types of grievances in the workplace in south africa

Ask employees round the globe about their foremost concern in the workplace and clarity in communication will … South Africa: Understanding Constructive Dismissal ... Internal Grievance Procedures. Management at various levels must consider the grievance carefully and make genuine attempts to resolve the grievance. This includes but is not limited to University property, Hostels, vehicles, Institutes, etc. The purpose of the grievance procedure is to allow an employee or employees to bring to the attention of management of the Company any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice which may exist in respect of the workplace. Securing an employee’s consent is one of the basis on which an employer can lawfully process both general and special, It is crucial for employers to understand the meaning and interpretation of consent within the context of POPI. The grievance procedure is also intended to empower employees with the opportunity and procedure to be able to raise issues of dissatisfaction with the employer. Government and Nehawu agree more talks are needed to address workers' grievances. Copyright © 2021. The grievance should […] A grievance must be lodged in writing with an employee designated to facilitate the grievance resolution in the department within 90 days from the date in which the employee became aware of the official act or omission which adversely affected him/her. Read our step-by-step guide to mediation and conflict resolution in the workplace below. The aggrieved employee must be duly informed by the designated employee about the status and progress made towards the resolution of the grievance. the Constitution, to consider grievances of the employees in the public service. Types of grievances in the workplace All Rights Reserved. South Africa . Grievances may be categorised in two forms, i.e. It is common knowledge that the attitude of employees who are aggrieved in the workplace may have a … Employers should bear in mind that POPI does not demand consent in every instance and that processing may take place without consent where e.g. The basic rights of the employee will be those agreed upon as per the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (Act No. 1.1 Purpose of Grievance Procedure . There are many reasons as to why a grievance can be raised, and also many ways to go about dealing with such a scenario. a grievance of right and a grievance interest. It also applies regardless of the stated governing law of any employment contract or the nationalities of either the employee or the employer. ” 10 INTRODUCTION. Wage Grievance- failure to pay agreed rating including: starting pay automatic increase merit increase improper classification of job employee wrongly classified shift premium vacation pay or bonus call-in pay improver incentive or piece rate. 1. There are various types, and therefore various processes and procedures that an employer would need to go through before carrying out a dismissal. the processing is required in terms of law, or for the purposes of protecting a legitimate interest of the employee. ARTICLE ENQUIRY, To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here In the circumstances it is advisable for employees’ written consent to be secured. The 1996 Constitution is the successor of the earlier interim Constitution, Act 200 of 1993, which was brought into effect on 27 April 1994, following the first democratic elections in South Africa. The employee should be allowed representation by a colleague or union representative. South Africa successfully completed a political transformation in 1994. Let me know your proceedings with the investigation and hope that you will arrange to hold a grievance hearing within 30 days. Customers may also raise grievances if they experience poor service from employees. While employers may hope for a “quick fix” to ensure compliance and trust that including a broad, “catch all” consent in employees’ contracts of employment will be suffice – this may not prove to be adequate in every instance. President Cyril Ramaphosa. Consult your attorney or labour specialist to design a document that better suits your company’s needs GRIEVANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURE 1. As a result, they practice avoidance tactics. The contract may state that remuneration is the "normal going rate for a specific type of work," or state a specific amount or merely "minimum wage." So as not to fall foul of the provisions of POPI it is recommended that employers develop internal policies that will assist them in determining whether in each instance, personal information to be processed is covered by the general consent clause in an employee’s contract of employment alternatively, by one of the other basis for lawful processing. Where it is evident that two or more staff members have the same grievance, the staff members may elect to have the grievance dealt with as one. South Africa has been dubbed "the protest capital of the world", with one of the highest rates of public protests in the world.. Individual employment agreements. personal grievances in the workplace and provide a procedure to follow in the event a personal grievance arises. Where practicalities militate against a group grievance being dealt with as a group, the group must elect a spokesperson(s) that will act on behalf of the group. General principles to consider when handling grievances according to Bandix, 1996:350 are: In the Public Sector, the grievance process is regulated by PSCBC Resolution No. Where necessary provisions should also be made specifically for the processing of special personal information. While the term “legitimate interest” is not defined in POPI, it is likely that the Information Regulator will seek guidance from the GDPR in this regard. 108 of 1996) 2 The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (d) an occupational detriment, other than dismissal, in contravention of the Protected Disclosures Act (Act 26 of 2000), on account of the employee having made a protected disclosure defined in that Act. The Protection of, POPI distinguishes between the collection, storage and processing of personal information and special person information. Grievances may be categorised in two forms, i.e. For a real grievance to have occurred there must have been a violation of an employee's rights on the job. A grievance is a formal complaint that is raised by an employee towards an employer within the workplace. Although these female activists were rarely at the head of the main organisations, at least at the beginning of the movement, they were prime actors. In, Both special and general personal information may be processed lawfully if the processing is necessary for the “, A determination is made as to whether there is a “. Although the Labour Relations Act contains no definition of the word “unfair”, Professor John Grogan in his book entitled “Employment Rights” second edition (Juta, 2014) at pages 114-115, adequately summed up the hallmarks of “Unfair Conduct” as follows: where one person or group of people is favoured over another on the basis of irrelevant criteria; where people are treated arbitrarily – i.e. The employees must be able to understand in clear language what they are consenting and the extent of the consent. Please enter the email address that you used to register on Polity.org.za. Keep in mind that a grievance can be real or imaginary, and employees file grievances … Introduction 1.1.Any employee who has a grievance is entitled to make use of the Grievance Procedure. Time limits should be established for each of the steps within the procedure. Consult your attorney or labour specialist to design a document that better suits your company’s needs GRIEVANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURE 1. Grievances in the workplace In light of the above process, it is important to note that grievances should be dealt with in line with the company’s grievance policy which aims to lay down the process to follow as well as promote to consistency, transparency, and fairness in the handling of workplace problems and complaints. or an employer has not respected or has infringed a right which he has. The employer must ensure that the grievance is dealt with in a fair, impartial and unbiased manner and that the principles of natural justice are observed. an employer processes employees’ personal information to comply with its obligations under the Employment Equity Act. Lack of Transparency in Communication. The GDPR has established a three-pronged test in interpreting “legitimate interest” which considers purpose, necessity, and balance. An overview of dealing with grievances in the workplace. Employers have a grace period of one year as of 1 July 2020 within which to ensure their compliance with POPI. To prevent disputes from arising in the workplace. Shared below are 5 of the most common employee grievances that might be getting viral in your department. To ensure that complaints are effectively dealt with by management. Reciprocity. It may well be that the Information Regulator interprets consent restrictively in keeping with the GDPR. The aggrieved employee must be duly informed by the designated employee about the status and progress made towards the resolution of the grievance. Should the grievance remain unresolved, the employee has the right to declare a dispute. Time limits should be established for each of the steps within the procedure. Below you will find the most recent workplace conflict statistics, including employment lawsuit stats and employee engagement stats, as well as the estimated cost of conflict to companies in the U.S. Pollack Peacebuilding is a leading provider of workplace conflict management services nationwide. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) is one institution that was created with high expectations and is specifically tasked with ADR-type processes. This a sample of a Grievance Policy and Procedure. Also, it must have been the employer or one of his/her agents -- like a supervisor or manager -- who has violated these rights, directly or indirectly. Special personal information includes e.g. It first asks, “Is there a legitimate reason or purpose for the processions?”, secondly “Is processing the information necessary for that purpose” and thirdly “Is the legitimate interest overridden by the interests of the data subject?”. consistency, transparency and fairness in the handling of workplace problems and complaints. an employee’s race or ethnic origin, health or sex life, religious or philosophical beliefs and trade union membership. Dismissal is the term used to describe the termination of your employment. There are those employers who are too soft and make a ruling on a grievance without establishing whether the complaint holds any merit, and then there are those employers who ignore grievances and tend to victimise the employee who lodged the complaint. An information sheet detailing a typical form used when an employee has lodged a grievance and such is investigated and an outcome handed down to ensure fair labour practices within the workplace. Although the Labour Relations Act contains no definition of the word “unfair”, Professor John Grogan in his book entitled “Employment Rights” second edition (Juta, 2014) at pages 114-115, adequately summed up the hallmarks of “Unfair Conduct” as follows: The purpose of a grievance procedure is aimed at promoting sound labour relations in the workplace, i.e. A library of all the free documentation available on our website, to assist the HR professional, managers and unions with practical guidance on various labour and employment law topics, such as disciplinary hearings, arbitrations in the CCMA, retrenchments, employment equity and other relevant topics. To access earlier articles, click Advanced Search and set an earlier date range.To search for a term containing the '&' symbol, click Advanced Search and use the 'search headings' and/or 'in first paragraph' options. An employer should ensure that it short-lists as many suitably qualified applicants from designated groups as possible. An employee grievance is a concern, problem, or complaint that an employee has about their work, the workplace, or someone they work with—this includes management. South Africa . In many cases, it may be necessary to intercept an employee’s electronic communications on his/her work email or to consider documents saved to his/her work computer. Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store. An employee must not be victimised or prejudiced directly or indirectly as a result of lodging a grievance. If the employer fails to respond to a grievance within the stipulated period, the employee may lodge the grievance with the Commission, PSCBC or the relevant Bargaining Council. To create an opportunity for the employee to communicate with management. If the employer fails to respond to a grievance within the stipulated period, the employee may lodge the grievance with the Commission, PSCBC or the relevant Bargaining Council. Image: Esa Alexander . A grievance may be defined as any feeling of discontent, unfairness or injustice which an employee may have in respect of his work conditions, against his manager or supervisor, including a fellow worker and which is brought to the attention of Management. 14 of 2002 which provides as follows: The employer must ensure that the grievance is dealt with in a fair, impartial and unbiased manner and that the principles of natural justice are observed. An employer can process general personal information without an employee’s consent where such processing either protects a legitimate interest of the employee, or is “necessary for pursuing the legitimate interest of the responsible party or of a third party to whom it is supplied”. aggrieved in the workplace may have a negative impact on their performance. These documents are supported by templates to assist with the practical management of all HR and labour law related topics. An employee may be assisted by a fellow employee or a representative or official from a recognised trade union. For more information, kindly contact Magate Phala at emailProtector.addCloakedMailto("ep_0fbb394c", 1); POPI and consent - don’t get caught in your own net, By Gillian Lumb, Director, Kara Meiring, Candidate Attorney, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. Applicant alleges automatically … the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. Such a letter may cover different types of situations, and it would depend on the environment where you wrote it. To address this, the employee may approach his line manager to have his grievance resolved fairly, quickly and at the earliest possible stage. the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. South Africa’s diverse background and history of racial segregation and discrimination further complicates labour relations in the workplace. One cornerstone of this success was how the ANC/SACP/COSATU alliance effectively used the workplace in its struggle for political freedom and labour democracy. The common law does not indicate minimum wages; these are usually set by collective-bargaining councils and are industry specific. 1.2.A grievance is any feeling of dissatisfaction or perceived […] Special personal information includes e.g. Management at various levels must consider the grievance carefully and make genuine attempts to resolve the grievance. Grievances should generally be managed by line Management, however, other staff, for example, the Human Resources Manager, may act in an advisory capacity. Introduction 1.1.Any employee who has a grievance is entitled to make use of the Grievance Procedure. Should the grievance remain unresolved, the employee has the right to declare a dispute. The Constitution of South Africa , Act 108 of 1996 was adopted on 10 May 1996 and came into effect on 4 February 1997. General principles to consider when handling grievances according to Bandix, 1996:350 are: Employees should be entitled to bring their grievance to the attention of management even if it is done in stages. So, your attempts to resolve your grievance informally have failed and you have raised a formal grievance by sending a formal letter outlining your complaint (see our article on how to write a grievance and examples).. Ludwig Frahm-Arp, employment lawyer and ‎Director at Fasken law firm 1.2.A grievance is any feeling of dissatisfaction or perceived […] In the Public Sector, the grievance process is regulated by PSCBC Resolution No. Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. It is often argued that the rate of protests has been escalating since 2004, but Steven Friedman argues that the current wave of protests stretches back to the 1970s. The steward should file the grievance, not the employee on his/her own, as it is in the interest of everyone in the union that the grievance be handled properly. Accordingly, the PSC found it necessary to assess the state of grievance handling in the Public Service. I will be eagerly waiting to hear from you. The grievance procedure is also intended to empower employees with the opportunity and procedure to be able to raise issues of dissatisfaction with the employer. Addressing grievances in the workplace is synonymous with a balancing act – a levelled playing field needs to be maintained. on the basis of unproven or untested views and suppositions; where people are penalised or denied an advantage without being able to state their case. WHERE DO GRIEVANCES COME FROM? When an individual’s At this stage, all informality is cast aside … To render disciplinary proceeding more acceptable since employees also have the means of objecting to management performance. 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