Handling Grievances
What is effective for human rights?
A grievance mechanism is a way for employees or external stakeholders to raise complaints or concerns they have about their work environment, treatment and well-being. This will be mandatory under the EUCSDDD.
External stakeholders should be able to raise complaints or concerns about the effects of business activities on people’s human rights outside the workplace.
It can be about health and safety, discrimination, harassment and also about damage to people’s natural resources affected by a companies’ activities. It serves as a feedback system.
Is the speak-up system, hotline, whistle blowing policy, anonymous complaints’ mechanisms your company already may have in place effective for human rights?
External stakeholders often do not even know there is a complaints’ mechanism they can use. They become frustrated because nobody listenes to them. They turn to demonstrating, protesting or go to the media with their concerns.
How do we help our clients?
We advise on addressing actual grievances, for example in the value chain about child labour, forced labour or lack of a living wage.
We help our clients to assess the effectiveness of the existing grievance mechanism for human rights and support developing more effective remediation.
We advise on creating mechanisms for external stakeholders to have better access to the company’s complaints’ handling system.
Benefits of an effective grievance mechanism are:
- Employees or external stakeholders will feel heard and valued.
- Identifying and resolving any problems that may arise, creating a healthier and supportive work environment.
- Supports a more resilient risk management
- It creates an open culture where people’s human rights can be discussed.
Companies that have worked with HR@W include:
