GRIEVANCE AND DISCIPLINE

DEFINE GRIEVANCE

Employee grievance refers to the dissatisfaction of an employee with what he expects

from the company and its [Link]

It’s defined as employee’s discontent or dissatisfaction with the job & its term &

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According to Michael J. Jucius:Grievance means “any discontent or dissatisfaction,

whether expressed or not and whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected

with the company that an employee thinks, believes or even feels, is unfair, unjust, or

inequitable.”

Grievance may arise due to the following factors:

 Violation of management’s responsibility such as poor working conditions

 Violation of company’s rules and practices

 Violation of collective bargaining agreement

 Violation of labour laws

 Violation of natural rules of justice such as unfair treatment in promotion

WHAT ARE THE SOURCES/REASONS OF EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCES?

 Demands for individual wage adjustments,

 Complaints about the incentive systems

 Complaints about the job classifications,

 Complaints against a particular foreman.

 Complaints concerning disciplinary measures and procedures.

 Objections to the general methods of supervision,

 Loose calculation and interpretation of seniority rules, and unsatisfactory

interpretation of agreements.

 Promotion
  Disciplinary discharge or lay-off

 Transfer for another department or another shift

 Inadequacy of safety and health services / devices

 Non-availability of material in time

 Violation of contracts relating to collective bargaining

 Improper job assignment, and

 Undesirable or unsatisfactory conditions of work.

The sources of grievance are group under three heads:

1. Grievance resulting from Management Policies:

2. Grievance resulting from Working conditions:

3. Grievances resulting from Personal factors:

Grievance resulting from Management Policies:

a) Wage rates or scale of pay

b) Overtime
c) Leave

d) Transfer – improper matching of the worker with the job

e) Seniority, promotion and discharges

f) Lack of career planning and employee development plan

g) Lack of role clarity

h) Lack of regard for collective agreement.

i) Hostility towards a labour union.

j) Autocratic leadership style of supervisors

Grievance resulting from Working conditions:

a) Unrealistic

b) Non-availability of proper tools, machines and equipment for doing the job.

c) Tight production standards.

 d) Bad physical conditions of work place.

e) Poor relationship with the supervisor.

f) Negative approach to discipline.

Grievances resulting from Personal factors:

a) Narrow attitude

b) Over-ambition
c) Egoistic personality

Economic– Wage fixation, wage computation, overtime, bonus– Employees feel they are

getting less than what they ought to get

Working Environment– Poor working conditions, defective equipment and machinery,

tools, materials.

Supervision– Disposition of the boss towards the employee perceived notions of

favoritism, nepotism, bias etc.

Work Group– Strained relations or incompatibility with peers. Feeling of neglect,

obstruction and victimization.

Work Organization– Rigid and unfair rules, too much less work responsibility, lack of

recognition

Explain the Methods of Indentifying Grievances

The following methods can help the employer to identify the grievances:

1. Directive observation:
2. Grip boxes

3. Open door policy

4. Exit interview
1. Directive observation: Knowledge of human behavior is requisite quality of every

good manager. From the changed behavior of employees, he should be able to snuff

the causes of grievances. This he can do without its knowledge to the employee. This
method will give general pattern of grievances. In addition to normal routine, periodic

interviews with the employees, group meetings and collective bargaining are the

specific occasions where direct observation can help in unfolding the grievances.

2. Grip boxes: The boxes (like suggestion boxes) are placed at easily accessible spots to

most employees in the organisation. The employees can file anonymous complaints

about their dissatisfaction in these boxes. Due to anonymity, the fear of managerial

action is avoided. Moreover management’s interest is also limited to the free and fair
views of employees.

3. Open door policy: Most democratic by nature, the policy is preached most but
practiced very rarely in Indian organizations. But this method will be more useful in

absence of an effective grievance procedure, otherwise the organisation will do well to

have a grievance procedure. Open door policy demands that the employees, even at

the lowest rank, should have easy access to the chief executive to get his grievances
redressed.

4. Exit interview: Higher employee turnover is a problem of every organisation.

Employees leave the organisation either due to dissatisfaction or for better prospects.
Exit interviews may be conducted to know the reasons for leaving the job. Properly

conducted exit interviews can provide significant information about the strengths and

weaknesses of the organisation and can pave way for further improving the
management policies for its labour force.
Explain the various Forms of Grievances:

1. Factual:

2. Imaginary:
3. Disguised:

There may be three forms of grievances in an organization such as-

1. Factual: When an employee is dissatisfied with his employment because of

legitimate or genuine reasons such as violation of employment contract by the

employers or unfulfilling of any other factual needs. The grievance is regarded as

factual.

2. Imaginary: When an employee is dissatisfied with his employment because of a

wrong perception, wrong attitude or wrong information, it gives rise to imaginary

grievance. Though for such case the management is not liable but still the responsibility

to resolve the problem rests with it.

3. Disguised: The dissatisfaction among employees in such case may be due to the

reasons that are not known to the employees themselves. This dissatisfaction may be
due to the pressure from other directions like family, friends, neighbors etc. The

manager himself has to detect such grievances and resolve them through counseling

the related employee.

What are the Effects of an Undressed Grievance?

1. It reduces the quality and quantity of production.

2. Increases the wastage of material and thus the cost of production.

3. Increases the rate of absenteeism and rate of accidents at the work place.
4. It reduces the morale of employees and thus reduces the level of commitment and

sincerity of work.

5. Indiscipline cases increases which gives rise to increase in supervision.

6. Increase in industrial conflicts.

EXPLAIN THE STEPS FOLLOWED IN GRIEVANCE HANDLING PROCEDURE

1. Prompt Actions:

2. Identification of the Problem

3. Defining Correctly
4. Collection of Facts

5. Analyzing and solving the cause of Grievance:

6. Implementation and Follow up:

1. Prompt Actions: The sooner the problems are solved, lesser the impact they have. So
it’s necessary to settle down the problem as soon as it arose. The first line manager must

be trained to recognize and solve such problems promptly and properly.

2. Identification of the Problem: The supervisor has to identify the problem first, as

every time the grievance expressed must not be legitimate, it’s possible that the
grievance expressed by the employees may be imaginary, emotional or vague.

3. Defining Correctly: The problem once identified must be defined properly and

accurately by the management.

4. Collection of Facts: Collection of relevant facts and data from all parties related to
grievance is done under this step. The information thus collected is classified as facts,

opinions and feelings to avoid distortion of the data.

5. Analyzing and solving the cause of Grievance: After collection of facts, the facts are

analyzed, to find out the real cause of grievance. Once the cause is identified, the
alternative solutions to the problem are developed and the best one is selected, to

settle the grievance and prevent its reoccurrence.

6. Implementation and Follow up: The decision so selected is communicated to the

employees and implemented immediately by the effective and efficient authority. After
implementation the follow up must be done at every stage, to ensure effective and

quick implementation.

For getting fruitful result, following ways can be of increase help for management to
handle the grievance-

(i)Observation

(ii)To know whether the employees are satisfied with the management decision

(iii)To arrange general discussion with the management

(iv)To ask other employees with a view to know about the reaction of the employee

Explain briefly model Grievance Procedure

There are two procedures for redressing the grievances of the employees:
1. Open door policy: Under this procedure the employees are free to meet the top

executive of the organization and get grievances redressed.

2. Step-ladder procedure: Under this procedure, the aggrieved employee has to

proceed step by step in getting his grievance heard and redressed.
Step 1: The aggrieved employee verbally explains his grievances to his immediate

supervisor or in a conference or a discussion specifically arranged for the purpose. The

employee seeks satisfaction from his supervisors. The supervisor must give his answer
within forty-eight hours of the presentation of the complaint. The grievance can be

settled if the supervisor has been properly trained for the purpose, and if he adheres
strictly to a basic problem-solving method.

Step 2: the second step begins when the grievance is no settled by the supervisor. If the

employee does not receive an answer within the stipulated time or he is not satisfied

with the answer, he shall either in person or with his departmental representatives
present his grievance to the head of the department designated for this purpose. The

head of the department is generally the chief business manager, a superintendent or an

industrial relations officer who goes into the grievance and gives his decision on the

matter. He is required to furnish his answer within three days of the presentation of the
grievance.

Step 3: If the employee is not satisfied the answer, he can approach the grievance

committee which shall evaluate the case and make its recommendations to
management within seven days of presentation of the case. The grievance committee is
compose of some fellow-employee, the shop steward or a combination of union and
management representatives.

The committee may suggest any one of the possible solutions:

 It may call upon the grievant to accept the employer’s proposed settlement.

 It may advise him that the trade union will not press for anything more than has

already been suggested.

 In some cases, it may recommend that the issue be submitted for arbitration.
 The employee would be informed about the recommendation with three days.
Step 4: If the committee fails to a take decision within the stipulated period or if the

employee is not satisfied with the decision, he can make an appeal for revision to

management. Management is supposed to communicate its decision within seven days

of the worker’s revised petition.

Step 5: If the employee is dissatisfied with the management’s decision, union and
management may refer the grievance for voluntary arbitration within a week of the

receipt of management’s decision by the aggrieved employee. The parties may agree
beforehand that the arbitrator’s award will be final and binding on both the parties.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF GRIEVANCE HANDLING

 It encourages employees to raise concerns without fear of reprisal.

 It provides a fair & speedy means of dealing of grievances.

 It prevents minor disagreements developing into more serious disputes.

 It saves employer’s time & money as solutions are found for workplace problems.

 It helps build in organizational climate based on openness and trust.

 To enable the employee to air his/her grievance.

 To clarify the nature of the grievance.

 To investigate the reasons for dissatisfaction.
 To obtain, where possible, a speedy resolution to the problem.

 To take appropriate actions and ensure that promises are kept.

 To inform the employee of his or her right to take the grievance to the next stage
of the procedure, in the event of an unsuccessful resolution.
EXPLAIN THE NEED FOR A GRIEVANCE HANDLING PROCEDURE:

 Most grievances seriously disturb the employees. This may affect their morale,

productivity and their willingness to cooperate with the organisation. If an explosive

situation develops, this can be promptly attended to if a grievance handling

procedure is already in existence.

 It is not possible that all the complaints of the employees would be settled by first-

time supervisors, for these supervisors may not have had a proper training for the
purpose, and they may lack authority. Moreover, there may be personality conflicts

and other causes as well.

 It serves as a check on the arbitrary actions of the management because supervisors

know that employees are likely to see to it that their protest does reach the higher
management.

 It serves as an outlet for employee gripes, discontent and frustrations. It acts like a

pressure valve on a steam boiler. The employees are entitled to legislative, executive

and judicial protection and they get this protection from the grievance redressed
procedure, which also acts as a means of upward communication. This is why the

management, while formulating plans that might affect the employees for example,

plant expansion or modification, the installation of labour-saving devices, etc.,

should take into consideration the impact that such plans might have on the
employees.

 The management has complete authority to operate the business as it sees fit

subject, of course, to its legal and moral obligations and the contracts it has entered

into with its workers or their representative trade union. But if the trade union or the
employees do not like the way the management functions, they can submit their

grievance in accordance with the procedure laid down for that purpose.
 DISCIPLINE

Define discipline

"Discipline" refers to a condition in the organisation when employees conduct

themselves in accordance with the organization’s rules and standards of acceptable

behavior.

Or

Industrial discipline means working by employees according to rules, regulation and

code of conduct in the industry. Industrial discipline signifies orderliness. It is the

opposite to disorder in employees behaviors and action. It is said to be good when the

members of organisation willingly follow the rules and regulation within the standards

of acceptable behaviors and willingly follow the rules and regulations of the enterprise.

List out the objectives or needs of Discipline

 To develop self-control among all the employees.

 To encourage employees to meet established rules of behavior.

 To ensure that employers and employees recognize each other’s rights and

obligations,

 To promote constructive cooperation between the parties concerned at all levels,

 To secure settlement of disputes and grievances by negotiation, conciliation, and

voluntary arbitration,

 To eliminate all forms of coercion, intimidation, and violence in industrial relation,

 To avoid work stoppages.

 To facilitate the free growth of trade unions, and

 To protect the organization from illegal and harmful actions of employees.

 To protect the life of an employee from illegal and harmful actions of another

employee or a group of other employees.

  To ensure peaceful and orderly working environment for the achievement of

organizational goals and objectives.

 To promote fairness and order in the treatment of employees and in the conduct
of industrial relations.

Explain the types of disciplines

Discipline is viewed from two angles/dimensions:

1. Positive Discipline: Positive Discipline implies discipline without punishment.

The main aim is to ensure and encourage self-discipline among the employees.

The employees in this case identify the group objectives as their own objectives

and strive hard to achieve them. The employees follow and adhere to the rules
and regulations not due to the fear of punishment but due to the inherent desire

to harmonize in achieving organizational goals. Employees exercise self-control

to meet these goals.

2. Negative Discipline: Employees hold to rules and regulations in fear of

punishment which may be in form of fines, penalties, demotions or transfers. In

this case, the employees do not perceive organizational goals as their own goals.

The action taken by the management to ensure desired standard of

behavior/code of conduct from the employees in an organization is called

negative discipline. The fear of punishment prevents the employees from going

off-track.

Certain disciplinary actions are available under positive approach of penalizing an

offender. They are as follows:

 Oral warning

 Written warning

 Fining

 Suspension of work without pay

  Stoppage of salary increment

 Stoppage of applying for a promotion

 Transfer to a difficult area/unpleasant work 12. Reduction of seniority

 Demotion

 Termination of employment /dismissal

Explain the Characteristics of a Sound Disciplinary System (Red Hot Stove Rule)
Discipline should be imposed without generating resentment. Mc Gregor propounded

the “red hot stove rule” which says that a sound and effective disciplinary system in an

organization should have the following characteristics-

Characteristics of a Sound Disciplinary System

 Immediate

 Consistent-

 Impersonal

 Prior warning and notice-

Immediate- Just as when you touch a red hot stove, the burn is immediate, similarly the

penalty for violation should be immediate/ immediate disciplinary action must be taken

for violation of rules.

Consistent- Just as a red hot stove burns everyone in same manner; likewise, there
should be high consistency in a sound disciplinary system.

Impersonal- Just as a person is burned because he touches the red hot stove and not

because of any personal feelings, likewise, impersonality should be maintained by

refraining from personal or subjective feelings.

Prior warning and notice- Just as an individual has a warning when he moves closer to

the stove that he would be burned on touching it, likewise, a sound disciplinary system

should give advance warning to the employees as to the implications of not conforming

to the standards of behavior/code of conduct in an organization.

Explain the Approaches of Disciplinary Action

Disciplinary Action Approaches Basically, there are five approaches regarding to manage

indiscipline or misconduct. All these approaches briefly explain here.

1. Judicial Approach:

2. The Human Relation Approach:

3. The Human Resources Approach:

4. The Group Discipline Approach

5. The leadership Approach:

1. Judicial Approach: It is commonly followed in India. The present day manager has to

handle a variety of disciplinary issues. His right to hire and dismiss is curbed to a great

extent, especially where unionized employees are concerned. The complexity is

increasing in this arbitrary managerial function due to intervention by the government,

by providing legislation for governing terms of employment. In order to secure security

of jobs, the govt. has tried to ensure protection to industrial labour from likely misuse of

managerial power to hire and fire.

2. The Human Relation Approach: Under this approach the offender(criminal) is

treated as a human being. If he has violated the rules, the human relations approach

would ask the question, why did he violate the rule? For example, sleeping during the
night-shift might be due to the fatigue caused by factors over which the man has no

control, e.g. illness in the family.

In such a case, an attempt should be made to help the worker to get over such a

personal difficulty or to change the shift of duty or to shift him to a job which he can
conveniently handle rather than take an extreme view and punish him severely.

3. The Human Resources Approach: The approach calls for treating every employee as

a resource and an asset to the organization before punishing the workers, the cause for
indiscipline has to be ascertained. An analysis of the cause is made, to find out whether

indiscipline is due to the failure of his training and motivating system or the individual’s

own failure to meet the requirements, and accordingly corrections are made.

The Group Discipline Approach: The management in this approach sets and conveys

well established norms and tries to involve the groups of employees. The group as a

School of Distance Education Industrial Relations whole control Indiscipline and awards
appropriate punishments. The trade union may also act as a disciplinary agency.

5. The leadership Approach: In this case, every supervisor or manager has to guide,

control, train, develop, lead a group and administer the rules for discipline. Every
manager has to develop a leadership quality as he has to guide, control, train, develop

and lead a group of men and act as a leader whatever may be his position in the

organisational hierarchy.

He can administer discipline among the men, whose work is under his direct supervision,
much more than even the top management can. He has a day-to-day relationship with

his men and the worker listens to him. Again they would listen to him all the more if his

own behaviour is disciplined.

Explain the Procedure for Disciplinary Action

The procedure for taking disciplinary action involves the following steps:

1. Preliminary Investigation:

2. Issue of a charge sheet

3. Suspension Pending Enquiry:

4. Notice of Enquiry:

5. Conduct of Inquiry:

6. Recording the findings

 7. Communicating Punishment

1. Preliminary Investigation: First of all a preliminary enquiry should be held to find

out the misconduct behavior or situation.

2. Issue of a charge sheet: Once a misconduct or indiscipline is identified, the authority

should proceed to issue of charge sheet to the employee. Charge sheet is merely a

notice of the charge and provides the employee an opportunity to explain his conduct.

Therefore, charge sheet generally called as show cause notice. In the charge sheet each
charge should be clearly defined and specified.

3. Suspension Pending Enquiry: In case the charge is grave a suspension order may

be given to the employee along with the charge sheet. According to the industrial

employment (Standing orders) Act, 1946, the suspended worker is to be paid a

subsistence allowance equal to one-half of the wages for the first 90 days of

suspensions and three- fourths of the wages for the remaining period of suspension if

the delay in the completion of disciplinary proceedings are not due to the workers

conduct.
4. Notice of Enquiry: In case the worker admits the charge, in his reply to the charge

sheet, without any qualification, the employer can go ahead in awarding the punishment

without further enquiry. But if the worker does not admit the charge and the charge

merits major penalty, the employer must hold enquiry to investigate into the charge.
Proper and sufficient advance notice should be given to the worker of the enquiry.

5. Conduct of Inquiry: The inquiry should be conducted by an impartial and

responsible officer. He should proceed in a proper manner and examine witnesses. Fair

opportunity should be given to the worker to cross- examine the management

witnesses.

6. Recording the findings: The enquiry officer must record all the conclusion and

findings. As far as possible he should refrain from recommending punishment and leave

it to the decision of the appropriate authority. 7. Awarding Punishment: The

management should decide the punishment on the basis of finding of an enquiry, past

record of worker and gravity of the misconduct.

8. Communicating Punishment: The punishment awarded to the worker should be

communicated to him quickly. The letter of communication should contain reference to

the charge sheet, the enquiry and the findings. The date from which the punishment is

to be effective should also be mentioned.

EXPLAIN BRIEFLY RED HOT STOVE RULE & PRINCIPLES / DISCIPLINARY MEASURE

McGregor has illustrated how an employer can force disciplinary actions on its

employees without creating the feeling of dislike or irritation in them. The central idea of

the principle is that the rational and effective employee discipline can be maintained by
punishing employees for break of discipline in ways similar to touching a hot stove.

When you touch a hot stove, your discipline is immediate, with warning, consistent, and

impersonal.

These four characteristics, according to McGregor, as applied to discipline are self-

serving and may be explained as follows:

1. When you touch the hot stove, you burn your hand. The burn was immediate. Will

you blame the hot stove for burning your hand? Immediately, you understand the cause

and effect of the offense. The discipline was directed against the act not against
anybody else. You get angry with yourself, but you know it was your fault. You get angry

with the hot stove too, but not for long as you know it was not its fault. You learn your

lesson quickly.

2. You had warning as you knew the stove was red hot and you knew what would

happen to you if you touched it. You knew the rules and regulations previously issued to

you by the company prescribing the penalty for violation of any particular rule so you

cannot claim you were not given a previous warning.

3. The discipline was consistent. Every time you touch the hot stove you get burned.

Consistency in the administration of disciplinary action is essential. Excessive leniency as

well as too much harshness creates not only dissatisfaction but also resentment.

WHAT ARE THE REASON FOR INDISCIPLINE

 Lack of Communication:

 Lack of Proper Leadership:

 Lack of Proper Rules and Regulations:

 Divide and Rule Policy:

 Bad Working Conditions:

 Discrimination:
 Violation of Rights of Employees.

 Absence of Grievance Settlement Machinery:

 Lack of Proper Promotional Policy:

 Employer’s Attitude:

Lack of Proper Leadership:

People are to be motivated, inspired and prepared to conform to rules and regulations

and behave accordingly. This can be effectively done by leaders whether it is managerial
leadership or union leadership. Ineffective leadership leads to indiscipline because they
fail to motivate and control the bahaviour of the employees. They cannot seek their

cooperation in achieving organisational objectives.

Lack of Supervision: Lack of proper supervision can create problems. Maintaining

discipline and controlling the behavior of the employees and forcing them to follow
rules and regulations is the supervisory responsibility. Lack of effective supervision will

promote indiscipline.
Lack of Communication:

There must be effective two way communication channel. Especially upward

communication. Superiors must listen to feelings and opinions of lower level staff. Lack
of this channel of communication is responsible for employee dissent and indiscipline.

Lack of Proper Rules and Regulations:

The rules and regulations which are impractical and cannot be followed are responsible

for creating indiscipline among employees. Also the lack of proper code of conduct and
manual pose problems.

Divide and Rule Policy:

Managements adopting divide and rule policy also create an atmosphere of

misunderstanding and chaos keeping the employees divided and killing their team
spirit.

Bad Working Conditions: Bad and intolerable working conditions promote indiscipline
among employees of the organisation.

Discrimination:

Discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, sex, language and other forms of
favouritism in the matters of placement, transfer recruitment and promotion etc. lead to

indiscipline among employees.

Violation of Rights of Employees. Employees are human beings. They are treated as

human resources. As human beings employees have certain rights which should not be

violated in any case. Some of these rights are, they must be treated with respect, they

should be allowed to express themselves or raise their voice, right to contribute to the
best of their abilities, right to justice, right to security of service, right for self
development etc. If these rights are violated and they are suppressed they will feel

dissatisfied. Discontent will prevail which will lead to gross indiscipline.

Absence of Grievance Settlement Machinery:Grievances of the employees should be

redressed quickly at the lowest level as far as possible. Settlement should not be

postponed. Effective grievance settlement machinery should be set up to resolve the

disputes otherwise indiscipline will result.

Lack of Proper Promotional Policy: Every employee has an inspiration to rise. If his

claim in promotion is set aside and his junior and inefficient is given promotion he feel

discontented. This will provoke him for revolt and he will behave in undisciplined
manner.

Employer’s Attitude: