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HR glossary

What is Grievance Redressal? Meaning and Example

Grievance redressal is the formal process through which employees raise complaints about their work, pay, working conditions, treatment or company decisions, and have them looked into and resolved fairly within a set time. It gives employees a safe route to be heard before a problem turns into an exit, a dispute or a legal case.

How a grievance process works

An employee raises a grievance, ideally in writing, with the reporting manager or through a grievance form, email or helpline. If it is not resolved within a set number of days, it moves up: to the department head or HR, then to a grievance committee or senior management. Each level records the grievance, meets the employee, checks the facts and replies in writing. Industrial establishments can also have legal duties here; see the grievance redressal committee page for the detail.

What counts as a grievance

Sexual harassment complaints go to the Internal Committee under the POSH process, and reports of fraud or ethics breaches go to the whistleblower channel. The grievance process handles the rest of the day-to-day complaints about work.

What makes employees trust the process

Speed and fairness. Set a time for each level, such as seven working days, and meet it. Let the employee bring a colleague to the meeting if they wish. Never penalize anyone for raising a grievance, and make sure the person complained about is not the one deciding it. Review grievances by type and location every quarter: repeated complaints about overtime pay in one plant point to a process problem, not a people problem.

Example: In June 2026, machine operator Yash Thakkar at a Rajkot engineering unit found that 14 hours of overtime from May were missing from his salary. He filled in a grievance form and gave it to his supervisor, who could not resolve it within three days, so it went to HR. HR officer Hemant Joshi checked the punch records, found the approval still pending with the shift in-charge, and paid the overtime with the June salary.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the grievance redressal procedure in a company?

A typical procedure has three levels. The employee first raises the issue with the reporting manager; if it is not resolved within a set time, it goes to HR or the department head; and if it is still unresolved, to a grievance committee or senior management. Each level records the grievance, hears the employee and replies in writing.

What is the difference between a grievance and a complaint under POSH?

A grievance is any work-related complaint, such as unpaid overtime, unfair leave refusal or unsafe conditions, handled through the company's grievance process. A complaint of sexual harassment is handled separately by the Internal Committee under the POSH Act, with its own confidentiality and inquiry rules. HR should route each one to the right process.

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