Policy 8: Grievance procedure

1. STATEMENT

Simplyfruit (Ire) Limited Grievance Policy and Procedure is designed to encourage workplace disputes to be tackled at an early stage by requiring parties to follow certain basic steps which should facilitate discussion and resolution of issues. Grievances can be described as concerns, problems or complaints that an employee has about some aspect of their work.

The objective of this procedure is to provide employees or (ex-employees) who have a grievance, with the opportunity to have it examined quickly and effectively and where a grievance is deemed to exist, to have it resolved if possible, at the earliest practicable moment and at first level of management.

Ideally, employees should initially raise any grievances informally with their line manager, with a view to finding solutions. Where an employee chooses to raise matters informally, and if a grievance cannot be settled informally, the employee should raise it formally with management, using the formal grievance procedure.

All issues of grievance must be treated as confidential by all parties at all stages of the grievance process since grievances may include allegations of a highly sensitive nature and the release of such information could be damaging to the reputation of both complainant and/or manager. It is vital that everyone involved in a grievance is assured that the matter will be handled in the strictest confidence. Records will be retained in accordance with the GDPR Regulations 2018.

2. Scope

This procedure applies to all employees of Simplyfruit (Ire) Limited and is designed to deal with issues, which constitute, or are liable to constitute, a source of grievance to an individual employee. The company reserve the right to engage an HR external company to investigate a grievance where it believes it would be appropriate to do so.

3. RIGHT OF ACCOMPANIMENT

The employee has the right of accompaniment at each stage of the process. An employee may be accompanied by a trade union representative or work colleague. If you are being accompanied by a fellow worker you should advise the designated Director of the name of your fellow worker. Your companion can have a say at the hearing but cannot answer questions on your behalf.

4. RECORDS

Written records will be retained for future reference. These include:

• a copy of the written grievance
• the company response
• action(s) taken
• the reason(s) for the action(s) taken
• whether an appeal was lodged
• the outcome of any appeal.

Relevant records will be given to the employee including any formal minutes that have been taken. The Company may withhold information, for example to protect a witness.

5. Procedure for Implementation

Employees who have a grievance must normally exhaust each relevant stage in the procedure before proceeding to the next stage. After each stage the reasons for any decision shall be given.

5.1 INFORMAL PROCEDURE

Normally an employee should attempt to resolve grievances informally in the first instance with a direct approach to the individual concerned. If such an approach fails to resolve then the formal procedure should be utilised. However, an employee has the right to proceed immediately to the formal stage if he/she feels that the grievance is too serious to be treated informally.

6. FORMAL PROCEDURE

6.1 STATEMENT OF GRIEVANCE

The employee must set out the grievance in writing stating the nature of the grievance and how it might be resolved. The statement should be sent to the designated Company Director.

6.2 MEETING

The Line Manager will invite the employee to attend a meeting to discuss the grievance. The Line Manager may be accompanied by another manager who will record a note of the meeting. The employee must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.

The Line Manager will assure the employee that they will aim to resolve the grievance as quickly as possible, but will advise the employee that they may need to meet with other employees as part of the investigation

After the conclusion of the investigation, the Line Manager will inform the employee in writing either hard copy or via company email of his/her decision in response to the grievance, outlining how the decision was reached.

If the employee believes that their grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved they may appeal the decision.

7. APPEAL

• • 1. If the employee wishes to appeal, he/she must inform the designated Company Director in writing, without unreasonably delay and normally within 5 working days from the date of notification of the outcome of the grievance hearing. The appeal will be heard on the basis of the original grievance.
    2. If the employee informs the company of his/her wish to appeal, the appeal will be heard by a Company Director. The Company Director will invite him/her to attend an appeal meeting. The employee shall have the right to be accompanied at the meeting by a Trade Union representative or work colleague. The Line Manager may be accompanied by an appropriate Manager should they be required to meet with the Company Director as part of the Appeal.
    3. The employee must take all reasonable steps to attend the appeal meeting.
    4. After the appeal meeting the Company will inform the employee of its final decision without unreasonable delay.

Nothing in the procedure shall diminish an individual’s rights in law.