TRIM Ref: TD14/457

Policy Number: 049

Resolving Workplace Grievances

July 2018

Policy Details

1. Owner Manager, Business Operations

2. Compliance is required by Staff, contractors and volunteers

3. Approved by The Commissioner

4. Date created July 2018

5. Date of this review N/A

6. Next review due November 2021

7. Driver NSW Ministry of Health PD2016_046 – Resolving Workplace Grievances Grievance – Effective Workplace Resolution

8. References

• NSW Ministry of Health PD2016_046 Resolving Workplace Grievances

• Mental Health Commission Act 2012

• Government Sector Employment Act 2013

• Commission’s Code of Conduct

9. Contact Officer/Maintained by Business Services Coordinator who monitors changes to legislation, policies and procedures and recommends any amendment to the Resolving Workplace Grievances.

10. Search terms Grievance, workplace, facilitation, mediation

11. Compliance assurance method By incident monitoring

12. Policy Document location TRIM Ref: TD14/457

Policy

The Mental Health Commission of NSW is an independent statutory body and therefore sets its own policies in compliance with relevant legislation and requirements of the NSW Government for public sector agencies. An exception to this general rule is in the area of employment. Under the Mental Health Commission Act 2012, the Commission cannot employ staff, and utilises the delegation provided by the Secretary of the Ministry of Health to the Commissioner for its human resources functions including the recruitment of staff and management of industrial issues. The Commission’s staff is formally employed through the Mental Health Commission Staff Agency of the Government Service of the Government Sector Employment Act 2013.

As a result of this delegation, the Commission adopts the employment policies of the NSW Ministry of Health. In the case of the management of workplace grievances, the Ministry has developed and the Commission has adopted the PD2016_046 Resolving Workplace Grievances Policy.

The Commission is committed to ensuring that an effective workplace grievance management system is in place, which facilitates prompt, fair, confidential and flexible management of all workplace grievances. All staff, contractors and volunteers must have access to an effective grievance management system.

Staff, contractors and volunteers at the Commission must comply with the policy and procedures. Contractors who are involved in a workplace grievance should contact their employment agency for additional support and information. Volunteers who are involved in a workplace grievance should contact their volunteer association for additional support and information.

To aid interpretation of the NSW Ministry of Health policy at the Commission, the following references in the policy should be read as the equivalent term of the Commission:

Reference in NSW Ministry of Health Policy Equivalent term of the Commission

Department of Health/NSW Health/NSW public health system Commission

Chief Executive Commissioner

Directors of Workforce Manager, Business Operations

Scope of the policy

A workplace grievance is a written or oral statement made by a staff member, contractor or volunteer regarding a concern arising in the workplace. Examples may include, but are not limited to, interpersonal conflict, the way work is allocated or managed, interpretation of people management policies, or a perceived unfairness in the workplace. The grievance usually involves some concern or personal distress, and will usually, though not always, involve other people.

Grievance management at the Commission is concerned with relatively minor workplace issues or concerns. Therefore it is important to distinguish between workplace grievances, and other more serious matters.

Matters that should not be dealt with under the grievance management system include (but are not limited to):

• Incidents of violence, or of a potentially criminal nature

• Serious bullying, harassment or discrimination

• Serious work, health and safety concerns

• Complaints from stakeholders

• Allegations of serious misconduct, fraud, corruption, maladministration or substantial waste

• Unsatisfactory performance.

Procedure

The Commission’s staff, contractors and volunteers will:

• Conduct themselves at work in accordance with the standards outlined in the Mental Health Commission Code of Conduct, other professional codes where they apply, Mental Health Commission policies and relevant legislation applying in NSW

• Recognise their role in harmonious workplace relations, raise matters of concern at an early stage and actively participate in the grievance resolution process

• Attempt to settle matters, where appropriate, with the other person/s in the first instance

• Not raise malicious, vexatious or frivolous complaints

• Not release information relating to a grievance to any third party who has no legitimate involvement in the process

• Comply with all relevant mandatory standards.

Managers will:

• Conduct an initial assessment of a complaint (see section 2.6 of the Ministry of Health procedures at Appendix A)

• Resolve complaints in a fair, timely and appropriately confidential way

• Appropriately identify the mechanism for managing a complaint where it is not to be managed as a grievance (see Attachment 2 of the Ministry of Health procedures at Appendix A)

• Where the matter is to be managed as a grievance, gather and assess the relevant information in order to identify and implement the most appropriate grievance resolution option/s (see Part 3 of the Ministry of Health procedures at Appendix A for grievance resolution options).

Manager, Business Operations will:

• Implement and support the system for managing workplace grievances

• Ensure provision of instruction, information and training as necessary to support effective implementation of the grievance management system

• Monitor compliance with the policy obligations and the effectiveness of the grievance management system.

Commissioner will:

• Ensure that all staff, contractors and volunteers have access to a grievance management system that reflects the objective and mandatory requirements of Mental Health Commission policy

• Ensure that the standards are communicated to all staff, contractors and volunteers.

Further Guidance and Resources

The attached NSW Ministry of Health PD0216_046 Resolving Workplace Grievances Policy includes tools to assist managers to assess initial complaints, conduct further enquiries, determine appropriate grievance resolution options and maintain the appropriate records.

Appendix A: NSW Ministry of Health PD2016_046 Resolving Workplace Grievances