Dealing with a complaint towards your employer can be an intimidating process. as you will not know necessarily how your employer will respond. However, regardless of how difficult it may be, it is vital that you make your complaint known, as otherwise there is little chance it will be resolved. Here are 4 steps for dealing with a grievance at work.
If your grievance is serious enough, you may benefit from discussing your issue with an employment attorney, who can help you evaluate your options. Looking up employee attorneys near me will give you a good idea of what expertise is available in your area.
Speak Informally with a Superior
Workplace grievances can arise for a multitude of reasons, such as if you feel you have been the victim of bullying, discrimination, or any other unfair treatment. Naturally, it can therefore be difficult to speak to your employer about such sensitive issues.
Despite this, it is usually good practice to discuss any of these issues with your immediate superior informally first, before raising a formal complaint. This will give the company a fair chance to resolve the issue before it escalates. Conversely, if you feel uncomfortable speaking with your immediate manager or even if they are part of your issue, you can instead speak with a different superior.
Raise a Formal Complaint
If you feel that your complaint has not been sufficiently addressed after discussing it, you will next want to raise the issue formally. Most companies have a formal complaint procedure, outlined either on their website or in their employee handbook.
It is generally a good idea to follow this procedure as closely as possible since this will demonstrate to your employer that you are trying to be as professional as possible throughout the process. When recounting your complaint, you should also try to supply as much evidence and precise information as possible, to support your version of events.
Meet with Your Employer
Following their notification of your complaint, your employer should then carry out a formal investigation to verify your claims. Upon the completion of the investigation, you should then be invited to attend a formal meeting with your employer to learn the outcomes of the meeting.
It is important to maintain a cool head going into this meeting, as you will not know how your employer dealt with the issue. If you are particularly nervous, it may also be worth inviting a sympathetic colleague or even your attorney to attend the meeting with you.
Contact a Lawyer
If you were unsatisfied with the outcome of your employer’s management of your complaint, you will normally be given the chance to appeal it. However, given that they failed to correctly manage it the first time, you may understandably be disillusioned with your company’s internal procedure.
In such instances, you may want to contact a labor attorney. Not only can this put more pressure on your employer to effectively resolve the issue, but in certain circumstances, such as when you have been discriminated against, you may also be entitled to compensation.
