Introduction

Aims and objectives

The aim of a grievance or complaints procedure is to promote fairness in the conduct of members of staff relations and to ensure that problems encountered by members of staff at work are satisfactorily resolved as fairly, consistently and speedily as possible.

It is important that problems are handled promptly and as near to the point of origin of the grievance as possible, in the hope that grievances can be resolved informally at an early stage.

What is a grievance?

A grievance is a concern, problem or complaint that a member of staff raises with their employers.

Issues that may cause a grievance could include:

* terms and conditions of employment
* health and safety
* work relations e.g. another member of staff, a supervisor/line manager
* bullying and harassment
* new working practices
* working environment
* organisational change
* equal opportunities
* a personal issue

If you feel that you cannot resolve the issue without assistance, then you may feel you have a grievance, where a third party might be able to help you.

However, where separate procedures exist for dealing with grievances on particular issues e.g. bullying and harassment these should be used instead of the normal grievance procedure.

Who can use the procedure?

All members of staff of (WWICA) are entitled to use the grievance procedure.

It is intended to cover all matters pertaining to member of staff at work including grievances against another member of staff in performance of his/her duties, with the exception of disciplinary matters.

Issues that should be covered by the disciplinary procedure are dealt with in more detail in the relevant policy.

General principles

Members of staff who have a grievance, or against whom a grievance is raised, have the right to be accompanied by a colleague or other representative, not acting in a legal capacity, at all stages of the procedure.

All parties are expected to treat the details of the grievance with confidentiality at all times.

Time limits for responses have been set to allow for the immediate supervisor/line manager initial responses to be made and at the time limit the member of staff has the right to proceed to the next stage of the procedure. Some grievances may however, take longer to be dealt with in sufficient depth and where this is the case, all parties will be informed of the expected time limit.

If the grievance relates to the conduct of a colleague(s) then they must be notified of the complaint and offered the right to respond.

If the grievance relates to an immediate supervisor or line manager, the member of staff should take the grievance to the Trustees for action.

Member of staff making a complaint or taking a grievance need to be aware that in raising an issue about a colleague, supervisor or line manager, the results of an investigation may lead to disciplinary action against the colleague, supervisor or line manager. This should not deter you from making a complaint but it is to ensure that grievances are not raised maliciously. If it is discovered that a complaint has been raised in malice, disciplinary action will be taken against the complainant.

Complaints Procedure

Informal stage

The objective should always be to resolve grievances informally so that the issue can be quickly resolved and normal working relations resumed. It is essential that informal attempts to resolve grievances have been made before resorting to the formal procedure.

If you have a grievance, you should first raise the issue with your immediate supervisor/line manager before moving to the formal stage. The supervisor/line manager will attempt to resolve the issue at a local level, informally and privately, with the individuals involved. If you are not satisfied with the outcome you will be offered the opportunity to make the grievance formal.

Formal stage

Under the standard statutory procedure, member of staff must follow the procedure as below:

The process for dealing with and recording complaints is given below with timescales for dealing with each stage.

Stage 1:​Receiving and Recording a Complaint
If a complaint is received, complete Parts 1 and 2 of the Complaint Form (attached). This must be done by the person first receiving the complaint.
​Timescale:  Same day complaint received

Stage 2:​Deal with Complaint either:

(a) ​The person receiving the complaint (known as receiver)
​If the receiver is able to resolve the complaint, please do so and complete Part 3 of the Complaint Form.
​Timescale:  Within 5 working days of complaint being received.

​(b)   Pass Complaint to Relevant Person/Manager
If the receiver is unable to resolve the complaint, he/she is requested to pass it to the most appropriate person or to his/her immediate line manager, then tell the complainant who that person is and when they can expect to hear from them.
Timescale:  Within one working day of complaint being received.

The line manager will arrange a meeting to discuss the grievance within the next five working days.

Where the grievance is against the line manager the issue should be raised with a more senior staff e.g. the Trustees. If the grievance is contested the line manager should invite you to attend a meeting in order to discuss the grievance.

The member of staff has the right to be accompanied by a work colleague, friend or external representative, not acting in a legal capacity, if they so wish. The line manager should aim to resolve the grievance as soon as possible, but certainly within seven working days.

The meeting must not take place unless:

* The member of staff has informed the employer what the basis for grievance was when they made the statement under Stage 1: and
* The line manager has had a reasonable opportunity to consider their response to that information.
* The member of staff must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.
* After the meeting, the employer must inform the member of staff in writing of their decision as to their response to the grievance and notify them of the right of appeal against the decision if they are not satisfied with it.

Stage 3:​Take Corrective Actions either:

(a) Changing your own individual actions:  If the problem has come about as a result of “your own” individual actions, the receiver should review his/her own processes and actions to avoid similar occurrences in future.
(b) Changing a process:  If the problem has come about as a result of the receiver’s general ways of working, or another individual’s actions, the receiver should refer to the most appropriate staff member or manager who he/she feels could right the situation.

Stage 4:​Reporting Complaints

When the receiver has dealt with the complaint, please pass a copy of the completed Complaint Form and all associated correspondence, e-mails etc. to the Secretary of the Masjid.

 

Appeal

If the member of staff feels that the issue(s) remains unresolved and is unhappy with the decision they may wish to exercise their right of appeal.  They should undertake to inform the Chair of the Trustees of this fact in writing within twenty eight days.  The Chair of the Trustees will pass this to the staff responsible for staffing issues.

The member of staff will be invited to attend a further meeting to discuss the issue(s) and appropriate investigations will take place arranged within five days of receipt of the complaint/grievance. Again, the member of staff has the right to be accompanied by a work colleague, friend or external representative not acting in a legal capacity if they so wish. The member of staff must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.

The member of staff will receive a written response from the staff responsible for staffing issues within five working days informing the member of staff of the final decision.

This policy became operational from _____.  The policy may be amended from time to time in accordance with Masjid development and any changes to legislation.