AN120020 – Animal Welfare, Institutional (State) Award

28. DISPUTES SETTLING PROCEDURE

Subject to the Industrial Relations Act 1996, grievances or disputes shall be dealt with in the following manner:

(a) The employee(s) is required to notify (in writing or otherwise) the employer as to the substance of the grievance, request a meeting with the employer for bilateral discussions and state the remedy sought. This meeting shall take place within one working day, where possible; if not, within two working days of the issue arising (weekends and holidays excepted).

(b) If agreement is not reached, the matter shall then be referred by the employer to a higher authority (where this exists) no later than one working day after the period stated in subclause (a) of this clause (weekends and holidays excepted). At the conclusion of the discussion, the employer must provide a response to the employee's grievance, if the matter has not been resolved, including reasons (in writing or otherwise) for not implementing any proposed remedy.

(c) While the foregoing procedure is being followed, normal work shall continue.

(d) If the matter is still not settled within a reasonable period of time, it may be referred/notified to the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales for settlement by either party.

(e) The employer may be represented by an industrial organisation of employers and the employee(s) is entitled to be represented by The Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch, an industrial organisation of employees, for the purposes of each step of the procedure.