There seems to be an increase in people taking offence on behalf of others i.e. about issues that don’t affect them personally. This can sometimes be a good thing as, in keeping with the British sense of fair play and protecting the underdog, nobody wants to see weaker or vulnerable people bullied or discriminated againstContinue reading “Keep your nose out! Dealing with employees who complain about things that don’t seem relevant to them personally.”
Category Archives: Management
How can employers protect themselves against claims for harassment or discrimination?
Recent press articles suggest the bar is incredibly low for what constitutes harassment or discrimination at work. Take the recent case where an organisation lost a tribunal for sexual harassment supposedly because the boss didn’t say good morning to a female colleague when he did to male staff. Whereas such headlines are worrying for employers,Continue reading “How can employers protect themselves against claims for harassment or discrimination?”
If someone overhears a sexist comment at work can they make a claim as if the remark was aimed at them?
The short answer is yes! Take the iconic (well, for HR geeks at least) council swimming pool example, which is often one of the first cases discussed on employment law training courses. In this case a lifeguard employee made lewd comments about a lady who was swimming lengths in the pool to another lifeguard. TheContinue reading “If someone overhears a sexist comment at work can they make a claim as if the remark was aimed at them?”
CIPD survey predicts private sector pay will increase by only 3 percent over the next 12 months.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has published its latest Labour Market Outlook report (this link takes you to their report), with some interesting results. Their quarterly survey of over two thousand employers found that the median expected pay increase across all sectors was also three percent, down from four percent last quarter.Continue reading “CIPD survey predicts private sector pay will increase by only 3 percent over the next 12 months.”
How to Manage Employee Grievances
Most grievances, whether they are raised formally or informally, can be resolved informally i.e. without the need for a longwinded investigation if they are handled in a proactive, fair and professional manner. Although the complainant can choose for a formal investigation and hearing to take place we encourage employers to try and manage complaints informallyContinue reading “How to Manage Employee Grievances”
The legal situation regarding employee grievances, including tribunal outcomes
In preparation for the release of our updated ‘Practical Guide to Managing Grievances’ which will be available in a week or so, this article looks at the legal requirements for handling grievances and then a couple of tribunal cases that are useful in justifying why care needs to be taken to treat employee complaints seriouslyContinue reading “The legal situation regarding employee grievances, including tribunal outcomes”
How to manage an employee’s appeal against a disciplinary decision
The disciplinary outcome letter will have specified how to appeal against the decision, who to raise the appeal with, and the timescale by which the individual needs to do this after receiving their confirmation letter. As explained in our previous article , unless it is simply not practical the appeal should be heard by aContinue reading “How to manage an employee’s appeal against a disciplinary decision”
How to write a disciplinary hearing outcome letter
In last week’s article we looked at the considerations when making a decision after holding a disciplinary hearing and considering all of the evidence. The next stage, which we discuss today, is confirming the decision in writing to the employee as per the ACAS Code of Practice (see www.acas.org.uk) which, you will recall, tribunals expect employersContinue reading “How to write a disciplinary hearing outcome letter”
How to decide the outcome of a disciplinary Hearing
The outcome is the most impactful part of the disciplinary process for all parties. However, it is only possible for the disciplining manager to arrive at a fair decision if the following steps, as outlined in our previous 4 blog articles, have been carried out fairly and professionally in the preceding days or weeks accordingContinue reading “How to decide the outcome of a disciplinary Hearing”
How to hold a disciplinary hearing, including giving notice of the hearing in writing.
In this article we consider how the disciplining manager should approach the disciplinary hearing, from giving the employee written notice of the hearing through to managing the meeting in a fair and professional way in line with the ACAS Code of Practice. Once the disciplining manager has examined the evidence and concluded that a hearingContinue reading “How to hold a disciplinary hearing, including giving notice of the hearing in writing.”