1. itle of the Project
Employee Engagement and Grievance Handling Process
Statement about the Problem
This topic has been chosen because in every organization, employee engagement activities
are conducted as employee productivity is clearly connected with employee engagement. It
is a business management concept. An "engaged employee" is one who is fully involved in,
and enthusiastic about his work, and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization's
interests. Thus, engagement is distinctively different from employee satisfaction, motivation
and organizational culture. An integral part of employee engagement is a strong grievance
handling mechanism.
Objectives and Scope of Study
a. Analyze the Employee Engagement activities that are being done at ‘Indigo’and the
outcomes of these activities.
b. Understand the process mapping for employee engagement.
c. Techniques used for engaging employees in our organization
d. Grievance handling process
e. Introduction and types of grievances.
f. Discuss the grievance handling process at organizational, process, project & individual
level
g. Methods used in grievance handling
h. Understand how Employee Engagement activities and Grievance Handling processes go
hand in hand.
Methodology
Research methodology talks about data collection of the project work. The data collection as
such is divided into:
I. Primary Data
a. Questionnaire survey
b. Face-to-face discussion with existing employees who are there in the organization for
more than six months or so.
c. Discussion with Human Resource specialists.
II. Secondary Data
1) Journals
2) Company records and reports
3) Internet Searches
4) External websites
5) On line survey conducted by company.
Chapterisation Scheme
* Company Profile
* Introduction
* Definition Employee Engagement
* Process Mapping in employee engagement
* Employee Engagement Techniques for various... [continues]
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1. Discuss the essential prerequisites of a grievance handling procedure.
GRIEVANCE HANDLING:
Purposes of the Grievance Procedure:
The primary purposes of a grievance procedure are to:
(1) channel conflict into an institutionalized mechanism for peaceful resolution;
(2) facilitate communication between labor and management regarding problems that arise in a
collective bargaining relationship;
(3) enable employees to complain with dignity knowing that there is a system of appeals leading to an
impartial decision-maker; and

2. (4) enforce compliance with the terms and conditions negotiated by the parties.
Handling Employee Grievance:
The following checklist is provided as guidance when an employee comes to you with a complaint:
CHECKLIST FOR HANDLING EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS:
PREREQUISITES:
-Know the contract.
-Make sure that meetings with employees to handle complaints are held in accordance with any contract
provisions that regulate the time and/or location for such meetings.
-Develop good listening and note taking skills.
-Be prepared to spend the time to get the evidence and testimony to support your case and to refute
management's case.
-Treat all employees fairly and consistently.
-Do not make judgments about the case to the employee or anyone else until you get the facts.
-Keep good records of all transactions, oral and written, that occur from the time a complaint is brought
to you until the case is resolved in the grievance procedure or in arbitration.
-Know who, when and how to ask for help.
INTERVIEW:
-Let the employee tell his/her story without interruption. Take notes. When the employee has finished,
ask, "Is there anything else you would like to add?"
-Review the employee's description of the case with him/her to make sure you have all the facts. Make
sure you get the answers to the questions who, what, when, where, why and how.
-Ask the employee for the names, addresses and telephone numbers of any witnesses. Then ask the
employee to tell you what he/she thinks each witness knows about the case. Record this information.
Try to clarify any uncertainties about what a witness is supposed to know.
-Ask the employee to give you all of the evidence he/she has concerning the case. Make copies so that
no information is lost.
-Before the employee leaves, check one more time to make sure you have all the facts, names of
witnesses and evidence.
REVIEW:
-Refer to the grievance procedure in the contract to make sure the issue the employee has raised is
defined as a proper subject of a grievance. If you are uncertain, ask for help. If the issue is not a proper
subject of a grievance, the best thing to do is to tell the employee and explain how this affects his/her
case.
-Check to make sure that the procedural requirements set forth in the grievance procedure have been
complied with.
Key considerations include:
-Is the complaint timely?
-Who should the employee and/or union representative meet with at the first step?
-What information must be presented by both parties at the first step?
-Review the contract provisions alleged to have been violated to make sure they fit the issue described
by the employee and that no provisions have been left out.
-Review the evidence. Go through all the documents the employee has given you. Make sure everything
is dated and signed. Carefully check the content of each document to find out what it actually states, if
this information pertains to the case and is timely. Check for inconsistencies in the documents and
between the documents and the information the employee has given you. Make a list of all
inconsistencies. Check to see if the documents contain the names of other potential witnesses that the
employee did not mention and/or that might be called by management. Make a list of these persons and
find out how to contact them.
-Find out is there is any other evidence, e.g., rules and regulations, past grievances and arbitration
decisions, past practice, documents in the employee's personnel file that he/she may not have, etc., that
have a bearing on the case as viewed by both the union and the employer. Request documents from the
employer as appropriate, in a timely fashion and in writing.
-Match the evidence you have with the list of potential witnesses. Make a list of questions to ask each

3. witness when you interview them. Be sure to include at the end of each list the questions, "Is there
anything else you would like to add?" and "Do you know of any other witnesses?"
-Interview witnesses. Apply the guidelines as set forth in II. Also, carefully check the following things as
you consider what witnesses state that they know about the case:
-Does the witness have direct personal knowledge about what happened or is his/her knowledge based
only on hearsay (i.e., second hand)?
-Is the witness credible (i.e., able to give a reasonable explanation about the events, and an honest,
accurate accounting even if this means revealing negative things about his/her record/conduct)?
-Does the witness' statement confirm what the employee has said, or are there
differences/inconsistencies?
-Does the witness have any reason to be less than truthful in stating what he/she knows about the
case?
-If there is more than one witness who knows about a given event, note which ones would be best able
to present clear testimony under the pressure of examination and cross-examination at an arbitration
hearing.
-Verify name, address, telephone, work shift and location.
ANALYSIS:
After you have thoroughly reviewed all of these matters, you may find that a complaint is not
grievable/arbitrable or that the case lacks merit. One way to proceed is to explain your findings to the
employee and ask if there is any additional information he/she has that might have a bearing on the
case. If not, you should be guided by local or international union policy and perhaps by counsel, in
determining how to handle this situation. Grievances lacking merit should be screened out to conserve a
union's resources for other cases. This can be done by committee in consultation with an international
representative or counsel. This determination should be made with care because unions have a legal
duty to fairly represent all employees in the bargaining unit whether or not they are union members.
-Can you account for any inconsistencies in the case and, if so, how?
-Are there any mitigating circumstances that could explain the employee's behavior and thus lessen or
remove any disciplinary action?
-Does the evidence and testimony the union has demonstrate one or all of the following:
-Disparate treatment;
-Arbitrary and capricious action; and/or Discrimination.
-Are there any past practices which pertain to the case and, if so, how?
-Does the evidence and testimony the union has support the remedy requested or should some
modification be made in that remedy?
-Do you have hard evidence and testimony based upon direct personal knowledge to support your case
or is your case largely based upon circumstantial evidence?
-Is the remedy requested reasonable or is it nonsensical, outside the scope of the employer's or of an
arbitrator's authority to grant? Would it be impossible to implement even if granted, etc.?
-Is the contract provision(s) you are relying upon modified by more specific language in the provision or
elsewhere in the contract?
-Where rules and regulations are concerned, have they been posted and given to employees, are they
reasonable and have they been fairly, consistently and equitably enforced?
-What has been the outcome of other similarly situated cases? Does this information help or hurt your
case? How?
Once you have reviewed and analyzed all these considerations with respect to the union case, prepare a
summary of what you think the employer's response will be and determine if you have a sound rebuttal
for each of the points the employer could raise.
FILING:
Be sure to properly and timely complete the grievance form. This includes such items as: names; dates;
signatures; clear and accurate statement of the complaint; contract clauses alleged to have been
violated; and remedy requested.
This is a checklist, not a magic wand. It highlights key points to consider in handling employee
complaints. This task is time consuming and requires the application of a number of skills. There are no
real short cuts. If you take them, an employer will usually find them at some stage in the grievance

4. procedure or in arbitration. The result may be very damaging involving not only loss of a case that might
have been won, but also expenditures of time, other resources and credibility that a union can ill afford.
Handling Discipline and Discharge Cases:
In all likelihood, most of the grievances you handle will involve discipline or discharge. Since
management is the party that took the action, (i.e., is the moving party) the BURDEN OF PROOF is on
the employer to show that it has just cause for such action. This means that, in arbitration, management
must go first in showing what evidence and testimony it has to support the action taken. A union then
responds with the evidence and testimony it has in defense of the grievant and as rebuttal to the case
presented by the employer. There are 7 commonly accepted tests for just cause. These are:
1. If a rule is alleged to have been violated, was that rule reasonable?
2. Was the grievant given adequate notice that the conduct
complained about was improper?
3. Was the alleged offense sufficiently investigated?
4. Was the investigation fair?
5. Was the misconduct proved?
6. Did the employee receive equal treatment with all others who have
committed a similar offense? If not, were there any mitigating
circumstances?
7. Was the penalty appropriate for the offense committed?
Refer back to the Checklist for Handling Complaints to remind yourself of the type of information you
must collect to support a complaint in a discipline or discharge case. Remember to find out: who; what;
when; where; why; and how. Collect all of the evidence and interview witnesses, then review and
analyze these in relation to the 7 tests listed above. This will give you an idea of the strength of support
for the union's case. Remember, you must also consider what evidence and testimony management may
be able to present and assess your case accordingly.
Contract Interpretation Cases:
These cases involve disputes over the interpretation of contract language. Unlike discipline and
discharge cases, the party that claims the contract language has been improperly interpreted has the
burden to go forward in presenting its case. Critical to prevailing in a contract interpretation case can
be: evidence obtained from the bargaining history of the parties (what have they done in the past, for
how long, and what was the intent at the bargaining table); and have any past practices developed that
have changed the meaning of that contract language. The tests for a binding past practice are that the
practice must be: (1) unequivocal; (2) clearly enunciated and acted upon; and (3) readily ascertainable
over a reasonable period of time as a fixed, and established practice accepted by both parties. Mutual
acceptance may be tacit, however, an implied mutual agreement determined by inference from the
circumstances. It is very important in contract interpretation cases that you obtain witnesses who were
actually at the bargaining table when the disputed language was agreed to, and/or have direct
knowledge that the language has been rolled over in successive contracts without dispute for a period of
years, or of past practices that have changed the meaning of the disputed language. In such cases, the
kinds of proof that can be critical to support either party's case may include:
Copies of past contracts;
Notes from bargaining sessions;
-Other documentation that will prove how the language has actually been Implemented (e.g., other
arbitration awards);
-Employees with long service that can testify about how a contract provision has been implemented;
-Whether the disputed language is clear and unambiguous on its face;
-is general language limited by more specific language in the same provision or elsewhere in the
contract;
-Are the disputed terms being interpreted in normal language or as they usually are in your business or
is the interpretation strained;
Will upholding your position or that of management produce a nonsensical or unworkable result?
================================================================
======
2. Study the grievance procedure and practice in your organisation and present a brief report.

5. COMPANY POLICY
COMPANY .................. aims to resolve problems and grievances promptly and as close to the source as
possible with graduated steps for further discussions and resolution at higher levels of authority as
necessary.
Statement of General Principles
• Complaints must be fully described by the person with the grievance
• The person(s) should be given the full details of the allegation(s) against them
• The person(s) against whom the grievance/complaint is made should have the opportunity and be
given a reasonable time to put their side of the story before resolution is attempted
• Proceedings should be conducted honestly, fairly and without bias
• Proceedings should not be unduly delayed.
PROCEDURES
The following is a four level process:
1. The Employee attempts to resolve the complaint as close to the source as possible.
This level is quite informal and verbal
If the matter is not resolved
2. The Employee notifies the Supervisor (in writing or otherwise) as to the substance of the grievance
and states the remedy sought.
Discussion should be held between employee and any other relevant party.
This level will usually be informal, but either party may request written statements and agreements.
This level should not exceed one week.
If the matter is not resolved
3. The Supervisor must refer the matter to the Manager (or Board of Directors if applicable).
A grievance taken to this level must be in writing from the employee.
The Supervisor will forward to the Manager any additional information thought relevant
The Manager will provide a written response to the Employee
The Manager also communicate with any other parties involved or deemed relevant.
This level should not exceed one week following the next scheduled meeting.
If the matter is not resolved
4. The Employee will be advised of his/her rights to pursue the matter with external authorities if they
so wish.
========================================================
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Prof R S S Mani
Leo Lingham
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Umesh Chaudhary
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Leo Lingham
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