Handling grievances in India
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Handled well, a workplace grievance is resolved before it becomes a dispute. Handled poorly, it becomes a resignation, a labour complaint, or litigation. Here is what every employer in India should know about building a workable grievance process.
What counts as a grievance
A grievance is any formal complaint an employee raises about their work situation — pay, working conditions, management conduct, discrimination, or interpersonal conflict. It is distinct from day-to-day feedback or a casual complaint raised informally.
India's consolidated Labour Codes, in force from 2025, carry forward the expectation that establishments above a prescribed size maintain a formal grievance redressal mechanism. Beyond statutory requirements, having a written process protects the employer as much as the employee. If a complaint later reaches a labour authority or court, a documented internal process shows you acted in good faith.
The legal baseline
Several laws create specific grievance-related obligations worth knowing separately from your general process.
Sexual harassment (POSH Act, 2013). Any employer with ten or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee (IC). The IC handles complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace and follows a defined inquiry process with fixed timelines. This sits outside your general grievance channel — it has its own procedure, confidentiality rules, and consequences.
The Labour Codes. The Industrial Relations Code (one of the four Labour Codes) provides for grievance redressal committees in certain establishments. The specifics depend on your headcount and industry, so take guidance from a labour law consultant on what applies to you.
Whistleblower and non-retaliation. No statute uses the word "whistleblower" uniformly across sectors, but the principle of non-retaliation matters practically. An employee who raises a grievance and is then penalised or managed out will have a strong case that the employer acted in bad faith.
Building a grievance process that actually works
A written policy is the foundation, but the process needs to work in practice, not just on paper.
Write a clear policy. Define what qualifies as a grievance, how to raise one (in writing, to whom), the timeline for acknowledgement and resolution, and the escalation path if the employee is unsatisfied at the first stage. Keep the language plain — employees need to be able to read and follow it without legal training.
Give employees more than one route. If the only channel is the employee's direct manager, complaints about that manager go nowhere. Most effective policies allow an employee to go to HR directly, or to a skip-level manager, when the grievance involves their immediate supervisor.
Acknowledge quickly, resolve carefully. A common failure is silence after the complaint is filed. Acknowledge receipt within a short, defined window — two or three working days is reasonable. Resolution may take longer, but the employee should never be left wondering whether anything is happening. Communicate progress even when you do not yet have an answer.
Investigate with an open mind. Whoever handles the inquiry should have no direct stake in the outcome. Collect facts before forming a view. Speak to relevant witnesses. Keep notes. A sloppy or one-sided inquiry is often worse than no inquiry, because it creates a paper trail that works against you.
Communicate the outcome. Tell the employee what you found and what action, if any, you are taking. You may not always be able to share every detail — particularly if the matter involves another employee's privacy — but the complainant deserves a clear response. Vague or evasive outcomes erode trust in the process.
Keeping records
Document every stage: the complaint as received, your acknowledgement, notes from any discussions or interviews, the finding, and the outcome communicated. Store records securely and restrict access to those who need it. If the matter later becomes a dispute before a labour authority, your documentation is what demonstrates that a fair process was followed.
Payroll-related grievances — disputes about deductions, PF contributions, TDS, or leave encashment — benefit from payslip records and payroll reports. Employees have a right to understand what appears on their payslip, and many grievances in this area dissolve once a clear explanation is given. How Mellow runs payroll across six countries is one example of where clean payroll records prevent disputes from arising in the first place.
When a grievance escalates
If an employee is not satisfied with the internal outcome, they can approach external bodies: a labour commissioner, a labour court, or, for sexual harassment matters, the Local Committee constituted under the POSH Act. Employees can also file complaints with the relevant Employees' Provident Fund Organisation office for PF-related disputes.
An employer who has followed a genuine, documented internal process is in a far stronger position at this stage than one who has no record of how the complaint was handled. That is the honest business case for taking grievances seriously — not just the ethical one.
This article is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified labour law practitioner for guidance on your specific situation.
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