Case study

You are employed as a counsellor and supervisor with a community service organisation "Care Unlimited", a service that provides counselling and referral services. It also employs carers who work on a casual basis in people's private homes. You are responsible for the team at a small office. The management of the organisation is located at head office two hours away by road.

Your role is to provide counselling for clients based around life skills to assist them to retain their accommodation and social security benefits. You have a basic qualification and no specialist training. You have been in the workforce for six months since graduating. This is your first job.

Your organisation's policy and procedure documents are provided below.

Dispute resolution policy and procedures

INTRODUCTION

Open communication and feedback are regarded as essential elements of a satisfying and productive work environment. Care Unlimited encourages its employees and volunteers to resolve any issues or concerns that they may have at the earliest opportunity with each other or, failing that, their immediate supervisor. The preferred process involves employees and volunteers resolving issues to their satisfaction internally, without feeling they have to refer to external organisations or to authorities for assistance.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to provide an avenue through which employees and volunteers, and their managers, can resolve work-related complaints as they arise.

POLICY

Care Unlimited will establish mechanisms to promote fast and efficient resolution of workplace issues. Employees and volunteers should feel comfortable discussing issues with their manager or supervisor in accordance with the procedures outlined below. No employee will be intimidated or unfairly treated in any respect if they utilise this policy to resolve an issue.

All formal avenues for handling of grievances will be fully documented and the employee/volunteer's wishes will be taken into account in determining the appropriate steps and actions.

This Policy applies to permanent and part-time paid employees and to volunteer workers.

AUTHORISATION

[Signature of Board Secretary]

[Date of approval by the Board]

Care Unlimited

RESPONSIBILITIES

It is the responsibility of Managers and Supervisors to ensure:

• They identify, prevent, and address potential problems before they become formal grievances
• They are aware of and are committed to the principles of communicating and information sharing with their employees and volunteers
• All decisions relating to employment practices are made with consideration given to the ramifications for the individual, as well as the organisation in general
• Any grievance is handled in the most appropriate manner at the earliest opportunity
• All employees and volunteers are treated fairly and without fear of intimidation

It is the responsibility of Employees (including Volunteers) to ensure:

• They attempt to resolve any issues through their immediate supervisor and through internal processes at the earliest opportunity

It is the responsibility of the Human Resources Department to ensure:

• All managers, supervisors, employees, and volunteers are aware of their obligations and responsibilities in relation to communication and information sharing with their employees
• Ongoing support and guidance are provided to all employees in relation to employment and communication issues
• All managers, supervisors, employees, and volunteers are aware of their obligations and responsibilities in relation to handling grievances
• Any grievance that comes to the attention of managers or supervisors is handled in the most appropriate manner at the earliest opportunity

Grievances and Dispute Resolution Procedure

An employee or volunteer who considers that they have a dispute or grievance should raise the matter with their immediate supervisor as a first step towards resolution. The two parties should discuss the matter openly and work together to achieve a desired outcome.

The Manager or Supervisor should check for clarification of the issue to ensure they fully understand the complainant's concern. Managers should follow the standard procedure of offering the employee or volunteer the opportunity to have an independent witness at the discussion, ensuring they follow the steps outlined below:

• If more than one person is present, establish the role of each person
• Outline the process that is to be followed
• Inform the parties that any information obtained in the conduct of the review is confidential
• Listen to the complainant and diagnose the problem
• Take accurate and detailed notes of all conversations (including dates, people involved) and attach any supporting documentation
• If deemed necessary, provide the employee/volunteers with a written summary of the meeting and clarification of the next steps to be taken

The Manager must ensure the way the meeting is conducted will be conducive to maintaining positive working relationships, and will provide a fair, objective, and independent analysis of the situation.

All parties are to maintain complete confidentially.

If the matter is not resolved and the employee or volunteer wishes to pursue it, the issue should be discussed with a Human Resources Officer, then, if necessary, the CEO. Again, the matter is to be discussed openly and objectively with management to ensure it is fully understood.

If the grievance/dispute is one of a confidential or serious nature involving the employee or volunteer's Manager, the complainant may discuss the issue directly with the Human Resources Department or the CEO.

Debriefing and crisis policy and procedure

Critical Incident Debriefing (CID) will occur within 48-72 hours after the incident. Debriefing may include individual and group counselling, where the aim is to decrease feelings of isolation and provide people affected by the incident with a facilitated session that assists them to normalise their thoughts and feelings. Groups assist people to explore their differing perspectives of the incident and share their similar thoughts and feelings.

There will usually be an initial counselling session, followed up with one or more debriefing sessions. Initial counselling will occur as soon as possible after the incident, preferably immediately or within a few hours.

Depending on the type or severity of the critical incident, initial defusing may include:

• A short factual statement about what is known about the incident, the possible effects on those involved, what is being done for them and what is going to happen in the future, e.g., planned debriefing sessions
• Information on acute stress response (what is happening to people now) and how people can care for themselves
• The provision of different levels of service for those differently affected
• Referrals to various resources including counsellors

Care Unlimited will maintain confidentiality to ensure that:

• Only a record of when and where a debriefing took place will be kept
• No information will be released without the agreement of the individual or Group

For each of the following two scenarios, consider the policies and procedures provided.

Scenario 1:

Two co-workers are having a disagreement over the hours they have been receiving and one has been suggesting that the other person was receiving favorable treatment. Recently they have been arguing in public. One of them has approached you to "mediate" the dispute.

Question 1

For each scenario, consider the following:

What are the policy implications for your decision? Does the policy and procedure specify a role for you? Why or why not? Your limitations regarding the role you are employed to perform. The limits of your responsibility. The limits of your professional ability. Would you be breaching professional boundaries or not? Explain your answer. Legal and ethical considerations of your decision.

When you consider the nature of this scenario. As the supervisor you are more than likely the person who writes the roster.