Bernard Walker

Employee–Employer Grievances: A Review

The focus of industrial conflict has shifted from collective confrontation to grievances between employee and employer. This narrative review encompasses a range of international research on individual employee–employer grievances. The literature is reviewed in four key stages: (1) the incidence of grievable events; (2) the employees response to a potential grievance issue; (3) the effectiveness of grievance processing; and (4) outcomes. The incidence of grievable events cannot be estimated precisely, because most are either not pursued by the employee or are settled informally (and so not recorded). Most research has been done on the second stage, investigating when a grievance will be pursued. The theoretical frame of exit, voice and loyalty, adapted from A.O. Hirschman (Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organisations, and States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970) has been prominent, but a series of findings have challenged the validity of this model and suggest a range of competing theories which may explain the apparent conundrum of negative outcomes associated with formal grievance procedures. The role of power has regained prominence, and this is part of a fuller understanding of grievance outcomes. The focus has been on the employee perspective, and it is now timely to broaden the focus, modelling a progression through a sequence of stages and emphasizing the role of employers in designing and managing grievance processes which are effective and fair.

The Effectiveness of Grievance Processes in New Zealand: A Fair Way to Go?

Grievances are a contentious facet of contemporary employment relations and yet the amount of in-depth research evidence is limited. This study uses a real-time approach, following a set of New Zealand grievance cases as they proceeded through mediation. The public debate has focused on allegations of opportunist employees exploiting the system. Our findings, however, identify a group of employees who were seeking to remain with their employer, but who lacked influence and lost their jobs. In these situations the law was unable to provide employment protection, while employers had the dominant influence on these outcomes. These findings contribute to the international debate regarding the justice offered through newer grievance resolution systems.

Employment rights disputes: What is the role of HR professionals?:

This study explores the role of human resource specialists in the handling of employee grievances. Most studies of HRM devolution have drawn only on the perceptions of managers and have neglected the area of grievances. The research highlights the employee experience of grievances under different levels of HRM devolution. The progression of fourteen grievance cases was investigated, accessing the full set of parties to each one. Data were gathered using a triangulated method involving 70 interviews, direct observation and written submissions. The findings suggest grievance handling is not readily accommodated within devolved HR structures. The role of HR staff in grievance processes can beill-defined and shows wide variation, causing problems for both line managers and employees. This lack of definition can lead to negative outcomes and damage the credibility of the HR department. The insights from this study are intended to initiate debate concerning the potential roles of HR practitioners in grievance h...

Representatives and Employment Rights Disputes: What Works and What Doesn’t?

Grievances continue to attract much public controversy, but amid the ongoing rhetoric, the research evidence is limited. The popular debate has centred largely on the actions of employers and employees. This study of grievance cases explores the factors that influence the progression of these disputes. The findings highlight the influential role of external representatives in either restoring relationships or escalating disputes. The nature of that influence is associated with three critical attributes of the representative: (a) their current relationships with others involved in the dispute; (b) the extent to which they seek to maintain relationships into the future; and (c) their competency in dispute-handling. While these attributes are largely related to individuals rather than roles, unions have unique potential for functioning as relationship managers and preserving employment relationships. The decline of unions, however, heightens the need for organizations to seek other improved ways of resolving disputes.

Effects of disasters on displaced workers

Natural disasters can have significant impacts on the workforce in affected regions. There are often widespread disruptions to labour supply due to displacement of people from their jobs, either by disrupting their place of work or by disrupting a worker’s ability to attend work. This research aims to investigate the patterns of impact that disasters have on the workforce and the employment and livelihood issues that emerge during post-disaster recovery. By using comparative case study approach, this research compares recent disaster events, including the June 2013 Southern Alberta floods in Canada, the 2010 and 2011 Queensland floods in Australia, the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand, the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami and the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. It was found that common disaster effects on displaced workers included job and worker displacement, loss of income, disruptions to workers’ livelihoods and creation of additional participation barriers, particularly for females, youth and individuals with lower skill sets. Comparison of different disaster events also revealed insights into how disasters can change the local labour market structure post-disaster. General economic conditions, sectoral structure as well as business and individual coping mechanisms all influence livelihood outcomes for the affected workers. As the post-disaster recovery progresses in Queensland (Australia), Canterbury (New Zealand) and Tohoku (Japan), coordination of employment and livelihood initiatives with housing and other welfare policies is critical for ensuring that job opportunities are available to everyone, especially those with disadvantage.