Effective Grievance Mechanisms for Due Diligence Compliance
Workers training on grievance mechanisms in a coffee farm in Chiapas, Mexico.
As mandatory due diligence legislation accelerates worldwide — including the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) — companies are now required to provide trusted, accessible grievance mechanisms and ensure workers can safely access remedy.
Quizrr
Admin
Yet across industries and geographies, most grievance systems receive far too few complaints from the people they are designed to serve. This gap represents not only a human rights risk but a critical business vulnerability.
Worker at a tea plantation in Assam region India.
If workers don’t understand how a grievance mechanism works, they won’t use it — and if they don’t use it, it can’t protect them or the business.
Leanne Melnyk
Head of Program & Partnerships, Quizrr
Why Grievance Mechanisms Underperform Today
Despite significant investments, many grievance channels remain underused. Our work across global supply chains highlights three core challenges:
1️⃣ Lack of trust
Workers often fear retaliation or doubt whether complaints will lead to meaningful action — especially in sensitive areas such as gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH).
2️⃣ Low awareness of rights
Without clarity on entitlements or protections, workers may not recognize when a grievance is justified.
3️⃣ Limited understanding of how to raise complaints
Processes may be unclear, overly complex, or inconsistent, creating barriers to safe reporting.
To close these gaps, organizations must go beyond policy-writing and build real capacity — for workers, managers, and grievance committee members. Trust, knowledge, and accessible reporting pathways are now business-critical for compliance, risk management, and long-term resilience.
Workers at a coffee farm in Veracruz, Mexico, training on effective grievance mechanisms.
Quizrr Digital Training: Turning Obligations into Practical Action
Through scalable, engaging digital learning, Quizrr equips global supply chains to transform legal requirements into practical, operational reality. Our programs strengthen worker voice, improve transparency, and prepare companies for emerging due diligence expectations worldwide.
Worker at coffee farm in Chiapas, Mexico, picking coffee.
Effective Grievance Mechanisms (All Sectors, Global)
Our Effective Grievance Mechanisms program helps companies design and uphold systems that:
- Enable safe, transparent, and confidential reporting
- Clarify roles, responsibilities, and escalation pathways
- Align with international standards and new due diligence legislation
- Build management capacity to respond effectively and consistently
The result: stronger workplace culture, improved risk visibility, and readiness for upcoming legal requirements.
Learn more about the program here.
Worker Feedback
97%
Plan to apply what they learned in training to their everyday life or job.
Grievance & Dialogue in Agriculture (Farms & Plantations)
Agriculture holds some of the world’s highest human rights risks — from child labor and forced labor to GBVH. Developed together with Rainforest Alliance, our Grievance & Dialogue in Agriculture program supports farms and plantations to build fair, trusted, and context-appropriate systems, including:
- Formal and informal grievance channels
- Effective worker–management dialogue structures
- Representative, credible grievance committees
- Clear procedures for follow-up, remedy, and learning
Supported by a grant from the ISEAL Innovations Fund, funded by SECO, this program equips agricultural operations to build more equitable, transparent, and resilient practices.
Learn more about the program here.
