Employee Handbook
GRIEVANCE POLICY & PROCEDURE
CATEGORY
People and Culture
POLICY OWNER
Director of People and Culture
DATE & VERSION
27-09-2023 - Version 7
APPROVED BY
Operations Leadership Team
REVIEW FREQUENCY
Two years
Grievance Policy and Procedure
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Employee Handbook
Contents
SECTION
CONTENT
PAGE NUMBER
1
Policy Purpose
3
2
Policy Statement
3
3
Policy Implementation
3
4
Related Information 1. Data Protection 2. Relevant Policies
3 3 4
5
Policy Measurement and Reporting
4
6
Appendices 1. Informal resolution and principles 2. Right to representation and mediation 3. Formal Grievance Procedure
5 7 9
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Employee Handbook 1. Policy Purpose UWC Atlantic (the College) recognises that an employee may have concerns or grievances arising from their employment. The purpose of the grievance procedure is to provide the mechanism for these concerns to be dealt with fairly, consistently and without unreasonable delay. If an employee has a grievance relating to their employment, they have the right to express their concerns. Any grievance should be resolved as close to the point of origin as is possible. Any grievances which are found to be malicious or vexatious may be dealt with in accordance with the College’s Disciplinary policy. 2. Policy Statement Anyone wishing to use this procedure is encouraged to do so freely and without prejudice to their position within the College. All grievances will be treated with sensitivity and concern. This procedure applies to all employees, irrespective of position within the College. Matters involving a disciplinary or capability decision should be taken up in accordance with the College’s separate Disciplinary and Capability appeals procedure. 3. Policy Implementation Details of the processes and procedures for how the policy is implemented can be found in the appendices. 1. Appendix one details informal resolution stage and principles 2. Appendix two details right to representation and mediation
4. Related Information 4.1
Data Protection
The College processes any personal data collected as part of the Grievance procedure in accordance with the Data Protection policy. Any data collected is held securely and accessed by, and disclosed to, individuals only for the purposes of completing the procedure.
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Employee Handbook
4.2
Relevant Policies
● Disciplinary Policy ● Capability Policy ● Whistleblowing Policy 5. Policy Measurement and Reporting The Grievance Policy and Procedure is reviewed every two years by the People and Culture Committee of the Board and the Director of People and Culture as part of the committee’s review cycle and as part of the whole College development plan. Part of this review process will consider to what extent the policy is being used as an active working document. The policy is communicated to the school community electronically on Every.
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Employee Handbook Appendix 1 1.1
Informal Resolution
The employee is encouraged to raise all grievances with their Manager on an informal basis to seek a speedy resolution of the issue. An informal record should be kept on an employee’s People and Culture personal file. Most issues are normally discussed and dealt with satisfactorily within the course of normal working relationships and, where possible, problems should be discussed in an informal setting before they develop into major problems. 1.2
Principles
However, in instances where an informal resolution is not possible, or where a problem is considered to be of a sufficiently serious nature to be termed as a formal grievance (See Appendix 2 for stages of the Formal Grievance), this procedure provides a framework for dealing with the matter. In this event the following principles will apply: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Employees will be given the opportunity of a fair hearing Any employee who is the subject of a grievance will be given the opportunity to present their case at a fair hearing also Grievances will be dealt with quickly and fairly The College or its employees will not put the details of grievance proceedings into the public domain No decision will be taken until the case has been fully investigated An employee has the right to representation at any grievance hearing The final stage of any appeal will be to a Senior Manager Grievance Procedure complies with statutory obligations and employment legislation
All employees with managerial responsibilities must fully understand and be trained and be able to apply these procedures effectively. Support and advice should be sought as necessary from People and Culture. All employees have a responsibility to familiarise themselves with the policy and use the designated procedure, should they wish to raise a grievance.
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Employee Handbook If at any time, the timescales within the procedure cannot be met for any reason, the employee will be informed of the reason for the delay and how long the delay is likely to last for.
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Employee Handbook Appendix 2 2.1
Formal Grievance Stage
Right to Representation An employee has the right to be represented by a Trade Union representative, or work colleague, at all formal stages of the grievance procedure. It is the employee’s duty to arrange for the representative to attend with them and to assess the suitability of their chosen companion or Trade Union representative. Prior to the formal grievance meeting the employee must inform People and Culture whom they have chosen to act as their representative at the meeting. The employee is responsible for providing their representative with copies of any supporting evidence/statements. If employees’ choice of companion or Trade Union representative is considered unreasonable, employees may be asked to choose someone else, for example: a) If in the college’s opinion employees’ companion or Trade Union representative may have a conflict of interest or may prejudice the meeting ; or b) If the companion or Trade Union representative is unavailable at the time a meeting is scheduled and will not be available for more than five working days. A representative who accompanies an employee to a formal grievance meeting may do the following: ● ● ●
Attend at and address the meeting and ask questions (but should not answer on employees’ behalf) Confer with the employee Take note of the proceedings
The employee will answer any question put directly to them at a hearing. The representative may ask questions but may not answer on the employee’s behalf. 2.2
Mediation
If appropriate, the College may consider the use of mediation. This is a voluntary process where an independent third party helps two or more people involved in a dispute to resolve matters and reach agreement. All parties must agree in order to undergo mediation. UWC
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Employee Handbook Atlantic believes that mediation, when used appropriately can offer a fresh approach and avoid the potentially destructive effects of drawn out conflict.
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Employee Handbook Appendix 3 - Formal Grievance Procedure 3.1
Stage 1 – Formal Grievance Hearing
Where an employee is aggrieved on a matter arising out of their employment they should raise the matter in writing, describing the nature of the grievance, initially with the appropriate Manager, `The Investigating Officer’, will meet with the employee within 10 working days from the date or notification of the event, indicating that they wish the matter to be dealt with under the formal grievance procedure. If the grievance relates to the employee’s Manager the employee should feel free to raise the matter initially with the `next level of manager’ or People and Culture. If People and Culture are approached, they will nominate a person to be the Investigating Officer. The employee may also seek guidance from People and Culture as to whom to raise the matter with if they are unsure. Upon receipt of the written grievance, a face-to-face grievance hearing will be arranged by the Investigating Officer to discuss the grievance as soon as possible or usually within 10 working days of the request being made. At that hearing the employee is entitled to be accompanied by a work colleague or Trade Union representative. The Investigating Officer and the appropriate People and Culture representative will be present. Employees and their companion or Trade Union representative (if any) should make every effort to attend grievance meetings. If they cannot attend at the time specified, they should inform the Investigating Officer immediately who will try, within reason, to agree to an alternative time. The purpose of a grievance meeting is to enable employees to explain their grievance and how they think it should be resolved and to assist us to reach a decision based on the available evidence and representations. It will be the duty of the Investigating Officer to investigate the substance of the employee’s grievance and submissions from them or their representative together with such other submissions and evidence, as he/she considers appropriate. This may include submissions and evidence from any witnesses or individual who may be the subject of any grievance.
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Employee Handbook Employees must cooperate fully and promptly in any investigations. This may include informing the Investigating Officer of the names of any relevant witnesses, disclosing any relevant documents and attending investigation interviews if required. The Investigating Officer may initiate an investigation before holding a grievance meeting where they consider this appropriate. In other cases the Investigating Officer may hold a grievance meeting before deciding what investigation (if any) to carry out. In such cases they will hold a further grievance meeting with employees before reaching a decision. The Investigating Officer will provide the employee with a written response, setting out a summary of the employee’s grievance, their decision and the solution(s) proposed if any, as soon as possible usually within 7 working days of the meeting. The employee shall be notified of the right of appeal against the decision if they are not satisfied with the outcome. 3.2
Stage 2 – The Appeal Meeting
If the employee remains dissatisfied with the decision then the employee may appeal to the Principal, in writing within a reasonable time period. UWC Atlantic considers that 5 working days from receipt of the written decision is reasonable but may consider any notification of appeal received within a period that is considered reasonable, within the particular circumstances. The request should state the grounds for the appeal in full. The Principal or their nominated representative will arrange an appeal meeting within 10 working days or at the earliest opportunity of receipt of the employee’s request. The employee will be invited to attend the Appeals meeting and may be accompanied by his/her Trade Union representative or work colleague. At that meeting the relevant manager and the appropriate People and Culture representative and any other person considered necessary shall be present. At this meeting, the Principal or their nominated representative will be entitled to request and review any written evidence and representations as to the basis of the employee’s complaint/concerns. It shall be the duty of the Principal or their nominated representative to investigate the substance of the employee’s grievance and submissions from them or their representative with such other submissions and evidence, as they consider appropriate.
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Employee Handbook The Principal or their nominated representative who hears the appeal will provide the employee with a written response setting out the final decision as soon as possible, usually within 5 working days of the meeting. The decision at this stage will be final and the grievance procedure will be deemed to be exhausted. Written grievances will be placed on the employees People and Culture personal file along with a record of any decisions taken and any notes or other documents compiled during the grievance process. If employees have difficulty at any stage of the grievance procedure because of a disability, or because English is not their first language, they should discuss the situation with their manager as soon as possible or a member of the People and Culture team.
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