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GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL POLICY
I. OBJECTIVE
1.1 The objective of this Policy is to provide employees with an easily accessible grievance
mechanism for settlement of their individual grievances and to further provide a
productive and conducive work environment where grievances are dealt with fairly and
promptly.
1.2 The policy aims to reinforce the organization’s commitment towards providing fair and
equitable work opportunities to all employees.
II. SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY
2.1 The Policy shall come into force with effect from [date] and be applicable to all the
employees (Korean nationals and Local Employees) engaged/ recruited at the Korean
Trade & Promotion (“KOTRA”) Offices in India on regular/ permanent basis and those
appointed on contractual/ short – term basis.
III. DEFINITIONS
3.1 Grievance: For the purpose of this Policy, ‘grievance’ relates to the ‘individual
grievance’ and refers to problems and issues that employees experience over their
course of employment with regard to their work, employers, clients or fellow worker
actions. It can cover a broad range of concerns such as –
• perceived discrepancies in the terms and conditions of employment;
• health and safety;
• discrimination on account of race, creed, colour, gender (including sexual
harassment), sexual orientation, national origin, age, religion, political affiliation,
organizational membership or disability;
• harassment (whether oral, verbal or by action);
• unjustifiable/unfair dismissal;
• relationships at work;
• new working practices;
• organizational change;
• equal opportunities;
But excludes the following –
• Annual performance appraisal
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• Performance review
• Personal problems not in relation to the workplace
• Grievance pertaining to, or arising out of, disciplinary action or appeal against such
actions.
• Grievance arising out of termination/dismissal
• Any matter relating to terms and conditions of appointment settled prior to joining
or appointment
• Any matter pertaining to the period before the date of joining
• Complaints that are incomplete or not specific in nature;
• Communications in the nature of offering suggestions;
• Communications seeking guidance or explanation
3.2 Grievance Mechanism: A grievance mechanism is a procedure that provides a clear and
transparent framework for addressing grievances related to the recruitment process
and in the workplace. This typically takes the form of an internal procedure for
complaints, followed by consideration and management response and feedback.
3.3 Grievance Officer(s): For the purpose of this Policy, it refers to the appropriate
authority/ person designated by KOTRA/ Trade and Promotion Office empowered to
address the grievances of the employees and make decisions under this policy.
IV. PRINCIPLES
4.1 The grievance shall be submitted by the employee in writing stating the name,
designation, employee number etc. The grievance shall be factual and true and avoid any
abusive and derogatory language.
4.2 Any grievance not complying with the above – mentioned requirement and without any
merit shall be dismissed outright.
4.3 A written acknowledgement shall be sent to the complainant within three working days
of the receipt of the grievance.
4.4 Every grievance with merit shall be addressed seriously in an impartial, confidential and
transparent manner.
4.5 Human resources shall maintain a proper record of all the grievances made by the
employees and referred to the Grievance Officer and report to the senior management
on a quarterly basis.
V. GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
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5.1 INFORMAL PROCEDURE
5.1.1 Managers and workers are encouraged to use informal methods of resolving
disagreements or disputes. If employees have a reasonable grievance or complaint
regarding their work or the people, they work with they should, wherever possible, start
by talking it over with their manager.
5.1.2 It may be possible to agree a solution informally between worker and manager. This
makes it more likely that disputes can be resolved faster and closer to the source of the
problem and less likely that they will escalate into intractable problems.
5.2 FORMAL PROCEDURE
5.2.1 If the matter is serious and/or the employee wishes to raise the matter formally, the
employee should set out the grievance in writing to his or her reporting manager. This
submission should be factual and avoid language that is insulting or abusive.
5.2.2 Where the grievance is against the employee’s manager and the employee feels unable
to approach him or her, the employee should address the grievance to another manager
or the HR department.
5.2.3 The manager will invite the employee to attend a meeting to discuss the grievance and
will inform the worker of their right to be accompanied during the meeting.
5.2.4 The employee shall be given a fair hearing and all investigations, if any, will be
conducted in a fair and objective way, with the sole aim of establishing the facts.
5.2.5 The manager will respond in writing to the grievance within the timescale (see below).
5.2.6 The manager will indicate to the employee what follow-up action they intend to take and
within what timescale, and should report back on what action has or will be taken to
settle the grievance. The manager will also advise the employee about the second stage
of the procedure and the right of appeal.
5.2.7 If the matter is not satisfactorily resolved within the stated timescale or if the employee
is dissatisfied with the action taken, the issue maybe raised in writing through the
Grievance Officer.
5.2.8 The Grievance Officer would make its decision within a period of seven working days
from the receipt of the grievance which shall be binding on the concerned employee.
5.3 TIME SCALE
5.3.1 It is in the interests of both employees and KOTRA that grievances are dealt with
promptly. Wherever possible, the whole process as stated above should be completed
within a period of two weeks.
5.4 RIGHT TO BE ACCOMPANIED
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5.4.1 Employees may be accompanied at any stage of the grievance procedure, if they wish, by
any person they require to support them.
5.5 FINAL DECISION
5.5.1 Any and all decisions taken post such proceedings shall be in writing, final and binding
on all employees, party to such proceedings.
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