Jul 20, 2011 14:57
12 yrs ago
21 viewers *
English term
India
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Native in: Hindi 
Works in: English to Hindi, Hindi to English
complaint vs. grievance
English
Medical
Medical (general)
If you think your issue is really a complaint and should not be treated as a grievance, you may call or write to the Department of Health.
Could you please explain the difference between complaint and grievance so as to enable me to choose exact words?
Thanks in advance.
Could you please explain the difference between complaint and grievance so as to enable me to choose exact words?
Thanks in advance.
Responses
Responses
+2
1 hr
Selected
dissatisfaction with aspects of service / disagreement with denial of service on medical grounds
"'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'"
The difference between a complaint and a grievance in ordinary usage is a subtle one, but general usage is no help with this question. In this context, the words mean what the people concerned have decided that they mean.
The people concerned are, I believe, the health authorities of the State of Pennsylvania in the United States. In the UK, as far as I can tell, grievances are employment matters. An employee of the NHS can have a grievance, but not a patient (for official purposes). All the references I have found so far on complaint and grievance procedures for patients come from the US.
It is by no means clear to me that the words are used the same way throughout the US. In many cases they appear to be used as synonyms. However, the specific phrase cited in the question does occur in a document relating to Pennsylvania, and the Department of Health concerned is the Pennsylvania Department of Health:
http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/ucmprd/groups/webcontent/document...
See foot of p. 283
The difference between a complaint and a grievance is set out in the following document, the Pennsylvania Health Law Project Appeals Brochure 2009:
"A Complaint is a dispute or objection about a participating provider, or about the coverage, operations or management of the plan. Appeals to the MCO about any of the following matters will be considered a Complaint:
• The health plan denies payment for a service a consumer received because the MCO claims a non-MA provider gave the service without its approval.
• The health plan denies a service or payment for a service because it has decided the service is not a covered benefit under the individual’s plan.
• The health plan did not meet the required timeframes for providing the consumer with a service.
• The health plan failed to decide a complaint or grievance a consumer filed within the required timeframes. [...]
A “grievance” is a consumer’s request to have an MCO reconsider a decision solely concerning the medical necessity and appropriateness of the health care service."
http://www.phlp.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Appeals-Broch...
This is confirmed by the following, relating to a Pennsylvania Health Care provider called Magellan:
"A complaint is when you tell us you are unhappy with Magellan or your provider or you do not agree with a decision made by Magellan. These are some examples of a complaint:
* You are unhappy with the care you are getting.
* You are unhappy that you cannot get the service you want because it is not a covered service.
* You are unhappy that you have not received services that you have been approved to get. [...]
A grievance is what you file when you do not agree with Magellan’s decision that a service that you or your provider asked for is not medically necessary."
http://bucks.pa.networkofcare.org/mh/services/complaint.cfm
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Note added at 8 hrs (2011-07-20 23:13:04 GMT)
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Let me repeat: the fact that the source text quoted occurs verbatim in a document from Pennsylvania and nowhere else (at least on the Internet) strongly suggests that the words are being used in the very specific, and frankly arbitrary, senses outlined above. The normal meanings of "complaint" and "grievance" are strictly irrelevant here.
The difference between a complaint and a grievance in ordinary usage is a subtle one, but general usage is no help with this question. In this context, the words mean what the people concerned have decided that they mean.
The people concerned are, I believe, the health authorities of the State of Pennsylvania in the United States. In the UK, as far as I can tell, grievances are employment matters. An employee of the NHS can have a grievance, but not a patient (for official purposes). All the references I have found so far on complaint and grievance procedures for patients come from the US.
It is by no means clear to me that the words are used the same way throughout the US. In many cases they appear to be used as synonyms. However, the specific phrase cited in the question does occur in a document relating to Pennsylvania, and the Department of Health concerned is the Pennsylvania Department of Health:
http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/ucmprd/groups/webcontent/document...
See foot of p. 283
The difference between a complaint and a grievance is set out in the following document, the Pennsylvania Health Law Project Appeals Brochure 2009:
"A Complaint is a dispute or objection about a participating provider, or about the coverage, operations or management of the plan. Appeals to the MCO about any of the following matters will be considered a Complaint:
• The health plan denies payment for a service a consumer received because the MCO claims a non-MA provider gave the service without its approval.
• The health plan denies a service or payment for a service because it has decided the service is not a covered benefit under the individual’s plan.
• The health plan did not meet the required timeframes for providing the consumer with a service.
• The health plan failed to decide a complaint or grievance a consumer filed within the required timeframes. [...]
A “grievance” is a consumer’s request to have an MCO reconsider a decision solely concerning the medical necessity and appropriateness of the health care service."
http://www.phlp.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Appeals-Broch...
This is confirmed by the following, relating to a Pennsylvania Health Care provider called Magellan:
"A complaint is when you tell us you are unhappy with Magellan or your provider or you do not agree with a decision made by Magellan. These are some examples of a complaint:
* You are unhappy with the care you are getting.
* You are unhappy that you cannot get the service you want because it is not a covered service.
* You are unhappy that you have not received services that you have been approved to get. [...]
A grievance is what you file when you do not agree with Magellan’s decision that a service that you or your provider asked for is not medically necessary."
http://bucks.pa.networkofcare.org/mh/services/complaint.cfm
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Note added at 8 hrs (2011-07-20 23:13:04 GMT)
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Let me repeat: the fact that the source text quoted occurs verbatim in a document from Pennsylvania and nowhere else (at least on the Internet) strongly suggests that the words are being used in the very specific, and frankly arbitrary, senses outlined above. The normal meanings of "complaint" and "grievance" are strictly irrelevant here.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
lorenab23
: excellent!
7 mins
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Thanks very much, Lorena :)
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| agree |
amarpaul
: Well said! Sloppy writing, methinks. The problem being not with our interpretations but with the original writer, who has chosen words that are, in effect, synonyms to convey two different ideas that were in his/her mind. Love the Lewis Carroll quote.
11 hrs
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Thank you very much, amarpaul. I agree with your discussion comment; it would be prudent, if possible, to ask the client what the words mean in this context.
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| agree |
B D Finch
: Good research and this could well be correct, i.e. that the words are being used in a specific context relating to procedures of the particular organisation. There is nothing wrong with those meanings being arbitrary, so long as they are specified.
1 day 1 hr
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No indeed; I quite agree. Thank you, B D.
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| disagree |
vierama
: according to the context, a grievance is not in writing, only a complaint is.
1 day 2 hrs
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Even if this were true, it would have no bearing on the respective meanings of the two words. But in any case, it is not true: the context tells us that a complaint can be made in writing; it does not say that a grievance is not in writing.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks"
+2
23 mins
Similar but slightly different
They're often used interchangeably, but to me, a grievance is usually as a result of feeling that you have been wronged or slighted, usually by one person, whereas a complaint can be more general or more serious.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Lirka
: yes, that's how I read it, too, but here's how Wikipedia defines grievance:"A grievance is a wrong or hardship suffered, which is the grounds of a complaint." Go figure.
1 hr
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| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: Yes, a grievance is personal, a complaint can be about something that affects other people as well, e.g. long waits.
5 hrs
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34 mins
Liz Dexter (was Broomfield)
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
&
English
United Kingdom
Proofreading, editing & localisation
Native in: English (Variants: British, UK, US, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand)
Works in: English
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Complaint = one-off; grievance = general issue
I see a complaint as a one off while a grievance is a more general issue.
For example one doctor makes a racist comment - you make a complaint, it's dealt with at one level, one time.
The doctors constantly make racist remarks. The receptionist ignores you or uses a racist word to you. None of the leaflets include a picture of someone of your race - you would raise a grievance. That might go to a higher level of the health service body, etc.
For example one doctor makes a racist comment - you make a complaint, it's dealt with at one level, one time.
The doctors constantly make racist remarks. The receptionist ignores you or uses a racist word to you. None of the leaflets include a picture of someone of your race - you would raise a grievance. That might go to a higher level of the health service body, etc.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
B D Finch
: Are you sure that "raising a grievance" can apply outside the staff grievance procedure?
18 mins
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I thought it was that raising a complaint was outside of the grievance policy, which makes sense - don't raise the whole grievance policy for a one-off complaint. I did mark it as medium, though!
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1 hr
Hassan Lotfy
Egypt
Egypt
Native in English
&
English
Egypt
Excellent Quality
Native in: Arabic 
, English
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English, Arabic, and 1 more.
complaint is the formal expression for grievance
grievance is informal
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
B D Finch
: On the contrary, especially in an employment context "grievance" is formal.// The point of KudoZ is to go beyond dictionary definitions. If all answers to translation problems were to be found in generalist dictionaries, we could be replaced by machines.
15 hrs
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That was Merriam Webster's definition, what I meant is that in this specific context; the dictionary definition applies, ie not every entry in kudoz implies a drift away from the 'ordinary' dictionary definition.
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| agree |
vierama
1 day 2 hrs
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Thank you vierama
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+1
17 hrs
codes and focus
Complaint focuses on the act of complaining, while grievance focuses on the feelings of the aggrieved party and their sense of injustice having been suffered. So a person might have a grievance but not make a complaint. They might also make a complaint while not having a grievance, e.g. if I buy something and make a complaint that it doesn't work properly, that is not an expression of a grievance because there was no injustice. However, if my complaint is not dealt with properly and I believe that this involves injustice (whether discrimination against me personally, or a general policy of dismissing complaints), then that may become a grievance.
This is complicated though by organisations' internal policies and codes, which may include a grievance procedure. This is mandatory in the UK:
"The Employment Act 2002 introduces a compulsory system for resolving disputes in the workplace. The core elements are:
* - mandatory dismissal and disciplinary procedures - which, if the employer does not follow them, will normally render a dismissal automatically unfair.
* - A mandatory grievance procedure - which, if the employee does not invoke it, will normally prevent him from presenting a claim in the employment tribunal.
* - Boosting and reducing tribunal awards to reflect non or partial compliance with the disciplinary and grievance procedures."
http://www.got-the-boot.com/law/law-36.htm
So, the term "grievance" then becomes specific to any action taken under the grievance procedure and is defined in terms of it rather than in general linguistic terms. You need to find out whether such an internal procedure, policy or code is being referred to, in your text.
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Note added at 1 day2 hrs (2011-07-21 17:55:40 GMT)
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In case the above gives the wrong impression, complaints can also be dealt with under a complaints procedure and, if not resolved by such a procedure may end up in court. However, complaints procedures are common consumer mediation procedures and do not generally define what is and what is not a complaint - it's generally obvious.
This is complicated though by organisations' internal policies and codes, which may include a grievance procedure. This is mandatory in the UK:
"The Employment Act 2002 introduces a compulsory system for resolving disputes in the workplace. The core elements are:
* - mandatory dismissal and disciplinary procedures - which, if the employer does not follow them, will normally render a dismissal automatically unfair.
* - A mandatory grievance procedure - which, if the employee does not invoke it, will normally prevent him from presenting a claim in the employment tribunal.
* - Boosting and reducing tribunal awards to reflect non or partial compliance with the disciplinary and grievance procedures."
http://www.got-the-boot.com/law/law-36.htm
So, the term "grievance" then becomes specific to any action taken under the grievance procedure and is defined in terms of it rather than in general linguistic terms. You need to find out whether such an internal procedure, policy or code is being referred to, in your text.
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Note added at 1 day2 hrs (2011-07-21 17:55:40 GMT)
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In case the above gives the wrong impression, complaints can also be dealt with under a complaints procedure and, if not resolved by such a procedure may end up in court. However, complaints procedures are common consumer mediation procedures and do not generally define what is and what is not a complaint - it's generally obvious.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
humbird
: I agree with your explanation. Grievance is more steeped to legal procedure than complaints, which occur in more mandane circumstances.
8 hrs
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Thanks humbird. Complaints can often be taken up legally too.
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Discussion
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grievance