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Company policies and procedures can be put in place to support employee relations. These can include policies on:

• grievance
• absenteeism
• discipline
• dismissal
• redundancy

Grievance

Grievances are complaints that have been raised by employees.

A grievance procedure sets out the processes that an employee should go through if they are unhappy with something that has happened in their workplace such as disagreements or problems with working conditions.

Grievance procedures usually involve the human resources department and trade union representatives.

Companies that deal effectively with grievances may have better employee relations.

Absenteeism

A high level of absenteeism within an organisation can be a sign of poor employee relations. High absenteeism can reduce the output of a business and incur extra costs.

Companies need to have an absence/attendance policy in place to manage staff absence and deal with any issues that are preventing a member of staff from attending their work.

Discipline

All companies have a discipline procedure that they will use if an employee is not following the rules of conduct required by the organisation.

Discipline procedures often cover absenteeism, conduct, behaviour and performance. Sanctions that are used during discipline procedures are:

• verbal warning
• formal written warning
• final written warning
• suspension
• demotion
• dismissal

Dismissal

A dismissal is when an employee’s contract is terminated and they no longer work for the company.

This is usually the last stage of any disciplinary procedure and may occur due to an employee not following company policy or procedure.

Dismissal should only happen once all formal discipline procedures have been completed.

Redundancy

Redundancy is when an organisation no longer requires the job role that is being carried out by an employee.

The employee is given a redundancy payment and a period of notice in which they can look for a new job.

Redundancies are usually a last resort for companies needing to cut costs as they can generate bad publicity and demotivation within the workforce.