An employment tribunal claim can cause a lot of problems for your business and could cost you a lot of money. Fortunately, there are some steps that you can take to avoid these proceedings completely. These steps should be taken when you are dealing with your employees.
Dealing With Redundancy
There are times when your company may need to consider redundancies. When it comes to collective redundancy situations, there are clear parameters that you could follow. However, when there are less than 20 people being made redundant, there is more flexibility and this is where you could run into issues.
In these situations, you will need to demonstrate that the employee’s job will no longer exist or that fewer people are needed to carry out the work. Unless you can provide proof of these situations, a dismissal cannot be treated as a redundancy.
However, it is important to note that even if you prove this, an unfair dismissal case can be brought against your business if you fail to follow a fair procedure. Make sure you get the right advice from a specialist employment law firm such as DPH Legal solicitors who have many years of experience in dealing with and resolving these matters.
Dealing With Conduct And Capability Matters
Another mistake that many employers make which leads to an employment tribunal claim is how they deal with employee capability. This should not be handled under your disciplinary procedures. It is recommended that you have a separate capability policy in your staff handbook which will deal with this.
Disciplinary policies should only be used when you are dealing with employees that wilfully misbehave. When you are dealing with employee capability, you need to ensure that this behaviour cannot be attributed to any disabilities.
If this is the case and proceedings are taken against them, the employee has the right to take your company to an employment tribunal.
If you are dealing with conduct issues, you will need to be careful as well. If the misconduct is alleged and there is no clear proof, the company will have to carry out a reasonable investigation.
This investigation will need to be conducted with an open mind and employees have to be given sufficient time to prepare for any disciplinary hearings.
Employment tribunal claims are something that you want to avoid because they can cause a lot of problems. If you want to avoid these claims, you need to carefully consider how you deal with your employees.
You have to use fair procedures and keep a paper trail of any investigations that you complete into misconduct allegations.
If you require further help and advice for a pending tribunal or feel that a work-related situation is heading that way, contact one of our experienced experts for help and support.
For any information relating to our services please give us a call and we will be very happy to help.