Grievance Handling for University Staff
Principles of Handling Grievances
The Victorian Ombudsman and the Australian and International Standard for complaints handling agree that the following elements are crucial to dealing effectively with a complaint or grievance:
Responsiveness
Grievances should be acknowledged immediately, and they should be dealt with as quickly as is practicable.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Personal details should not be revealed except where it is necessary in order to resolve an issue (see the Whistleblower procedures for particular confidentiality requirements of the relevant legislation).
Fairness and Objectivity
Decisions should be based only on relevant evidence, and those who are affected by the grievance should have the opportunity to respond to and comment on the evidence.
Natural Justice
The key elements above reflect the main principles of natural justice. Natural justice has its basis in administrative law. In law, the denial of natural justice allows a review of a decision in circumstances where the decision might affect a person's rights, interest or legitimate expectations. The principles are also referred to as procedural fairness.
The key features of natural justice and procedural fairness are:
The opportunity to be heard
Adequate notice to be given of hearings and meetings
Disclosure of all relevant material before making a decision
The opportunity to respond to and comment on any material and any allegations
Decisions to be made only on relevant evidence
Decisions to be made without bias