Disputes & Grievances

Log, manage, and resolve workplace grievances and disputes - with a path to escalate to the Fair Work Commission where required.

Overview

The Disputes & Grievances module (Grievances in the People section of the sidebar) gives you a structured, confidential place to:

Record workplace grievances and disputes as cases
Track each case from when it's filed through to resolution
Keep comments, internal notes, documents and the case's activity history together

Escalate to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) when a matter can't be resolved internally, and track the Commission matter and its hearings on the same case

Maintain a defensible record of how each matter was handled

Grievances Dashboard

Open Grievances > Dashboard to see:

The Total Cases in your business, and how many are Open, Escalated to FWC and Overdue (past their due date and not in a closed status)

The most recent cases you can see, with their status, priority and type

View All Cases and New Case buttons

Quick actions to file a new case, or to manage your statuses and categories

Cases

Before you file your first case, set up your priorities and statuses under Grievances > Settings (see Settings below). Every case needs a priority, and a new case starts in the status marked Default for new cases - so mark one priority and one status as the default.

Finding a Case

Grievances > Cases lists the cases you can see. Search by case number, subject or description, and narrow the list by status, category, priority or type - pick as many of each as you like.

Filing a Case

Navigate to Grievances > Cases

Click New Case

Enter the case details - Type, Subject, Description, Priority and Complainant are required:

Type - Dispute or Grievance

Subject - a brief summary

Description - the detail of the matter

Category - what the case is about, such as bullying, harassment or a pay dispute

Priority - it starts on the priority you've marked Default for new cases

Complainant - the person raising the matter, drawn from your employee records (see the People Management guide)

Respondent - the person the matter is about, if there is one

Filed Date and Due Date

Mark as confidential, if the matter calls for it

Check the details, then click File Case - the subject, description, category, priority, people, dates and confidential mark can't be changed once the case is filed

The case gets its own case number and starts in your default status, and you're taken back to the Cases list. Everyone who can see the case is notified that a new one has been filed - including the respondent, if they have a Mployr login (see Confidentiality) - and the complainant is told when it's resolved or closed. You name an investigator on the case itself once it's filed.

Case Detail

Each case keeps everything about the matter in one place:

Details - the description, and the case details: complainant, respondent, investigator, category, and the filed, due, created and resolved dates. Once the case is resolved, its Resolution Details and Outcome show here too. Someone who can manage cases names the investigator under Assign Investigator - enter the person's ID (the number at the end of the web address when you open them under People > Employees) and click Assign. The investigator is notified and can then open the case

Comments - anyone who can open the case can add updates as the matter progresses with Add Comment. Tick Internal note to keep a comment to the people who manage cases, or Formal record to mark it as part of the formal record of the case

Documents - statements, evidence and correspondence. Someone who can manage cases clicks Upload Document to add a file, or removes one with its bin icon. A file can be up to 10MB. Each document shows when it was uploaded and by whom, and anyone who can open the case can download it again

FWC Details - the Fair Work Commission record for an escalated case: its reference number, filing date, case officer, status, outcome and orders, and its hearings (see Fair Work Commission (FWC) Escalation below)

Activity - a timeline of the main events on the case - when it was filed, assigned, commented on, given a document, resolved, closed, reopened or escalated, and when its FWC details were updated - with when each happened and who did it. Removing a document or a hearing isn't recorded there

Case Status

Statuses are yours to define under Grievances > Settings. Three switches on a status decide how a case moves:

Default for new cases - every new case starts here, and a reopened case comes back here

Indicates closed/resolved - closing a case moves it to this status. If you mark more than one status this way, Close only ever uses one of them, so keep it to one

Indicates escalated to FWC - escalating a case moves it to this status

The buttons on a case then move it through its lifecycle:

Resolve - opens Resolve Case, which asks for the Resolution Details (what was done) and the Outcome. It records the date the matter was resolved and lets the complainant know, but doesn't change the case's status - click Close when the matter is finished. Resolve before you Close: a closed case doesn't offer Resolve

Escalate to FWC - refers the matter to the Fair Work Commission (see below)

Close - moves the case to your closed status and lets the complainant know

Reopen - brings a closed case back to your default status and clears its resolved date

These buttons are the only way a case's status changes - there's no status picker on a case - so the statuses you'll see on cases are your default, closed and escalated ones.

Give each case a Due Date when you file it, so it's clear when it needs to be dealt with.

Fair Work Commission (FWC) Escalation

When an internal process can't resolve a matter, a case can be escalated to the Fair Work Commission:

Open the case

Click Escalate to FWC and confirm (it's offered while the case isn't closed or already escalated)

The case moves to your escalated status, its type becomes an FWC case, and its FWC Details tab is ready to fill in

On FWC Details, click Edit Details, record the FWC Reference Number, Filing Date, Case Officer and FWC Status, and click Save Details. Come back to add the Outcome and any Orders as the matter progresses

Under Hearings, enter each conciliation, conference or hearing with its date (required), type, location and notes, then click Add Hearing. Remove one with its bin icon

Upload the Commission's correspondence to the case's Documents tab. Keeping the FWC matter on the original case preserves the full history - from how the grievance was first raised, through every internal step, to the external outcome.

Settings

Under Grievances > Settings you configure the lists used across your cases, to match your grievance and dispute policies:

Categories - what cases are about, such as workplace bullying, harassment, discrimination, unfair dismissal or a pay dispute

Priorities - each with a colour, and response and resolution targets in hours if you use them. Mark one Default for new cases and new cases start on it

Statuses - each with a colour, and the three switches described under Case Status. Mark one Default for new cases - a case can't be filed without it

Confidentiality

Grievances are sensitive. Access to cases is controlled by permissions - viewing, filing, managing and resolving cases are separate - so only the people who need to handle a matter can work on it. Set up the relevant roles under Admin > Roles - see the Administration guide. In business terms:

Filing a case - people whose role allows filing grievance cases (employees can by default). Unless their role lets them see every case (owners and admins can), people see only the cases they're named on

Managing a case - assigning the investigator, uploading and removing documents, the FWC details and hearings, escalating and reopening - needs a role that can manage grievance cases

Resolving and closing - needs a role that can resolve grievance cases

Settings - needs a role that can manage grievance settings

The people named on a case - the complainant, the respondent and any investigator - can also open that case, and the respondent and investigator are notified about it if they have a Mployr login, so write comments with that in mind and tick Internal note for anything that should stay with the people managing the case. As the people on a case can't be changed after it's filed, decide before you file whether to name the respondent. The same goes for documents: everyone who can open a case can see and download its documents, and there's no internal-only setting for a document, so keep material that mustn't reach the parties off the case. Mark as confidential shows a Confidential badge on the case, so everyone who opens it knows to handle it with care.

Troubleshooting

A colleague can't see a dispute case I expect them to see

Access to cases is controlled by permissions, so only people whose role grants it can open a case - plus the complainant, respondent and investigator named on it. Check the relevant role under Admin > Roles - see the Administration guide - and confirm the person is assigned a role with access to grievance cases.

My case won't file - it asks for a priority

Every case needs a Priority. The form starts on the priority marked Default for new cases; if the Priority list is empty, add your priorities under Grievances > Settings first.

Filing a case fails with an error

A new case starts in your default status, so it can't be saved until one exists. Under Grievances > Settings > Statuses, make sure one status has Default for new cases switched on, then file the case again.

I resolved a case but it still shows as open

Resolve records the resolution and its date but doesn't change the status. Click Close to move the case to your closed status.

Close or Escalate to FWC doesn't change the case's status

Those buttons move a case to the status you've marked for them. Under Grievances > Settings > Statuses, make sure one status has Indicates closed/resolved switched on and another has Indicates escalated to FWC.

I can't upload a document to a case

Uploading and removing documents is part of managing cases, so it needs a role that can manage grievance cases - see Admin > Roles. A file larger than 10MB is refused, so compress or split it.

The filters disappeared and the list says "No cases match your filters"

The filter bar hides when nothing matches. Refresh the page to clear the filters.

The category, priority or status I need isn't available

Categories, priorities and statuses are configured under Grievances > Settings to match your grievance and dispute policies. Add or adjust them there - a new category or priority can then be picked when you file a case. Statuses aren't picked on the form: a new case always starts in your default status.

I can't link the right person to a case

The complainant and respondent are drawn from your employee records. If someone is missing, add them in People Management first (see the People Management guide), then file the case - the people on a case can't be changed once it's filed. The investigator is assigned on the case afterwards, with Assign Investigator.

Our FWC matter has lost its earlier history

Escalating to the Fair Work Commission should be done on the existing case, not a new one. Open the original case and click Escalate to FWC - the Commission's reference, dates and hearings then go on its FWC Details tab, so the full history, from how the grievance was first raised through to the external outcome, stays in one place.

Frequently asked questions

Are dispute cases confidential?

Yes. Grievances are sensitive, so access is restricted by permissions - only the people who need to handle a matter can work on it, plus the people named on the case. Set up the relevant roles under Admin > Roles, use Internal note for comments that should stay with the people managing the case, and Mark as confidential to flag a case for extra care. Documents on a case can be seen by everyone who can open it.

How do I escalate a case to the Fair Work Commission?

Open the case and click Escalate to FWC. The case's FWC Details tab then holds the Commission's reference number, filing date, case officer, status, outcome and orders, plus its hearings - keep them up to date there as the matter progresses, and upload the Commission's correspondence to the Documents tab.

Where do I record the resolution of a case?

Click Resolve and fill in the Resolution Details and Outcome - they show on the case's Details tab, the resolved date is recorded and the complainant is told. Click Close once the matter is finished - Resolve isn't offered on a closed case, so resolve first.

Can I change a case's details after filing it?

Not on the case itself - its subject, description, category, priority, people and dates are set when it's filed. You can still add comments and documents, assign the investigator, resolve, close, reopen or escalate it, and keep the FWC details up to date.

How do I keep emails and evidence with a case?

Upload them to the case's Documents tab with Upload Document - each file shows when it was uploaded and by whom. Use Formal record comments for notes that form part of the formal record of the matter.

How do I keep track of what's been done on a case?

The Comments tab holds the updates added as the matter progresses, the Documents tab holds the files, and the Activity tab records the main events - filing, assignment, comments, documents added, resolving, closing, reopening, escalating and FWC updates - with when and by whom. Together they form your evidence of a fair process.

Can a new case trigger work automatically?

Yes - a dispute being created, changing status or being closed are available as Automations triggers, so you can route notifications or create tasks without anyone remembering to.

Tips

Record cases as soon as a grievance is raised, even if it may resolve quickly - a contemporaneous record matters
Check a case's details before you file it - they can't be edited afterwards
Keep comments factual and up to date; together with the documents and the activity timeline they're your evidence of a fair process
Set a due date on every case when you file it, to keep momentum and avoid cases going stale
Upload correspondence to the case rather than leaving it in email
Restrict access to dispute cases to the people who genuinely need it

Disputes & Grievances | Help Centre

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