ACTU Education Inc. Grievance Resolution Procedure
This policy applies to all participants in ATUI training.
Commitment and Process
The ATUI believe that workplace issues should not go unresolved as they can affect working relationships and the benefits that participants might gain from participating in training and consultancy activities.
You are entitled and encouraged to raise with the ATUI any grievance or concern you may have. Our aim is to resolve grievances through discussion and co-operation to prevent confrontation and disputes, avoid interruptions to training and work and ensure complaints are appropriately managed.
Informal Procedure – Steps 1-3
Where you feel comfortable about doing so, you may make the person with whom you have a grievance aware of your concerns, for example, by advising that a particular behaviour is inappropriate or offensive and requesting that it stop.
If you don’t feel comfortable with a direct approach, or if you have been unable to resolve the issue this way, the next step is to discuss the concern with your Educator.
If it’s not appropriate for you to raise a grievance with the Educator or if you feel that they have not resolved the matter, your grievance should be taken to the Director of ATUI, either in person or in writing.
The Director of ATUI will discuss the grievance confidentially with you and consider it in relation to any other relevant policies.
The Director of ATUI can also, where appropriate, commence a resolution process (including mediation) to resolve issues between the affected parties.
Where a grievance cannot be resolved through mediation, or if the person dealing with your grievance considers it necessary, the matter may be dealt with formally.
Formal Procedure – Step 4
Following the initial discussion, the relevant ACTU Organising Centre representative will investigate the grievance confidentially and gather any relevant information needed.
The grievance will be investigated in a manner which is reasonable and proportionate to the circumstances and the seriousness of the grievance.
Resolution – Step 5
Once a grievance has been investigated, the person conducting the investigation will use their findings to make some conclusions about what has occurred and how it can be resolved.
Ideally, resolutions to grievances should have the agreement of all the parties involved. However, agreement by itself is not the criteria for a satisfactory resolution to a grievance. The RTO CEO will decide on an appropriate course of action, if any, to be taken to close out the grievance.
Such course of action may include a participant being counselled, disqualified from training enrolment and / or the cancellation of participation in future training activities conducted by the ATUI.
Participants who wish to appeal any decision made by the RTO CEO may do so by requesting, in writing, as soon as possible.
Guiding Principles
Confidentiality
In most circumstances, only the people directly involved in making or investigating a grievance will have access to information about the grievance. However, depending on the nature of the grievance, it may be necessary for information to be disclosed to other employees (for example, as part of the investigation process) and leadership to ensure that appropriate action is taken.
It might also be necessary for the ATUI to notify the employer of the participants about the investigation, the outcome of the investigation and / or any action to be taken by the ATUI arising from the investigation.
It is a matter for the person’s employer whether any further disciplinary action will be taken, and if so, this will be in accordance with the employer’s disciplinary procedures.
Impartiality
The grievance procedure is impartial. All parties involved will have a chance to tell their side of the story and no action will be taken until all the relevant information has been considered.
Non-victimisation
You will not be victimised or treated unfairly for raising a grievance or helping another person to raise a grievance.
Timeliness
The procedure will be timely. The ATUI aims to resolve all grievances as quickly as reasonably possible.
Representation
You may wish to have someone present during any of the steps of the procedure, such as a trusted colleague, supervisor, family member or a union representative. However, a support person should not be someone who may be involved or might have a conflict of interest.
Record Keeping
It is important to keep written records during the grievance procedure and treat them as confidential. Any notes taken by the ATUI for their purpose of conducting an investigation are confidential and will not, unless agreed otherwise, be provided to any person.