Help. I am not sure what my company needs to do after an employee raises a grievance...

Having a grievance policy in place that abides by the Tripartite guidelines and meets the requirements mandated by the Workplace Fairness Act is a great first step! Congrats!

But realistically, what should you do when an employee raises a grievance via the process you have in place? What does 'looking into every grievance fairly and promptly' even mean?

How can SolaceHR help you ?

Do you understand how each protected characteristic is defined?

We run through what each protected characteristic entails and covers so that you are fully aware of what to look out for.

For eg. Pregnancy Status covers not only women who are already pregnant; but also women who have communicated that they are attempting to start a family.

Do you understand the 5 employment decisions covered by the Act?

Dismissals are straightforward and as the term suggest - includes terminations and redundancies.

Hiring as an employment decision however covers people who interview with your company, and does not necessarily need to be formally employed.

Do you know the steps to take when investigating a grievance?

Allegations made in a grievance are not facts.
A final decision should only be made after conducting a thorough investigation into the grievance.

Who should you speak to in the company to understand the situation?
What questions should you ask?
How do you determine that the reporter experienced legitimate discrimination, harassment?
What actions should you take based on the investigation?

How are you ensuring confidentiality and preventing retaliation?

People talk, so it is no surprise that ensuring employees maintain confidentiality in any investigation is tricky. Simply telling them to keep quiet will not suffice.

Retaliation is a distressing outcome for employees who come forward to raise grievances. Companies need to ensure protection from any undesired consequences as a result of raising a grievance.

We share best practices and tips that we have seen and used.