employees' complex grievances.

All four are independent of the bank and employees will have the option of calling on them if they cannot settle a dispute internally.

The ombudsmen have been chosen for their independence, community good standing, sensitivity to local issues and skills in consultancy, facilitation and counselling.

If an employee's case remainsunresolved after going through the bank's internal procedures the employee can choose which of the four they wish to review it. The chosen ombudsman will then work with the employee and the bank's director of human re sources (for Bermuda staff) to examine the case and offer an independent recommendation.

Mark Perreault, the bank's global head of human resources, said, "It is important to the bank that we exhaust all avenues for employees with genuine grievances. As the largest private employer on the island, with over 1,200 people here in Bermuda, we can't always prevent problems from arising in the workplace. We can however be serious about sorting them out.'' He said the bank has a comprehensive internal grievance procedure and is confident most issues that arise can be resolved through that. "However for the small number of employees who still have concerns, they will now be able to request someone from outside the bank to review their case.

"The bank has long voiced the importance of attracting, motivating and retaining high quality employees. We want to provide a fair and supportive workplace in which skill and dedication is re warded, personal and profes sional growth is encouraged, and employees have robust and open ways of addressing concerns,'' he added.

Following a thorough examination of a case, the ombudsman's recommendation will be for warded to the employee and the head of human resources. This will then be reviewed by the bank and a final decision made.

Bank ombudsmen To retain their independence the bank will pay them a retainer fee with reimbursement on an hourly basis if they are asked to review a case. The ombudsmen will provide a quarterly report to the opportunities committee of the bank's board of directors.

The four ombudsmen are Deborah Jackson, Janet Kemp, Austin Warner and Cummings Zuill.

Ms Jackson has a strong background working with employees in different companies in the island and extensive experience in diversity awareness training with the island's business and professional community. She is currently director of administration at Appleby Spurling & Kempe, responsible for the firm's operations and administration, including human resource devel opment.

Dr. Kemp is a psychologist with extensive experience working with a wide range of people, facilitating workshops and advocating for the need of students with learning disabilities. She is currently the director of the Reading Clinic and is active on the Bermuda Psychologists' Registration Council and is on the board of the Centre on Philanthropy.

Mr. Warner has a lot of experience in problem solving and working closely with individual clients and with all sections of the local community, with strong counselling, training and consultancy skills. He has been with the Council Partners Charitable Trust since 1998 and since 2000 has held the post of director of development with the trust.

Mr. Zuill has useful skills as a facilitator, ombudsman and mediator and works with companies, organisations, groups and individuals to explore is sues involving change, effective relationships, productive dialogue and human differences. In June 2000 he retired as senior vice president, executive management, of the Bank of Bermuda. He is a founding director of the Diver sity Institute of Bermuda, founding chairman of the Centre on Philanthropy and one of Bermuda's charity commissioners.

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