What grievance means
A grievance is an employee complaint about something at work that affects them.
It is the mirror image of the disciplinary process. In a disciplinary matter the employer raises something about the employee. In a grievance, the employee raises something about the employer, a manager or a colleague.
Typical subjects are consistent: unpaid or incorrectly calculated pay, denial of leave, workload and hours, treatment by a manager, harassment or bullying, discrimination, health and safety, and how a promotion or an appraisal was handled.
The purpose of a formal procedure is not bureaucracy. It is to give a complaint somewhere to go before it becomes a resignation or a claim. Most workplace problems are cheaper to fix than to defend, and an employee who is heard early frequently does not escalate.
How it is used
A workable procedure is short and it belongs in the employee handbook.
Informal stage. The employee raises the issue with their line manager, who tries to resolve it. Many complaints end here, and a procedure that forces every issue into a formal channel wastes everybody's time.
Formal stage. The employee puts the grievance in writing, stating what happened, when, who was involved and what outcome they are seeking. It goes to a named person, and where the complaint concerns the line manager, to somebody else.
Investigation. Somebody impartial looks into it, speaks to those involved and gathers documents.
Meeting. The employee is invited to a meeting to explain their complaint, and may be accompanied.
Outcome. A written decision with reasons, and what will be done.
Appeal. To a more senior person not previously involved.
Timeframes at each stage are what keep the process honest, and records of every step are what an employer relies on later.
Key features
- A formal complaint by an employee about their treatment at work
- The counterpart of the disciplinary process
- Should have informal and formal stages with an appeal
- The complaint should be in writing and directed to a named person
- An impartial investigation and a written outcome are essential
- Records of each step are the employer's evidence if a claim follows
How this works in Nigeria
The National Industrial Court's approach makes grievance handling more valuable to Nigerian employers than it used to be.
Where an employee resigns and claims they were forced out, the question is what the employer did when the problem was raised. An employer who can produce the written grievance, the investigation notes, the meeting record and the outcome letter is in a strong position. An employer whose answer is that the employee never formally complained, in a workplace with no procedure to complain through, is not.
Harassment claims are the sharpest example. An employer with a reporting route that does not run through the alleged harasser, and a record of acting on complaints, has a defence. One without either does not.
The practical Nigerian obstacle is culture. Employees fear that complaining marks them, and in many workplaces it does. That is precisely why the procedure should name an alternative recipient, protect complainants from retaliation, and be seen to be used.
For employees, the advice is to put it in writing, keep a copy somewhere that is not the work system, be specific about dates and incidents, and state the outcome sought. A verbal complaint in a corridor is not a grievance anybody will be able to point to later.
Grievance vs disciplinary vs whistleblowing
Three processes that involve raising a problem, and they are not the same.
A grievance is the employee complaining about their own treatment. The employer investigates and responds, and the outcome affects the complainant's situation.
A disciplinary process is the employer raising conduct or performance about the employee. The employee is the subject rather than the complainant, and the outcome is a warning, a dismissal or no action.
Whistleblowing is a report about wrongdoing affecting others or the organisation: fraud, regulatory breach, danger to the public. The complainant may not be personally affected at all, and the concern is with the wrongdoing rather than with their treatment.
An organisation needs routes for all three, and they should not run through the same person. A whistleblowing report about a finance manager should not be received by the finance manager.
Limits and risks
A procedure only works if it is used and if using it is safe. Where employees believe complaining will cost them, the process exists on paper only and the employer gets no benefit from it.
Investigations are also difficult where the events had no witnesses, which is common in complaints about a manager's conduct.
Outcomes can be unsatisfying. A grievance about a management decision may be investigated properly and still result in the decision standing, and an employee who wanted a different answer reads that as the process failing.
And a grievance procedure does not resolve a fundamental mismatch. Where the relationship has broken down entirely, the process may simply document the breakdown rather than repair it.
Worth knowing
Name somebody other than the line manager in the procedure, and say plainly that raising a grievance will not be held against the employee. A Nigerian grievance process that routes every complaint through the person being complained about produces no complaints, which is not the same as no problems.
Questions people ask
What is a grievance?
A formal complaint by an employee about their treatment at work, covering matters such as pay, leave, workload, treatment by a manager, harassment, discrimination or health and safety.
What should a grievance procedure include?
An informal stage, a formal written stage directed to a named person, an impartial investigation, a meeting the employee can attend and be accompanied at, a written outcome with reasons, and an appeal to somebody not previously involved.
How should an employee raise a grievance?
In writing, specific about dates, incidents and who was involved, stating the outcome sought, sent to the person named in the handbook, with a copy kept somewhere that is not the work system.
Why does grievance handling matter at the industrial court?
Because when an employee claims they were forced out or that harassment was ignored, the question is what the employer did when it was raised. Records of investigation and outcome are what an employer relies on.
Can I be penalised for raising a grievance?
Retaliation for raising a complaint is itself actionable conduct, and a procedure should say expressly that raising a grievance will not be held against the employee. Document any detriment that follows.
What is the difference between a grievance and whistleblowing?
A grievance concerns your own treatment. Whistleblowing is a report about wrongdoing affecting others or the organisation, such as fraud or a regulatory breach, and the complainant may not be personally affected at all.