There seems to be a big increase in disputes between employers and employees who are in the process of leaving at present, irrespective of whether the exit is their choice or the organisations.
When this happens, employers often engage us to negotiate a settlement, which will then be legally binding once a Settlement Agreement is signed by both parties.
But we increasingly find that individuals who are likely to win say £3-4,000 at tribunal hold out for £15,000.They seem to have read about some large awards in the press and think that happens all the time, but it just doesn’t!
This unrealistic approach leads to stress, bad feelings and both sides racking up legal fees – even a basic defence at tribunal will result in at least a £10,000 legal bill for the employer these days, and there is literally no chance of the tribunal awarding costs against the Claimant even for the most spurious of cases.
It’s difficult for employers as they don’t want to overpay an employee who often hasn’t been particularly good but neither do they want a huge legal bill.
From the employee side, it currently takes around 2 years for cases to get to Tribunal and this will increase massively when the government’s forthcoming reforms kick in. That is a long time to have such a stressful issue hanging over you and you might lose and get nothing, with all the negativity, anxiety and illness it often brings but for some reason more and more employees are putting themselves through it.
Many organisations go straight to their solicitor to respond to a claim that lands on their desk but that generally costs at least 5 times as much as a highly experienced HR professional who can do pretty much the same job and get the same result – although we do find that solicitors often word things in a more legalistic way which can be very impressive so it’s worth paying for that on occasion.
Of course, the best way to avoid such claims is to ensure that employees behave reasonably whilst at work. This doesn’t mean a sanitised environment where people are scared to make a joke or have fun.
A decent training course can do the trick, for example the 40 minute ‘Banter and behaviour in the workplace’ course from 186hr Limited, which explains where the ‘bar’ is when judging if behaviour has gone a little too far, and also how to tackle that behaviour without having to sack half your workforce!
It could be the best £49.95 you have spent in a long time. Employers who have trained their employees also often report an improved workplace culture. See below for more info.
Banter & Behaviour in the Workplace
This new e-learning course describes the various forms of harassment and discrimination in an easy-to-understand format so organisations can appreciate where the bar is at work between acceptable behaviour and that which is likely to lead to a grievance or successful Tribunal claim.
For further details about the course, negotiating settlements with employees, or HR in general please contact us. We would love you hear from you.