Does anybody know how I go about investigating a grievance for an employee who is seconded to work overseas, should it be by UK procedures or do I need to look at the employement law in that specific country.  If anyone can help.

Thanks

You hit the 'nail on the head' with your question he/she is seconded therefore normal terms and conditions of employment from their permanent unit of appointment ie UK should be covered or are normally covered. Unless this is stated differently in the secondment letter which would mean a change to his/her normal terms and conditions before he left the UK and s/he accepted and understood them

If it is a grievance  - the company has lost anyway as it should not have risen to this level in the first place - get around the table find out what the issue(s) are and try to deal with them asap - this then goes away - don't get hung up on formal HR processes, by then you could have sorted the probelm(s) out for this employee - just listen to what the person says as it may just a something very trivial, more so you need to ask 'why was it not resolved by local line managers in that country in the first place?'.

Is the person seconded into a joint venutre with another company then there should be agreement as to what is the norm T&C's in that country/ new company / cultural adjustments being made etc if it is with the current company then the process should be similar regardless of location but it may depend on what the grievance actually is. 

You need to ask yourself " is it a grievance (against a system or process) or a complaint (agianst a person) which are two different things entirely.

Get around the table and thrash it out is the best advice and don't forget this person is in a different country away from the norm and possibly some friends and faily, homesick - probably feels abandoned and alone - most expats go through this at some stage normally 6-12 months into an assignment- the problem could be just simple communication - or lack of, which mnea syou need a comms stratey for all ex pats working abroad - pretty sharpish -as logic syas if you don't sort this out quick they will walk..........

That has been my experience

Lee Williams

Hi Lee

Thank you very much for you commonsense approach and advice.  It is always difficult to deal with issues when an individual is requesting a formal process, sitting round a table is always the best thing to do, initially. Thanks again.

You hit the 'nail on the head' with your question he/she is seconded therefore normal terms and conditions of employment from their permanent unit of appointment ie UK should be covered or are normally covered. Unless this is stated differently in the secondment letter which would mean a change to his/her normal terms and conditions before he left the UK and s/he accepted and understood them

If it is a grievance  - the company has lost anyway as it should not have risen to this level in the first place - get around the table find out what the issue(s) are and try to deal with them asap - this then goes away - don't get hung up on formal HR processes, by then you could have sorted the probelm(s) out for this employee - just listen to what the person says as it may just a something very trivial, more so you need to ask 'why was it not resolved by local line managers in that country in the first place?'.

Is the person seconded into a joint venutre with another company then there should be agreement as to what is the norm T&C's in that country/ new company / cultural adjustments being made etc if it is with the current company then the process should be similar regardless of location but it may depend on what the grievance actually is. 

You need to ask yourself " is it a grievance (against a system or process) or a complaint (agianst a person) which are two different things entirely.

Get around the table and thrash it out is the best advice and don't forget this person is in a different country away from the norm and possibly some friends and faily, homesick - probably feels abandoned and alone - most expats go through this at some stage normally 6-12 months into an assignment- the problem could be just simple communication - or lack of, which mnea syou need a comms stratey for all ex pats working abroad - pretty sharpish -as logic syas if you don't sort this out quick they will walk..........

That has been my experience

Lee Williams