior-subordinate relations
ii. Increases the degree of supervision, control and follow up.
iii. Increase in disciplinary action cases
iv. Increase in unrest and, thereby, machinery to maintain industrial peace
Beach also refers to several reasons as to why there should be a formal procedure to handle
grievances:
 All employee complaints and grievances are in actual practice not settled satisfactorily by the
first level supervisor, due to lack of necessary human relations skills or authority to act.
 It serves as a medium of upward communication, whereby the management becomes aware of
employee's frustrations, problems and expectations.
 It operates like a pressure-release valve on a steam boiler, providing the employees with an
outlet to vent their frustrations, discontents and gripes.
 It also reduces the likelihood of arbitrary action by supervision, since the supervisors know
that the employees are able to protest such behaviour and make their protests heard by higher
manager.
 The very fact that employees have a right to be heard-and actually are heard-helps to keep the
morale high.
8. THE BENEFITS OF A GRIEVANCE HANDLING PROCEDURE
According to Jackson (2000, 10), further benefits that will accrue to both the employer and
employees are:
 It encourages employees to raise concerns without fear of reprisal.
 It provides a fair and speedy means of dealing with complaints.
 It prevents minor disagreements developing into more serious disputes.
 It saves employer's time and money as solutions are found for workplace problems.
 It helps to build an organisational climate, based on openness and trust.
 9. OBJECTIVES OF A GRIEVANCE-HANDLING PROCEDURE
Jackson (2000, 11) lays down the objectives of a grievance-handling procedure as follows:
 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.
10. THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

Most large organizations in India have a formal grievance

procedure, which enables an organization to redress those
grievances that come under its purview. The advantages of
having a formal procedure are:
a) It provides established and known methods of
processing grievances and keeps this channel of
communication open.
b) The redressal of a grievance is attempted by
i. establishing the facts pertaining to the
grievance,
ii. collecting the facts and evidence,
iii. asking probing questions related to the
grievance,
iv. analysing facts and data generated, and
v. taking decisions on an impartial basis.
c) The role of emotion, which may have caused the
grievance in the first place, can be minimized by following the
process of objective analysis.
d) The process covers several levels in the organization
including reference to outside institutions or individuals, if so
desired or provided in the contract.
e) Its existence provides confidence among employees
that they can be heard and that their grievances can be
impartially redressed. The mere existence of this procedure,
therefore, is satisfying even though an employee may never
have an occasion to use it.
f) Even if a grievance is not settled in an employee's
favour, still the employee may feel satisfied because he had the
opportunity to communicate and to be heard by the
management.
g) Involving various hierarchical levels like middle and
senior management in the grievance redressal process provides
a safeguard against the possible arbitrary or biased decision of
the immediate supervisor.
h) Various levels in the organization get to know of the
kinds of issues that concern workers and managers.
It is advantageous for large organizations, therefore, to
adopt a formal grievance procedure. The Second National
Commission on Labour (1969) has suggested a model
grievance procedure that can be adapted to suit the
requirements of specific organizations. Having a formal grievance procedure is a necessary but
insufficient condition for effective handling of grievances. Like many other formal mechanisms
existing in an organization, the grievance procedure also tends to become procedure oriented rather
than outcome oriented. In other words, following laid down procedures rather than the speedy
redressal of grievances tends to become the primary concern. This causes delay which only increases
frustration among the employees, which in turn affects the productivity and also the morale of
employees. The social costs of delay in redressal of grievance are quite high, which are not usually
appreciated by those responsible for making the procedure operationally efficient and effective. The
members of the grievance-handling committees at various levels lose interest when problem solving
efforts are replaced by a tug of war between the interested parties. If the climate of trust and mutuality
of concern for employees' grievances do not exist, people down the line lose faith in the procedure.
This state of affairs leads to a situation where employees take recourse to extra-organizational
methods such as union pressures, personal contacts, and the like for redressal of their grievances.
Otherwise, grievances are not voiced in appropriate form and in course of time they tend to become
collective disputes.
11. ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITES OF A GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

Every organisation should have a systematic

grievance procedure in order to redress the
grievances effectively. As explained above,
unattended grievances may culminate in the
form of violent conflicts later on. The
grievance procedure, to be sound and
effective, should possess certain prerequisites:
a. Conformity with statutory provisions:
Due consideration must be given to the prevailing legislation while designing the grievance-
handling procedure.
b. Unambiguity: Every aspect of the grievance-handling procedure should be clear and
unambiguous. All employees should know whom to approach first when they have a
grievance, whether the complaint should be written or oral, the maximum time in which the
redressal is assured, etc. The redressing official should also know the limits within which he
can take the required action.
c. Simplicity: The grievance handling procedure should be simple and short. If the procedure is
complicated it may discourage employees and they may fail to make use of it in a proper
manner.
d. Promptness: The grievance of the employee should be promptly handled and necessary action
must be taken immediately. This is good for both, the employee and management, because if
the wrong-doer is punished late, it may affect the morale of other employees as well.
e. Training: The supervisors and the union representatives should be properly trained in all
aspects of grievance-handling beforehand, or else it will complicate the problem.
f. Follow up: The Personnel Department should keep track of the effectiveness and the
functioning of grievance handling procedure and make necessary changes to improve it from
time to time.
12. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON LABOUR
The National Commission on Labour has given a statutory backing for the formulation of an effective
grievance procedure which should be simple, flexible, less cumbersome, and more or less on the lines
of the present Model Grievance Procedure. It should be time bound and have a limited number of
steps, say approach to the supervisor, then to the departmental head, and thereafter representatives. It
should be made applicable only to those units which employ more than 100 workers.
The Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 1982 has provided for a reference of certain
individual disputes to grievance settlement authorities. Section 9C of the Act stipulates that in every
establishment which has hundred or more workmen employed or have been employed on any day in
the preceding twelve months, the employer shall set up a time-bound grievance redressal procedure.
A grievance procedure, whether formal or informal, statutory or voluntary, has to ensure that
it gives a sense of satisfaction to the individual worker: a reasonable exercise of authority of the
manager and an opportunity of participation to the unions. The introduction of unions in the grievance
procedure is necessary because ultimately it is the union that is answerable to its members.
 A basic ingredient of the procedure should be that the total number of steps involved should
be limited, not more than four are generally envisaged even in the largest units. A grievance
procedure should normally provide for three steps, namely (a) approach appeal to the immediate
supervisor, (b) appeal to the department head/manager, (c) appeal to the bipartite grievance committee
representing management and the recognized union. The constitution of the committee should have a
provision that in case no unanimous decision is possible, the unsettled grievance may be referred to an
arbitrator.

13. MODEL GREIVANCE PROCEDURE

A. Grievance Machinery
Grievance machinery should be set up in each undertaking to administer the grievance procedure. The
minimum requirements of such machinery would be as follows, except where an established
procedure is already working to the mutual satisfaction of either party. Even in the latter case, every
effort shall be made to bring the procedure in conformity with the guiding principles.
For the purpose of constituting a fresh grievance machinery, workers in each department (and
where a department is too small, in a group of departments) and each shift, shall elect, from amongst
themselves and for a period of not less than one year at a time, departmental representatives and
forward the list of persons so elected to the management. Where the union(s) in the undertaking is in a
position to submit an agreed list of names, recourse to election may not be necessary. Similar is the
case where works committees are functioning satisfactorily, since the works committee members of a
particular constituency shall act as the departmental representatives. Correspondingly, the
management shall designate the persons for each department who shall be approached at the first
stage and the departmental heads for handling grievances at the second stage. Two or three of the
departmental representatives of workers and two or three departmental heads nominated by the
management shall constitute a Grievance Committee, the composition of which is indicated in the
appendix. In the case of appeals against discharges or dismissals, the management shall designate the
authority to whom appeals can be made.
 B. Grievance Procedure

While adaptations have to be made to meet special circumstances such as those in the defense
undertakings, railways, plantations, and also small undertakings employing few workers, the
procedure normally envisaged in the handling of grievances should be as follows:
1. An aggrieved employee shall first present the grievance verbally (in person) to the officer
designated by management for this purpose. An answer shall be given within 48 hours of the
presentation of the complaint.
2. If the worker is not satisfied with the decision of this officer or fails to receive an answer
within the stipulated period, s/he shall, either in person or accompanied by her/his
departmental representative, present her/his grievances to the head of the department
designated by the management for the purpose of handling grievances. (For this purpose, a
fixed time shall be specified during which, on any working day, an aggrieved worker can
meet the departmental head for presentation of grievances.) The departmental head shall give
her/his answer within three days of the presentation of grievance. If action cannot be take
within that period, the reason for delay should be recorded.
3. If the decision of the departmental head is unsatisfactory, the aggrieved worker may request
the forwarding of her/his grievance to the Grievance Committee, which shall make its
recommendations to the manager within seven days of the worker's request. If the
recommendations cannot be made within this time limit, the reason for the delay should be
recorded. The management shall implement unanimous recommendations of the Grievance
Committee. In the event of a difference of opinion among the members of the Grievance
Committee, the views of the members along with the relevant papers shall be placed before
the manager for the final decision. In either case, the final decision of the management shall
be communicated to the worker concerned by the personnel officer within three days from the
receipt of the Grievance Committee's recommendations.
4. Should the decision from the management not be forthcoming within the stipulated period or
should it be unsatisfactory, the worker shall have the right to appeal to management for a
revision. In making this appeal, the worker, if s/he so desires, shall have the right to take a
union official along with her/him to facilitate discussions with management. Management
shall communicate their decision within a week of the worker's revision petition.
5. If no agreement is still possible, the union and the management may refer the grievance to
voluntary arbitration within a week of receipt by the workers of the management's decision.
6. Where a worker has taken up a grievance for redressal under this procedure, the formal
conciliation machinery shall not intervene till all steps in the procedure are exhausted. A
grievance shall be presumed to assume the form of a dispute only when the final decision of
the top management in respect of the grievance is not acceptable to the worker.
7. If a grievance arises out of an order given by management, the said order shall be complied
with before the worker concerned invokes the procedure laid down for redressal of grievance.
If, however, there is a time lag between the issue of order and its compliance, the grievance
procedure may immediately be invoked but the order nevertheless must be complied within
the due date, even if all the steps in the grievance procedure have not been exhausted. It may,
however, be advisable for the management to await the findings of grievance procedure
machinery.
8. Workers' representatives on the Grievance Committee shall have the right of access to any
document connected with the inquiry maintained in the department and which may be
necessary to understand the merit or otherwise of the workers' grievances. The management's
representatives shall have the right, however, to refuse to show any document or give any
information which they consider to be of a confidential nature. Such confidential document(s)
shall not be used against the workers in the course of the grievance proceedings.
9. There shall be a time limit within which an appeal shall be taken from one step to the other.
For this purpose, the aggrieved worker shall, within 72 hours of the receipt of the decision at
one stage (or if no decision is received, on the expiry of the stipulated period), file her/his
appeal with the authority at the next higher stage, should s/he feel inclined to appeal.
 10. In calculating the various time intervals under the above clauses, holidays shall not be
reckoned.
11. Management shall provide the necessary clerical and other assistance for the smooth
functioning of the grievance machinery.
12. If it is necessary for any worker to leave the department during working hours on call from
the labour/personnel officer or any other officer of the established grievance machinery,
previous permission of her/his superior shall necessarily be obtained. Subject to her/his
condition, the worker shall not suffer any loss in wages for the work time lost in this manner.
13. If, however, there is any complaint against any individual members of the staff, who is
nominated by the management to handle grievances at the lowest level, the worker may take
up her/his grievance at the next highest stage, i.e., at the level of departmental head.
14. In the case of any grievance arising out of discharge or dismissal of a worker, the above-
mentioned procedure shall not apply. Instead, a discharged or dismissed worker shall have the
right to appeal either to the dismissing authority or to a senior authority who shall be specified
by the management, within a week from the date of dismissal or discharge. At the time the
appeal is heard, the worker may, if s/he so desires, be accompanied by either an official of the
recognized union or a fellow worker, as the case may be.
14. SUMMARY
Employee grievances are complaints against the management for the latter's failure to meet
the expectations of the employees. It is a form of upward communication which provides
useful feedback to management on the impact of policies on employees. Individual
grievances, if not resolved, may take collective form and become a major industrial relations
issue. Formal grievance handling procedures existing in most large organizations are not very
effective in handling grievances. Effective redressal of grievance presupposes a relationship
of mutual trust and concern between the management and the employees, in the absence of
which no formal procedure could be effective. Grievances, therefore, need to be managed
nearest to the source of their origin. The first line supervisors and managers need to be trained
in skills and techniques of grievance handling by adopting a problem-solving approach Thus,
problems of discipline and of employee grievance are two sides of the same coin. They are
the results of the mismatch of the expectations of the management and the employees and the
failure of one group to meet the expectations of the other. If the problems relating to
discipline and employee grievance are not properly managed, the relationship is strained and
harmony is disturbed. The strained relationship adversely affects the productivity, efficiency,
and effectiveness of the total organization. The present chapter attempted to discuss the
various causes of grievance, the important conditions for sound grievance procedure. This
chapter also discussed the stages of model grievance procedure.