GRIEVANCE PROSEDURE POLICY

GRIEVANCE PROSEDURE POLICY

Purpose

The purpose of this Grievance Procedure Policy is to establish  a mechanism by which claims alleging failure by the company to respect the principles contained in the Somali Labor Law and the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Companies brought by employees or  third parties.

The procedure allows personnel and third parties to report allegations of improper and/or potentially illegal conduct via a standard official mechanism to the company, including such acts or omissions that would violate the principles contained in DESS’ code of conduct.

The mentioned Procedures also ensures that such grievances are dealt with promptly, fairly and in accordance with all Company related Policies.

Scope

The initial method of settling an issue is open communication/dialog.  The plaintiff (personnel or third party) should first seek to resolve any dispute through his/her immediate supervisor or contact person through informal discussion, this makes it more likely that disputes can be resolved faster and closer to the source of the problem. If such discussions do not resolve the dispute, and the employee or the third party believes that his/her complaint conforms to the level of a grievance, then he/she is entitled to initiate a formal grievance as described in this policy in an effort to seek an equitable solution.

Guiding Principles

Whenever the grievance procedure is enacted, it is important that issues are dealt with fairly. The following elements shall be considered in doing so:

• All employees and third parties should always try to resolve problems related to the work place or the operational activates of the company at the earliest possible opportunity and as a norm, with the least possible formality. All efforts shall be put forward to address matters before they reach the stage of becoming a formal grievance.
• Procedures must be fair, accessible and offer efficient remedies, including recommendations for the prevention of a recurrence.
• The grievance mechanism  of the company should be published on the company’s website for public access.
• The appointed committee/arbitrator should treat all grievances seriously, taking on board why the petitioner feels aggrieved, unhappy or dissatisfied.
• Investigate allegations promptly, impartially and with due consideration to confidentiality.
• Take appropriate disciplinary action, which could include termination of employment in case of a finding of such violations or unlawful behavior.
• The company should cooperate with official investigations by Somali government or any other international stakeholder, and not participate in or tolerate from their personnel, the impediment of witnesses, testimony or investigations. It is the responsibility of the committee chair in consultation with the company’s lawyer to ensure proper cooperation with the investigation.
• Propper record must be kept about any such allegations, findings or disciplinary measures.
• Except where prohibited or protected by law, records should be made available to a Competent Authority on request.
• Ensure that the Personnel who report wrongdoings in good faith are provided protection against any retaliation for making such reports, such as shielding them from unwarranted or otherwise inappropriate disciplinary measures, and by ensuring the issues raised are examined and acted upon without undue delay

Grievance Committee

The Managing Director of Duguf Enterprise Security Services appoints a three (3) member Grievance Committee within thirty (30) days of ratification of this policy. In appointing members to the committee, where possible, gender representation and a cross section of different levels of competent staff shall be considered. The term for each Grievance Committee is three years.

Grievance Procedures

After exhausting the informal means of settling disputes, the plaintiff or the third-party is entitled to raise a formal grievance by sending a written statement to the Grievance Committee outlining the nature of the dispute; name all parties involved  and state whether he/she tried to solve the issue via available informal the mentioned informal procedures. The plaintiff is entitled to representation if he/she so chooses. At any stage of the grievance procedure the plaintiff may invite a work colleague to attend any interview taking place. His colleague has the right to address the interviewer and to confer with the plaintiff during the interview, but not to answer questions on behalf of the plaintiff.

After receiving the formal complaint, the Grievance Committee will commence the grievance hearing by interviewing the plaintiff to further understand the roots of the issue. They will also interview personnel directly involved and others that might be indirectly involved in the case to solicit further details of the case and gather relevant evidences. 

The Grievance Committee will then compile and analyze interview records and other data gathered during the initial phase of their investigation. After the appropriate due process is completed, the committee will reach a decision on the case and a written statement of the decision is shared to the concerned sections/departments of the organization and/or third parties. Depending on the findings, the committee might take disciplinary action, which could include termination of employment.

If the employee or the third-party is unhappy with the decision regarding the dispute and wishes to appeal, he/she must officially inform the grievance committee chairman  in writing. He/she will be invited to an appeal meeting within a defined period of time and the appeal will be heard by a more senior manager of the company.

Records

The Human Resources department shall be the responsible  of the filing and safekeeping of the records. The records should be made available to a Competent Authority on request. The Committee should ensure that the following minimal batch of records is kept for all matters attended too by the Committee.

• The nature of the grievance
• Written grievance statement
• Action taken with adequate explanation of cause.
• A written statement of the decisions

Decisions

The decisions of the Committee shall be final. However, the Grievance Procedure should include an appeals mechanism whereby, a plaintiff can raise his/her dissatisfaction with the decision of the Committee. The Committee shall respond to the plaintiff, in a written statement presenting the  decision within ten (10) days of completion of the process.

Discipline

The Company requires a high standard of discipline from its employees, as well as ethical conduct at work. The Disciplinary Procedure applies to general misconduct and the purpose thereof is corrective rather than punitive and aim to help and encourage employees to achieve and maintain the required standards of conduct, attendance, and performance and to ensure consistency and fair treatment for all employees. Employees should, however, be aware that the ultimate sanction of this disciplinary procedure is dismissal, should the process of warnings, sanctions and or mentoring etc has failed to correct the situation.

Summary dismissal without recourse will only take place if an act of gross misconduct is committed. Gross misconduct is any deliberate act that is deemed detrimental to Company’s business, image, livelihood, or safety of equipment and or personnel. Examples of misconduct and gross misconduct are listed below.

Acts of Misconduct

This is a non-exhaustive list of examples of offences which might constitute misconduct but fall short of gross misconduct:

1. lateness or other poor timekeeping
2. unacceptable performance
3. inappropriate standards of dress
4. loitering
5. contravention of minor safety regulations
6. disruptive behavior
7. minor breaches of the code of conduct, your employment contract or other policies or instructions issued by the Company from time to time.

Examples of Gross Misconduct

This is a non-exhaustive list of examples of offences which might amount to gross misconduct:

1. unauthorized or unreasonable absence from work
2. theft
3. assault
4. malicious damage to client or company property
5. falsifying records
6. extreme rudeness to clients, visitors etc.
7. serious and/or material breaches of the code of conduct, the employment contract or other policies or instructions issued by the Company from time to time
8. misuse or unauthorized disclosure of company or client information
9. any criminal or civil act prejudicial to DESS or its clients, whether or not committed in the course of employment
10. actions that may jeopardize DESS’ contract with a client.

All employees have an interest in maintaining Company standards and so if you note actions of other employees likely to prejudice the reputation of DESS. or the security of DESS client you are obliged to report the indiscretion to your Project/Contract Manager or Country Manager as appropriate and are required to co-operate with any subsequent inquiry.

Suspension and Searches

The Company reserves the right to suspend an employee on full renumeration at any time during the Disciplinary Procedure if reasonably required by the Company. Such suspension will be for a period long enough to allow the Company to carry out a proper investigation and/or resolve any disciplinary proceedings but will not normally last for more than 7 days (subject to availability of line managers, witnesses and/or investigating officers and to the particular circumstances).

In the event of an employee being charged with a criminal offence the Company reserves the right to suspend the employee without renumeration or benefits pending resolution of any criminal proceedings. Before imposing any such suspension, where reasonably practicable, the Company will inform the employee in writing that it is proposing to take such action and will invite the employee to a meeting to discuss the intended action prior to any final decision being taken.

The Company reserves the right to require from the employee to consent to a search of his/her person or property as part of any investigation, particularly (but without limitation) in relation to offences relating to drugs or alcohol, breach of confidentiality, theft or other allegations of dishonesty. If the employee refuses to provide consent to such a search, the refusal may constitute a breach of contract and lead to disciplinary action in itself and/or may entitle the Company to decide on appropriate disciplinary action based on the available evidence.

Confidentiality

All members of the Grievance Committee and those assigned for record keeping, as well as any staff members questioned in relation to a dispute, are bound by the duty of confidentiality at all times and hold in confidence, all documentation and information exchanged in the process.

Due to the sensitive nature of some cases, personnel or third part might prefer to keep his identity hidden and still report improper or misconduct to the committee. The policy allows such individuals to file compliant anonymously and protects his/her identity. Details about the complainer should be kept strictly confidential at all times.

Any employee must be entitled to raise a grievance without fear of victimization. Should an employee who raised a grievance feel victimized, he should report the incident to the HR Officer for investigation. Grievances logged as such will be dealt with in confidentiality and will be treated as such when reported. Employees are encouraged to make full a disclosure to ensure that grievances are properly investigated and resolved.

Whistle Blowing

DESS is committed to the highest levels of safety, integrity and legality in all of its business. Employees are encouraged to raise legitimate concerns they may have, in good faith, with the appropriate persons within the Company. If the concern relates to his/her own personal position then the employee should do so under the grievance policy which is set out hereabove. If the concerns are of a wider nature, however, the employee should raise it in accordance with this Whistleblower policy.

If he/she has a concern relating to any of the following: –

1. The commission or likely commission of a criminal offence;
2. A failure or likely failure to comply with a legal obligation;
3. The occurrence or likely occurrence of a miscarriage of justice;
4. Endangerment of, or is likely to be in danger of the health and safety of any employee; or
5. That any of the above issues have been or are likely to be deliberately concealed.

He/she should generally raise the matter with his/her manager. If, however, the matter relates to the actions of the Manager then he/she should raise it with a superior to whom he or she reports or, alternatively, with the personnel department. If he/she had exhausted those avenues and are not satisfied with the outcome or if he/she believes that raising the matter with those individuals may be counterproductive, and or may result in any detriment to him/her or is otherwise inappropriate then he/she should raise the matter with DESS’ Project Manager. 

Finally, if he/she believes that raising the matter with Project Manager would be counterproductive or would lead to any detriment to him/her, then he/she may raise the matter with any of the Company’s Executives.

Provided that the disclosure is made in good faith, reasonably believe the information and/or allegations to be substantially true, that he/she is not doing so for personal gain and that he/she believes that it is reasonable to make the disclosure, if he/she does so in accordance with this policy then he/she will be protected from suffering any detriment in relation to your employment with DESS. Anybody who harasses, intimidates, victimizes or otherwise causes any employee who makes a disclosure in line with this policy to suffer a detriment will themselves be liable to disciplinary sanctions.

Disclosure in accordance with this policy disclosures can and may be made anonymously. Any person making a disclosure is however encouraged not to report it anonymously as this may prevent the matter from being properly investigated. The recipient of any disclosure in accordance with this policy has a duty to properly investigate the matter and to keep the maker of the disclosure informed, as appropriate, on the outcome thereof. The identity of the person making the disclosure will, in so far as reasonable and lawful, be kept confidential.

Whistle blowing in accordance with this policy is neither disloyal nor dishonorable and, indeed, provides a vital part of Company efforts to maintain the highest standards throughout. Employees should not hesitate to make disclosures in accordance with this policy.

Nothing in this policy in intended to limit an employee’s rights and responsibilities, but this policy is intended to assist employees to comply therewith.

SOP	Grievance Procedure Policy
Organization	Duguf Enterprise Security Services
Approved by	Bashir Qeyre
Title	Managing Director
Date	2021