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Grievance Policy

1. PURPOSE

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The purpose of this policy is to provide a mechanism for individual Employees to raise a Grievance arising from their engagement with the Company. This policy will also ensure that such Grievances are dealt with promptly, fairly and in accordance with other related policies of the Company.

 

2. SCOPE

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The policy aims to provide a resolution to any Grievance raised by an Employee of the Company assigned to the University of the People.

 

3. ELIGIBILITY

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This policy is applicable to all Employees of the Company who are assigned to the University of the People.

 

4. DEFINITIONS

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For the purposes of this Policy, the following terms shall have the meaning attributed to them below unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

 

  • Grievance: A Grievance is any type of problem, concern or complaint related to an Employee’s work or the work environment. A personal grievance can be about any act, behaviour, omission, situation or decision impacting on an​​ Employee that​​ the Employee thinks is unfair and unjustified.

 

A Grievance can relate to almost any aspect of engagement, for example:

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  1. Safety in the workplace

  2. Bullying and harassment

  3. Discrimination

  4. Supervision

  5. Work environment

  6. Overall physical and mental health

  7. An adverse change in employment condition

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  •  Grievance Complaint: A Grievance Complaint is any complaint filed under this Policy.

  •  Employee: An Employee in this policy refers to any person engaged by the Company as an employee/consultant       /apprentice.

  • The Management: The management as per this policy refers to the management of India Operations for the University of the People (Anand Natarajan and Sabitha Nair)

  • Reporting Manager: Reporting manager for the purpose of this document is the immediate supervisor of the Employee in the University of the People.

  • The Company: The company in this policy refers to Vandey Consultancy Services Private Limited.

  • Vandey MD/MD: Vandey MD/MD in the policy refers to the managing director of the Company.

  • HR Manager: The HR Manager in this policy refers to the HR manager of the Company.

  • Respondent: Respondent refers to the Employee of the Company against whom the allegations have been made.

  • Minor Procedure: Grievance Procedures that are resolved through reporting manager and/or HR Manager are referred to as Minor Procedure.

  • Severe Procedure: Grievance Procedures that involve Vandey MD are referred to as Severe Procedures in this policy.

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 5. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

 

      GRIEVANCE REPORTING

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  • Please follow the below reporting for different types of grievances arising during the employment.

  • Salary related grievance – All Employees are requested to share any grievance/concern relating to salary with the respective team at large.accts@fiicc.in

  • Sexual harassment related grievances –

  • All grievances which are relating to sexual harassment are to be referred to Vandey - Policy on Women Safety           a and POSH Policy (https://www.fiicc.in/vandey-policy-on-women-safety

  • Other grievances – For all other grievances relating to an Employee’s work or the work environment should use follow the below detailed procedure to address their grievance.

 

 

    TYPES OF GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE


A.ORGANIZATIONAL RELATED ISSUE PROCEDURE

   Stage – 1 Procedure It will often be easier, quicker and more effective to resolve complaints or grievances at the             department level.

 

  • If an employee has concerns/grievances they should discuss the matter with their Primary Manager. If the matter      concerns his / her Primary Manager, the employee should raise the issue with the Secondary Manager in the first       instance.

  • The employee has a responsibility to bring issues/events to the attention of their Primary Manager (or another           appropriate manager) without reasonable delay. The Employee may raise a series of directly related incidents,         which have a cumulative effect, and the Primary Manager can consider these incidents, if relevant. Primary               Manager arranges meeting between you, respondent and him/herself to substantiate grievance and develop a         resolution

  •  The Primary Manager should reply verbally, to the grievance as soon as is practicable but within 5 working days of    the meeting. The Primary Manager should make a note of the discussions and actions taken to ensure they are in    a position to monitor/identify patterns or reoccurring complaints and/or respond to the grievance at Stage–2 if the      individual is not satisfied.

  • The Primary manager should identify any points of learning and ensure that this is feedback to HR as appropriate.

 

       Stage -2 Procedure

 

  • Report the Grievance to the Senior VP- If an Employee feels their issue has not been resolved through either their reporting manager or supervising manager, the Employee may approach the Senior VP at (anand.natarajan@uopeople.edu)to find a resolution to their issue. 

 

      MODE OF COMMUNICATION

 

  • The Grievance will be submitted in writing in the Prescribed Grievance Form (Hard / Soft Version).

  • The Grievance form should be submitted to HR or via a dedicated email Id.

 

 

B.NON-ORGANIZATIONAL RELATED ISSUE PROCEDURE:

 

  • Report the Grievance to the Vandey HR Manager - If the Employee’s Grievance relates to non-work-related issues or Employee does not feel comfortable talking to their superiors about the Grievance, or if the Employee feels their previous grievance issue resolution was ineffective, the Employee should approach the office manager assigned to The University People, and/or the Senior VP. Employee may also approach Vandey HR Manager at hr@fiicc.in to report this Grievance Complaint.  In all cases, report should be filed with Vandey HR manager.

 

  • In circumstances where the Vandey HR Manager is unable to resolve the Grievance Complaint or the grievance complaint, then the Grievance Complaint is reported to the Vandey MD.

 

  • In case of a Grievance Complaints which have legal implications, the MD further consults on the issue with the company’s legal advisors on the matter and the MD would provide appropriate resolutions.

 

  • In case of Grievance Complaints that do not have any legal implications, the decision would be at the discretion of the MD. The MD would consult with the management of the University of the People on the issue when necessary and arrive at a decision.

 

  • Respondent shall have the right to receive a copy of the allegations made against him and respond to such allegations. The Company shall follow the principles of natural justice while handling the complaints.

 

  • If the Respondent is proven to have committed the Grievance he/she is being accused of, he/she will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. The severity of each case will determine the type of disciplinary action.

 

6.CONFIDENTIALITY:

  • The Reporting Manager, Supervising Manager, Vandey HR Manager and all parties involved will endeavor to maintain confidentiality as far as possible. However, it may be necessary to speak with other Employees to determine what happened, to afford fairness to those against whom the complaint has been made and to resolve the Grievance.

  • All Employees who are involved in the Grievance are required to maintain confidentiality including the Employee who lodges a complaint. If the person breaches confidentiality, he/she may be disciplined.

7.EMPLOYEE TRAINING PLAN

    All Employees of the Company will be periodically trained in Grievance handling and management. 

  • All Employees (Non-managerial and managers) during onboarding would be required to read and acknowledge the policy document upon joining and the Employees should repeat this acknowledgement every 6 months.

  • All manager level Employees would be trained every six months to enable them to prepare and handle the Grievance Procedures within the workplace.

  • All consents and acknowledgment are to be recorded and are periodically updated.

  • The manager level Employee training will be held with a representative from the Company as well as a representative from University of the People present.

      Through the above outlined policy, we hope to build a conducive environment of mutual trust and respect while                  delivering quality in our work.

      By signing below, the reader accepts that they have reviewed, acknowledged and consented to the policy and                  procedures as described above.

 

 Name ______________________________________________

 Signature ______________________________________________________

 Signature Date __________________________________________________

 

 GRIEVANCE / EMPLOYEE COMPLAINT FORM - 2

 

 First Name:

 Surname:

 EID: Job Title:

 Contact No :

 Your Managers Name :

 Your Managers Contact No:

 

 

  1. Please outline the nature of your grievance

  2. Before a complaint is formalized, the Grievance Resolution Procedures state that employees should discuss issues/concerns with their Primary / Secondary manager at Stage-1. Have your discussed this matter with your manager. Yes / No

   If ‘No’ please outline below, the reasons why the Stage-1 has not been exhausted

  1. Primary / Secondary Manager to outline any action taken at Stage 1 to resolve the grievance. Where appropriate, please provide details of dates of any relevant meetings/discussions held in attempt to resolve issues.

  2. Please outline any additional information that you feel is relevant to your grievance that has         not been covered elsewhere on this form:

 

Signature of Employee: ________________ Date: _______________________

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