Employment Grievance Procedure in Zimbabwe

Do you have any grievances at your workplace, did you know that it is your right to air out any issues and concerns for a better work environment through the grievance procedure? As an employee, you need to know how to raise and resolve concerns within your workplace. Below is a breakdown of the grievance procedure in Zimbabwe which employees can use to air out their grievances.

What is a Grievance?

A grievance is a complaint or dissatisfaction by an employee or employees brought about by any condition or happening at work, or about conditions of employment or any offending behaviour on the part of management or a fellow employee. All employees have a right to seek redress of grievances.

What is a Grievance Procedure?

A grievance procedure is a structured process for employees to address and resolve workplace concerns, ensuring fair treatment and redress for any issues.

Legislation Governing Grievance Procedure in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, the primary legislation governing grievance procedures, is the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01] (‘the Act’). However, the Act does not prescribe a specific, standardized grievance procedure. Instead, grievance handling mechanisms are typically industry-specific or determined within individual employment contracts.

Most Grievance handling mechanisms within Collective Bargaining Collectives CBAs include the following steps:

Step 1: Informal meeting in which the employee speaks to the immediate supervisor of his/her concerns at the workplace.

Step 2: Supervisor meeting and documentation which involves a formal meeting between the supervisor usually accompanied by the employee – and the employee’s representatives to discuss the grievance.

Step 3: Escalation to management is a meeting typically between higher level management and the Trade Union or grievance committee members and designated management representatives.

Step 4: Escalation to top company representatives typically involves discussions between Trade union officers and/or representatives of the international union or grievance committee members and this time with top company management.

Step 5: Referral to an arbitrator for a decision is the final step in grievance procedures in the event that the parties fail to agree. The decision made by the arbitrator is binding.

Key take away for Grievance Procedure

The Labour Act [ Chapter 28:01] allows for flexibility in grievance procedures. The Act gives different industries an opportunity to come up with their own way of resolving workplace disputes because different industries and workplaces may require unique approaches to resolving disputes.

Many industries have established their own grievance procedures through collective bargaining agreements or internal company policies.

Employees are encouraged to firstly informally raise their grievances with their immediate supervisor.

A member of management staff should not handle or deal with a grievance in which the complaint made involved him or her. In this instance, management should appoint another suitable manager to handle the grievance.

Grievance procedure is employee initiated in nature. Employees submit formal grievances and complaints, usually in writing, outlining the issues, concerns and grievances as well as desired resolution.