How to… Conduct The Grievance Interview

The importance of effective grievance handling was reiterated earlier this year when an Adjudication Officer at the Workplace Relations Commission awarded €52,000 to the father of a Down Syndrome child. It was held that when he sought scheduling arrangements to enable him to care for his daughter, the employer ‘simply fobbed him off in the most unacceptable manner’. However, had the employer made his position clear to the complainant, then ‘other arrangements to care for his daughter’ could have been made’.

Grievances are inherent to the workplace. Consequently, managers must be alert to the importance of effective grievance handling and to the positive contribution that it can make to good