Every employer must formally provide the space to make a report or complaint about undesirable behavior. Many organizations struggle with embedding and applying this formal route. For example, when is something a report and when is it a complaint? And how can you follow this up with a view to all concerned? The CAOP Foundation has written a clear article about this. We are happy to summarize it for you. When undesirable behavior occurs, the aim of every employer should be to provide employees with the best possible support to ensure a safe working environment for employees. A supervisor, colleague or (external) confidant can play an important role here. We see this as the informal route. If the informal route does not offer a solution, there must also be an additional formal route for submitting a report or complaint.
In a complaint, the complainant often wants to obtain some form of recognition. The complainant wants to make his grievances known and, in doing so, also wants recognition that something has gone wrong. The primary purpose of handling a complaint is to restore trust between the organization and the complainant. For the organization, a complaint can also be a valuable learning opportunity. A report is aimed at ending a particular situation that, in the opinion of the reporter, is not right. The wrongdoing or integrity violation is rectified. This is primarily in the interest of the organization. But in the case of transgressive behavior, for example, it can also serve the interests of the reporter.
A complaint of inappropriate behavior must be about any of the following behaviors:
A complaint about unwelcome conduct is usually only considered if the complainant has personally experienced the unwelcome conduct. A bystander cannot file a complaint in most grievance mechanisms for undesirable behavior. A report, on the other hand, can be filed by all employees, even if an employee has been a bystander to, for example, undesirable behavior and has not experienced it himself. Thus, in several organizations, it is common for a supervisor to make a report of a suspected integrity violation on behalf of an employee.
In the case of a complaint about undesirable behavior, an admissibility test of the complaint is usually followed by the complaint procedure. The admissibility of a complaint depends on what has been laid down in the complaint regulations. For example, a test can be whether the complaint meets certain formal requirements. Some regulations provide that an informal route can be started first, such as mediation. This is only possible if the complainant is open to it and if it has not already been tried. Whereas with a complaint the route is often complaint handling, a report can be followed up by the organization in various informal or formal ways. For an employee, the big difference is that they can more or less enforce the handling of a complaint if it is admissible, but with a report it is up to the competent authority to decide on follow-up.
An (external) complaints committee reviews the admissibility of the complaint. If the complaint is admissible, it is processed. In the case of a report, the person who received the report advises the person with decision-making authority on the follow-up to a report. The competent authority makes a decision on this.
In a complaint about undesirable behavior, the complainant is always involved in the complaint process; the complainant is emphatically one of those involved in the treatment. In the case of a report, the reporter may not be part of the follow-up process because the reporter has no personal involvement in the matter. The reporter is then informed of the subsequent process steps. Nor is the reporter a “party,” even if the reporter can be considered a victim of the behavior.
A complaint of inappropriate behavior must be in writing, be specific and include names of accused(s) and witness(es). A complaint cannot be filed anonymously. This is mainly to comply with the adversarial principle. The Wbk gives employees the right to file a report confidentially, whereby the identity of the reporter is kept secret (unless the reporter gives permission for his identity to be disclosed).
In the case of a complaint about inappropriate behavior, the accused is informed that a complaint has been filed, is given a copy of the complaint and is given the opportunity to defend themselves. In the case of a report, the accused about whom the report is about is informed as soon as possible, usually when it is clear what follow-up a report will receive. It may sometimes be in the interest of following up on an issue not to inform the accused of the report immediately.
Part of the confusion between complaining and reporting comes from perceived lack of clarity about legal obligations. For example, many employers think that a complaint procedure for undesirable behavior is mandatory, but so far it is not. Important in any case are provisions in the General Administrative Law Act, the Working Conditions Act and the Whistleblowers Protection Act.
Every organization with more than 50 employees has a duty under the Whistleblowers Protection Act (Wbk) to have a reporting scheme that allows employees to report suspected wrongdoing and violations of European Union regulations, directives and decisions. Several components of a reporting scheme are required by law, such as the basic requirements for an internal reporting procedure, the right to protection from harm, internal and external reporting options, and the protection of the identity of those reporting.
Because of the different legal backgrounds and different follow-up possibilities, it is not advisable to include the process steps of handling a complaint in a reporting arrangement, but to have two separate arrangements. It is important, however, that it is clear to both the organization and employees how the processes work through the different arrangements, what the application is, and why a specific arrangement may better suit the employee’s purpose. It is also important that the regulations be accessible and readable to all employees working for the organization.
Make it easily accessible and visually clear how employees can take formal and informal routes when they suspect an (integrity) violation or wrongdoing at work. This can be done, for example, by means of a flow chart. Partners in Vertrouwen customizes these for organizations. This allows employees to see in a single overview which possibilities there are in case of issues at work, and which process steps and corresponding deadlines they can expect when they decide to proceed to submitting a formal report or complaint.
A confidential advisor is well informed about the various possibilities of having an issue discussed or brought up within an organization. A confidential advisor is not only a neutral source of information, but can also provide support if an employee wishes to file a report or complaint. It is important that an employee is well informed in what to expect if they file a complaint or report. Making a confidential advisor accessible, approachable and firmly positioned in the organization is important here. An organization can opt for an internal or an external confidential advisor or a combination of both. Source: CAOP Undesirable behavior: the difference between a report and a complaint.
Partners in Vertrouwen can draw up a customized complaints procedure or reporting procedure with a clear flow chart so that the procedure to be followed is clear to employees. Of course you can also contact us if you would like to appoint an external confidential advisor for your organization.
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