5 valid reasons for Dismissal

Employees are assets to any company, but as a business owner, you are likely to be faced with a reason to consider dismissing one or more of your team.  As you would expect, legal protection is in place for employees for good reason, however, it is not true to state “it is impossible to dismiss somebody” or “the law is stacked against the employer”.  The statutory requirements simply dictate that a company follows a process that ensures that the dismissal is based on reasonable grounds and the individual is provided with an opportunity to present their case for the defence.   Therefore, to avoid employment tribunals, unnecessary legal fees and damage to reputation Companies are best advised to seek guidance from HR professionals and to follow the appropriate process.   

5 fair reasons for dismissal are as follows:

Capability

Dismissal based on an employee’s inability to perform competently can be for two reasons: poor performance and ill health. An employee is incapable of performing in their job when struggling with long-term or persistent sickness. In this case, you need to find ways to support them, give time for recovery, and consider other options before dismissal.

In the case of poor performance where an employee doesn’t meet satisfactory standards within their job, HR support should take them through the disciplinary process before dismissal.  Companies are advised to have clear policies in place for handling capability issues.

Conduct or Behaviour

People do make errors of judgement and people misbehave.  Both of these can provide good reason to dismiss an employee.  If an individual’s behaviour is divisive and disruptive then after following a process of formal warnings the individual may be dismissed.  An individual may also commit an act of misconduct i.e. operated outside of policy or made a work error due to being negligent etc.. and again, following a process of issuing warnings, if the misconduct continued then you could reasonably be dismissed.  Then there are acts of Gross Misconduct.  These are acts that are so serious that you can dismiss without having provided previous warnings.  Examples of Gross Misconduct offences are theft, racial abuse, physical aggression etc.  Please be aware however that you still need to follow a process ensuring that the individual accused of the act has had an opportunity to provide any mitigating circumstances.  There is no such thing as instant dismissal!!

Redundancy

Redundancy dismissals occur when an organisation no longer has the need for a specific role.  This may happen due to Company closure, department closure, company reorganisation / restructure or location change.  If you happen to be the job holder of that role then you are placed at serious risk of redundancy and are taken through a consultation process.  Redundancy is a specialist area and should consult with a HR professional before commencing any discussions.  There are many different legislative requirements to consider based on the individual circumstances.

Breach of a statutory restriction

This, although rare, applies when keeping an employee means breaking the law. For instance, when their working permit expires and they continue to work in your company. However, you’re still required to follow the due disciplinary and formal dismissal procedure.

Some other substantial reason

Every dismissal that doesn’t fit the other categories falls here. Some examples include:

• Organisational restructure that isn’t redundancy.
• Conflict of interest
• Personality clashes
• Temporary employee dismissal after their contract expires.
• Breakdown in trust and confidence.

Dismissal based on some other substantial reason requires you to have a solid case as a tribunal case would result in thorough testing of your reasoning and approach.

Types of Dismissal

These include:

• Fair dismissal: When an employer’s reasons for dismissal are sound and admissible, redundancy being among them. Other reasons also include employee qualifications, capability, or conduct.
• Unfair dismissal: This involves situations where there aren’t sufficient grounds for dismissal, or the HR services fail to follow company policies regarding the termination.
• Constructive dismissal: Involves scenarios where an employee leaves their job because they feel pushed out due to the treatment they receive from the employer. Despite the word ‘constructive’ this is not good and will most likely result in an employment tribunal claim.
• Wrongful dismissal: Although it could easily be mistaken for unfair dismissal, it involves a breach of an employee’s contract by the HR support during dismissal.

Summary

Employee dismissals are sensitive and need to be handled carefully by HR support. Ensure you have reasonable grounds like redundancy, capability, misconduct, breach of statutory restriction, or other substantial reasons to terminate employee contracts. Seek our help for HR services to exercise fairness in employee dismissal by following the Acas Code of Practice that defines your responsibilities.

 

If you need HR support from a company that understands the needs of your business, contact us today. At Harwood HR we can support your business, help you to grow and promote your employees’ talents. Our UK-based team offers a range of HR support services and advice for SME businesses, including outsourced HR support.

Employee wellbeing is critical to the efficient operation of any organisation. Without it, your company could suffer from a lack of productivity, low team morale, and an overall miserable working environment – not to mention an increase in absenteeism. Here are some basic strategies to boost employee wellbeing to keep your staff motivated. 

Dedicate Time For Mindfulness 

By introducing a few easy tactics into their daily routines, your staff may be able to deal better with stressful circumstances. Consider promoting the following mindfulness-boosting techniques to keep them from overworking when it comes to ensuring employee wellbeing.

• Concentrating on a single job at a time 
• Turning off digital gadgets a couple of times every day (lunch, at the very least) 
• Spending at least five minutes every day doing nothing (outside of working hours, of course)

Employees are more likely to be able to keep any negativity in control if they are encouraged to take time out to become aware of themselves and their environment. This, in turn, should decrease stress, lower blood pressure, enhance relationships with coworkers, and even increase productivity.

Recognise Good Work

Although acknowledgement may seem to be an obvious wellbeing enhancer, it’s sometimes ignored or forgotten about altogether. However, promoting and supporting workers’ objectives and ambitions (even minor ones) is critical to guaranteeing their motivation. 

This might be as simple as instituting a reward system for value-added ideas or honouring individuals who go above and beyond. You might do it by offering personalised incentives for staff to strive towards, or simply recognising when individuals do a good job. Whatever you want to do, just make sure you really do it. It will make a significant impact in terms of team morale and motivation and in ensuring employee wellbeing. 

Allow Flexible Working 

Consider giving flexible working hours so that your workers can tailor their jobs to their own demands. This might involve offering staff flexible start and finish hours or encouraging them to take more regular breaks.

 Recognising the requirements of your team will vastly boost employee wellbeing across the organisation. Making sure your workers are happy and healthy should be one of your top concerns; if you care about them, they will care about you and your organisation, leading to increased employee retention.

Work Out What The Problems Are

Negative employee wellbeing can sometimes be caused by underlying issues that are not visible without more investigation. If your company is suffering a high degree of absenteeism, for example, you must address the primary cause. Although it might be due to real causes, it could also be due to people being unhappy at work, overworking, or not being provided with the tools to keep healthy on the job. In other words, you need to do more when it comes to ensuring employee wellbeing. 

 Whether the issues are producing a lack of motivation, a poor grade of work, or a bad attitude, it’s always preferable to give workers the chance to discuss their concerns and provide a solution. From frequent one-on-one meetings to ensuring all new processes and systems are evident in continuing discussions, it can all assist in ensuring staff is kept in the loop, and their concerns are not overlooked.

If you want help prioritising the health and wellbeing of your employees, we offer Fitpack as part of our services. Fitpack’s comprehensive approach includes nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness. Through Fitpack, you’ll get access to all the tools necessary to help your people achieve optimal health, mentally and physically. 

If you need HR support from a company that understands the needs of your business, contact us today. At Harwood HR we can support your business, help you to grow and promote your employees’ talents. Our UK-based team offers a range of HR support services and advice for SME businesses, including outsourced HR support.

The Decision To Make A Redundancy

Attempting to avoid mandatory redundancies demonstrates that your organisation has gone to great lengths to retain its staff employed. The following are some examples of techniques to avoid redundancies:

• Getting rid of any self-employed contractors or freelancers who work for your firm
• Looking for submissions from employees who want to work more flexibly.
• Restricting the company’s recruitment process
• limiting or prohibiting overtime work
• Working part-time (fewer than the typical number of hours per day/week) or temporary layoffs
• Using existing personnel to fill vacancies elsewhere in the company

If you’re giving someone alternative work, there are a few conditions that must be met in order for the offer to be valid

• The offer should be written and unconditional.
• It must happen before the employee’s present employment contract expires.
• It must demonstrate how the new position differs from the previous one.
• The employee must be approached with the suggestion; they should not be required to apply.
• Within four weeks of the old employment finishing, the new job must begin.

Employees who accept alternative work get a four-week trial period to evaluate if it’s right for them. They can still claim redundancy pay if you both agree it isn’t.

Notifying The Employees

You’ll need to perform redundancy consultations once the employees have been chosen. Employees may have a legal claim to oppose the redundancy with the employment tribunal on the grounds of unfair dismissal if these redundancy discussions are not held.

It is a legal duty for your organisation to fulfil the collective consultation regulations if it is laying off 20 or more employees within 90 days. It is not necessary to follow these criteria if your organisation makes fewer than 20 layoffs. However, consulting with your employees is a good idea since if the matter is contested and taken to an employment tribunal, the tribunal may rule against your company.

Redundancy Procedure

If you’ve exhausted all other options for avoiding redundancy and still believe it’s necessary, you’ll need to determine which employees will be made redundant.

When choosing which employees will be laid off, it’s critical that the cause for the layoff does not come within the unjust selection criterion. Pregnancy, fixed or part-time employees, or someone’s age or colour are all examples of unjust selection criteria.

You must guarantee that you pick employees fairly and without discrimination when making them redundant. The following are some of the fair selection criteria:

• Skills, qualifications, and natural abilities of an employee
• Performance standards and standards of work
• Attendance
• Record of disciplinary action

 The Redundancy Procedure Ends

During the redundancy process, you must give an employee notice and agree on a departure date once the redundancy consultations are completed

You must provide employees at least the statutory notice time when deciding on the departure date. The length of the notice period is determined by how long the employee has been with the organisation.

• You must give at least one week’s notice to someone who has been at the company for one week to two years.
• Anyone who has worked for the company for two to twelve years must give a week’s notice for each year worked.
• Finally, everyone who has worked for the organisation for more than 12 years is required to give at least 12 weeks’ notice.

You can, however, offer remuneration in place of notice to allow a member of staff to leave sooner than this date.

If you need HR support from a company that understands the needs of your business, contact us today. At Harwood HR we can support your business, help you to grow and promote your employees’ talents. Our UK-based team offers a range of HR support services and advice for SME businesses, including outsourced HR support.

Employee handbooks are a valuable guide that outline company policies and procedures and support the contract of employment. These policies should reflect the company’s values and culture.

The following is an employee handbook example template. If you require more information Harwood HR Solutions is your one-shop-stop for modern and intelligent HR services in the UK.

As an employer, there are numerous responsibilities. Some are required under UK employment law, and some are optional.

Introduction & Business Goals

An overview of the history of the company, its vision, mission and values; including a comprehensive outline of what your business hopes to achieve, including what you intend to accomplish, how you can get there and the roles of everyone involved. They should detail financial and production details, but how the entire company can work together in a fair, just, safe, moral and ethical environment for all. 

Probationary Period

An outline of how probationary periods are managed within the company.

Work Conditions and Hours

All employees have the right to work in safe and suitable conditions for an appropriate amount of time. Therefore, where employees work outside their regular hours, you could pay over time. However, this is not a legal requirement, although total pay for average hours must not fall below the national minimum wage.

Work Performance

Because you pay employees for their time and service, they are expected to perform that service to their best ability at all times, including time-keeping, reasonable health and hygiene and respect for others. As an employer, you have the right to terminate the contract of any employee who is in breach of contract pertaining to their performance while at work.

General Employment Policies, Procedures and Practices

Your company must adhere to specific laws and regulations and include a detailed explanation of rules, disciplinary proceedings, absence policies and compensation.

Anti-Discrimination Policy

Employers are required by law under the Equality Act of 2010 to protect the rights of all staff. This includes employers and employees. Therefore, you cannot discriminate based on race, sexual orientation, religion, gender, disabilities or age.

Anti-Harassment Policy

The Equality Act of 2010 also prohibits acts of harassment towards all employees either by the company, management or co-workers. Unlawful acts deemed as harassment include bullying, intimidation and offensive behaviour or language.

Disciplinary Policy

It may not always be appropriate to terminate a contract based on poor performance. Disciplinary action may be more suitable for minor infractions. Your disciplinary policy must clearly state what types of behaviour may lead to disciplinary action. It is important to include what steps are included in the process and action that may be taken. 

Grievance Policy

It is important to provide employees with a way to raise issues in regards to their working environment or working relationships. Your policy should clearly state how to raise a grievance and the ways in which this will be dealt with by the company. 

Health & Safety Policy

It will help if you communicate your company’s policies on any health & safety issues in addition to adherence with the Health & Safety at Work Act of 1974 and the Health & Safety at Work Regulations of 1999.

Employee Benefits Policy

Employee benefits are not required under UK law. However, should you wish to offer help, they should be clearly defined. Typical employee benefits include additional sick pay, death assistance payments, employee discounts, dental plans, eye care and gym passes.

Leave and time off

Under UK regulations, employees are entitled to up to 5.6 weeks of paid holidays. In addition, you might want to provide provision for additional time off. Some other types of leave are required by law, and others are not. You need to provide clear information as to how each of the types of leave is processed and include pay entitlements for these periods. Types of leave include:

• Annual Leave
• Sickness Absence
• Dentist / Doctor Appointments
• Bereavement & Compassionate Leave
• Family Friendly Leave – Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared parental leave, Ordinary parental Leave, Time off for dependants and The right to flexible working.

 

Business Policies and Procedures

Some policies relate directly to your company, that if broken, could compromise the integrity therein. Therefore, it is vital that anything that could expose your company to outside interference or reveal private data be expressly detailed and agreed upon. An example of the types of policies that may be necessary are below.

Communication Policies

Depending on your business, it may be necessary to control the flow of communicative information in and out of your company. Your communication policy should include public speaking, press releases and how to classify confidential information. Such information includes personal and private data, company procedures and records.

Non-Disclosure Policy

For highly sensitive information or to protect the company’s integrity, policies, employees and assets, you should consider non-disclosure agreements. An NDA is a legally binding agreement that prohibits signing parties from speaking or writing about specific information stated in the contract.

IT Policy

Almost every company relies on IT infrastructure. Infrastructure such as networked computers with connections to intranets and the internet. Cybersecurity is a significant issue today, and misuse of IT systems leaves a company open for intrusion. You should clearly define the IT policy based on the proper use of computers and networks. This includes using encrypted removable storage, email and downloading policies, password & username policies and GDPR/data usage.

Social Media Policy

A social media policy is used to govern the use of this media within the Company. It should clearly set out how social media is managed within the company and the roles and expectations of employees.

Where possible it is advisable that the company policies and handbook are non-contractual, therefore allowing you to make additions and changes to it as necessary.

If you need HR support from a company that understands the needs of your business, contact us today. At Harwood HR we can support your business, help you to grow and promote your employees’ talents. Our UK-based team offers a range of HR support services and advice for SME businesses, including outsourced HR support.

Useful Links

Equality Act of 2010

Health & Safety at Work 1974

Health & Safety at Work 1999

UK Holiday Entitlement

Non-Disclosure UK Law

As businesses gradually reopen and employees return to work, most business owners may be responsible for making changes to their employees’ contracts. Here is everything you need to know about employment contracts to make the process legal and practical.

What is an employment contract?

An employment contract is a legal relationship between the employer and the employee. It contains the terms of employment in writing, and both parties are bound legally to the terms. That’s why it’s crucial to check a person’s employment status before creating a contract. 

What must be written in an employment contract?

When writing employment contracts, they should contain a summary of the main terms of the employment, including information such as pay, working hours, responsibilities, etc.

Changing an employment contract

As an employer, you can make changes to your employee’s contract under specific circumstances. Such as:

• If the agreement contains a flexibility clause that allows you to make changes 
• If your employee agrees to those changes following the consultation
• If your employee’s representative also consents to the changes

However, an employer also can enforce a new contract, but this should always be a last resort after exhausting other options.

Termination of employment contract

An employer or employee can terminate an employment contract either through employee resignation or the employer dismissing the employee. 

However, any dismissal should be on fair and legal grounds without infringing on the employee’s rights. It should also come with prior notice and reasons, and the employer should be prepared to provide a job reference when needed and final pay. 

Zero-hours contract

You can use a zero-hours contract for jobs on an “as-and-when” basis or for working hours that aren’t constant. With this, you can also create a bit more work flexibility. With a zero-hours contract:

• You don’t need to give your employee any minimum working hours. 
• The employee is at liberty to also reject any work offered.

Agency workers

If you’re an employee working through an agency, then your employment contract lies with the agency. That means your hiring agency has the responsibility to direct your work. Your agency should also provide you with details about the type of contract you will receive, how much pay is due to you, as well as the terms and conditions surrounding your agreement. 

An employment agency goes by other names, including a recruitment agency, a staffing company, a temporary work agency, and an employment business. 

Non-disclosure agreements

An employer can prevent an employee from sharing company-related information through a Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA). An NDA is sometimes referred to as a confidentiality clause and could come as part of the employee’s contract or in a separate stand-alone document. 

However, an NDA cannot stop an employer from reporting a crime to the police or whistleblowing. 

 

If you need further help with writing employment contracts, get in touch with our professional team. At Harwood HR Solutions, we will write tailor-made business employment contracts for your staff.

 

If you need HR support from a company that understands the needs of your business, contact us today. At Harwood HR we can support your business, help you to grow and promote your employees’ talents. Our UK-based team offers a range of HR support services and advice for SME businesses, including outsourced HR support.

Terminate a Probationary Employee

In most cases, when companies hire a new employee, the employee is subject to a probationary period of 1-6 months. This period is to help both the employee and employer ensure that they’re a good match for each other. 

The employer gets to assess the employee’s performance and fit for the company, while the employee puts in the effort required to help them decide if they’re happy with the job. This period also gives the lacking employee the chance to improve their performance in their assigned job role. 

Unfortunately, some employees are unable to cut it during this period. Most of the time, their inability to perform is usually because the employee lacks the requisite skill set that would have kept them in that role. But there are also other reasons such as tardiness or a lack of punctuality, inability to embrace the company culture, gross misconduct, prolonged absence at work, and other disagreeable tendencies. 

Managers should address any concerns that come to light as soon as practicable (depending on the severity of the concerns), this should be done via a Mid-Probation Review Meeting. This allows the employee the opportunity to change/improve.

When there are no improvements, or there has been a case of gross misconduct and you decide to terminate employment, it’s important that you give them a week’s notice (unless a different period is stipulated in the contract).

During the probation period, dismissal should follow the proper procedure to avoid automatic unfair dismissal claims. It’s crucial to consider protected characteristics and conduct probationary review meetings to address poor performance in line with employment law. Ensuring the employee’s contract is respected, inviting them with the statutory minimum notice period, and avoiding unlawful discrimination are key aspects to handle such situations effectively.

As an employer, if you’re worried about a possible “unfair dismissal claim” from the employee, don’t. Unless the employee has been on probation for over 2 years (not likely or recommended), then employees are unable to file an unfair dismissal case due to their length of service. In order to dismiss the employee, you should complete the following:

• Gather relevant information

Start by collecting information and data from managers and supervisors that the employee has worked/is working with. More specifically, see if there are exact dates and times when the employee breached one or more of their probationary terms or evidence of where the employee has not performed to required standards. It is important to have this information so that you can clearly explain these issues to the employee.

• Invite the employee to a probation review meeting

After taking the first two steps, it’s time to meet with the employee. Write to the employee to invite them to a face-to-face meeting (or a zoom meeting if they’re a remote employee and can’t come into the office). The meeting should be arranged just before the date at which the probation is due to end rather than after. 

Also mention in the mail or letter, that a potential outcome of this meeting may be dismissal from the company because they have not met the required standards of performance or whatever your reasons are. Inform them that they have the right to be accompanied at the meeting with a representative. This could be a union rep or a work colleague.

• Conduct the probation review meeting

At the meeting, discuss the employees’ performance to date; confirm where they have failed to meet the required standards and allow them to respond. 

• Make a decision

Sometimes, people have a solid reason for breaching the terms of the contract i.e. if the employee was pregnant or unavoidably ill and so be prepared to take into account any mitigating circumstances. Based on their response, decide if you can perhaps, extend the probation period as opposed to dismissal.  If, however, you decide not to continue with employment, confirm this to them and issue them with a letter which summarises your decision and reasons for this. (You do not need to give the employee the right to appeal).

• Termination letter

This letter will contain three parts. The first is that the employee didn’t meet company expectations or standards during the probation period, and is, therefore, to be dismissed. Second, specifically mention the reasons for termination. Thirdly, clearly state when they’re expected return all company property in their possession, as well as, and when all outstanding payments that they’re being owed will be paid. 

 

Admittedly, this can be difficult. So, if you need a pro to handle this, contact us today, we are happy to help. 

If you need HR support from a company that understands the needs of your business, contact us today. At Harwood HR we can support your business, help you to grow and promote your employees’ talents. Our UK-based team offers a range of HR support services and advice for SME businesses, including outsourced HR support.

 

If you are running a business, you will need to ensure that you efficiently manage your employees.  Your employees can be the important factor that sets you apart from your competition or the factor that lets your business down and generates a bad reputation.  They can be super self-efficient and never cause you an issue or they can suck up your time with managing problems and negativity.  Ultimately most business owners would avoid employing people if they didn’t have to however the reality is, if you want to expand and develop your business, they are critical. 

How your employees perform can be down to several factors.  Obviously if you are a great boss this helps however if you are too lenient it can be counterproductive.  If you are too hard, ditto.  However, being a great boss is just one factor.

Great Human Resources support can join the dots and help to maintain a healthy balance and here are some examples as to how it can be achieved.

Effective and relevant policies and procedures.

Often overlooked, policies and procedures that are specific and highly relevant to the organisation are essential to ensure that the foundations are in place for a productive employer / employee relationship.  Template docs may be ok in some instances however for most business this is a mistake and quite often don’t provide the base explicit terms that are really required.

Recruitment

Ensuring you have recruited the right person is a bit of a lottery and to a degree always will be however there are ways to reduce the risk and improve your selection so that you don’t take on a potential internal “terrorist” or somebody who is unqualified for the job.  Increasing your chances of success saves you considerable time, money and stress!

Managing Performance

Proactively managing performance means that you get on the front foot to ensure that your employees are performing to a required standard.  It should be a corrective process and not punitive.  Nobody wants to dismiss an individual as this means that again time and money are wasted as well as the potential for poor customer experiences etc…. A good HR team will keep ahead of the game and ensure that disciplinaries are a last resort.  This approach also ensures that employees are less likely to fall into bad habits.

Dismissing employees

Despite all efforts sometimes employees place themselves in unsolvable situations.  When dismissing an employee it is critical to ensure that the correct process has been followed.  This can be a minefield and a basic error in not following a statutory or contractual process can result in the Company paying compensation even if the reason for dismissal was fair.  Not dismissing problem employees can also start to effective your star performers! “why should I bother if the Company can’t be bothered to manage that guy?”

Training and Development

It is essential that you continue to train and develop your employees.  This is not only important in order to retain your top employees, it is also critical for ensuring the company stays up to date and relevant to its customers and future employees.  

Data Management

HR data is covered by GDPR regulation, and it is imperative that this is fully understood and complied with.

Pay and Benefits

Paying appropriate salaries and having effective compensation plans can transform a Company’s performance.  Quite often, if designed and implemented correctly they are self-funding and only ever result in improved business performance.  Applied poorly and you can destroy your profit margins!  

How Does HR Support Employees?

In terms of being there as a support for the employees themselves, HR achieve this in a number of valuable ways, including:

• Providing and encouraging career growth.
• Offering the right education, where and when necessary.
• Training managers and supporting them in what they do.
• Supporting the health and wellness of all employees.
• Helping to support and build the culture and values of the organisation, for the benefit of the employees.

See our video for more information on what HR can help with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogigvJ86ALI

 

If you need HR support from a company that understands the needs of your business, contact us today. At Harwood HR we can support your business, help you to grow and promote your employees’ talents. Our UK-based team offers a range of HR support services and advice for SME businesses, including outsourced HR support.

 

Firing an employee is a stressful process for both the employer and employee. For the employer, contrary to popular belief, it is not the desired outcome as the Company would prefer to have a performing and committed employee.  It is expensive and time consuming to recruit and train a new employee therefore sacking them is a last resort!  For the employee, it clearly isn’t their ideal outcome either.

For this reason, many employers tend to sack individuals too late.  As a result, they have been allowed to create significant damage to the business, unsettle other employees and have potentially been lulled into a false sense of security of believing that they are un-sackable.

Conversely Companies that have had a bad experience can sometimes sack too quickly as they are nervous that an individual has shown a sign that they could be just like that other guy they had to dismiss!

What does sacking mean?

The legal word for a sacking is a dismissal. A dismissal is when your employer terminates your employment; this can happen for various, fair, reasons. An unfair dismissal, on the other hand, is being sacked without a valid reason. A constructive dismissal is where your employer might have given you no option other than to resign, forcing you to leave work unjustly. Failure to follow the correct dismissal procedure can also be classified as an unfair dismissal.

Reasons that can lead to a dismissal

There are various fair reasons to sack an employee, for example:

• Capability or Performance (ill health or poor performance).
• Conduct / Misconduct
• Redundancy.
• Breach of a statutory restriction
• Some other substantial reason

Unfair dismissal is when your employer breaches your contract and dismisses you. It can be either automatically unfair or wrongful. An automatically unfair dismissal can be due to:

• Maternity leave
• Membership with a particular trade union
• Whistleblowing
• Discrimination

 

Probationary dismissal

During your probation period (length will be detailed in the employment contract), you can be dismissed for poor work performance, bad conduct or and other reason as long as is not discriminatory.  Within the probation period there is no requirement to follow a procedure to dismiss, provide a warning or even provide notice however it is good practice to do so.

Written warnings

Employees who are outside of their probation period are entitled to be given a reasonable amount of time to correct any performance issues and are also given a fair opportunity to explain why their performance is below par and to request reasonable support to improve.  For that reason, once the probation period has passed, companies must follow a process for managing poor performance and issue levels of warnings prior dismissing an employee.  A Company can move straight to dismissal, following a thorough investigation and subsequent disciplinary hearing, when an employee has been found guilty of an act of gross misconduct.

Under 2 years’ service?

If the employee has less than 2 years service they cannot pursue an unfair dismissal claim at an employment tribunal.  They can however raise a claim if it can be suggested that the dismissal was for a reason that is discriminatory, for whistleblowing or for being a member of a trade union.  A claim for wrongful dismissal can also be raised.

Considerations

In summary, you cannot just sack someone.  You need to have grounds for dismissal that are fair.  It is far safer for a company to dismiss within a probation period as long as it is for genuine performance or conduct concerns.  With under two years’ service an employee has less rights to raise a claim however a company must ensure that the dismissal is for fair reasons and it is best advised that a formal process is followed.  For all dismissals, companies are best advised to seek professional advice and guidance.  In a lot of cases companies have been found guilty of not following appropriate process rather than the reasons for dismissal being unfair.

 

If you need HR support from a company that understands the needs of your business, contact us today. At Harwood HR we can support your business, help you to grow and promote your employees’ talents. Our UK-based team offers a range of HR support services and advice for SME businesses, including outsourced HR support.

 

All businesses irrespective of size have to deal with a range of employee issues.  As a business owner, you cannot be great at everything and for that reason it is sensible to outsource areas of your business to qualified professionals.   Businesses already accept that outsourcing their bookkeeping / accounts and payroll is a sensible decision and, in many businesses, marketing also makes sense, so why not HR?

Many business owners will say that they have never had an issue, or my employees are like friends and that may be true however, you are extremely lucky if you navigate your way through without an issue biting you on the backside!  When that happens, you wished that you had put in place relevant contracts, policies, procedures and you had, over a period of time, created a culture of respecting and following those policies and procedures.  If you wait for the issue to occur it is often too late.  If you proactively work towards a professional working environment (even if they are your friends or family members) then the large majority of issues are prevented.

It is the proactive prevention of employee issues that makes good HR support.  In many ways great HR support goes totally unrecognised as it appears that “you never have an issue” whereas in truth there are a whole load of proactive discussions (formal and informal) and carefully composed letters and emails that have occurred to ensure that the issue did not escalate.  Less competent HR support acts merely as a firefighter, continually addressing issues that have blown up and preparing responses to tribunal claims.  As a business owner if you only interact with HR support when it goes wrong then you are merely putting a band aid on a wound that requires stitches!

In small to medium size businesses your budget may not allow you to recruit a fully functioning HR team or even a HR professional with enough breadth of experience to fully support the business.   Specialist areas such as employee relations, performance management, managing employee sickness and complicated welfare issues are difficult to resolve without the expertise and knowledge to do so.  In many cases, even less complicated issues that have been allowed to escalate can result in the Company finding themselves having to refer cases externally to lawyers and this incurs high advice costs and if left to this stage almost certainly incurs costs to resolve the situation with the employee. 

Outsourced HR support offers a number of advantages over introducing an in-house function or directly employing a single HR head.

• Managing Litigation Risk: HR support will ensure that your backside is covered when it comes to compliance.  Whether you like it or not, the law dictates that you provide written employment terms and at least follow best practice statutory guidelines.  If you don’t do this then you will automatically lose any employment claim that is brought against your company.  You cannot be the expert in everything!  HR professionals never profess to be a great plumber / accountant or marketeer! 
• Makes you and your business more efficient: As a business owner it is common to end up dealing with people problems rather than working on developing and improving your business.  Good proactive HR can free you up from a whole load of negative issues to allow you to do what you are good at.  Good level support also makes you look like a highly effective leader of people and improves your reputation as an employer and overall company!
• Employee development: A professional working environment creates a culture where employees thrive and go the extra mile.  Can you imagine a business full of people that almost care as much as you do!
• Cost savings: Ultimately outsourcing HR is way less expensive than employing a qualified HR professional and will also save you significant amounts of money through early resolution of issues, reducing legal fees when it goes wrong, reducing staff turnover, recruitment costs etc….

There are different ways to approach outsourced HR support.

There are hundreds of providers out there and getting the correct one for you is critical.   We have produced a guide to buying outsourced HR Support that you can access here https://online.fliphtml5.com/ywlrr/isfq/

To summarise, some of the larger providers such as Croner, Peninsula Citation will provide a cost-effective service that provides you with access to a handy portal and template documents.  A helpline is available should you need it.   Our advice is that this solution can work well if you have an individual who is competent with HR matters in your business as they can utilise the tools and may know how to adapt template letters and analyse and use the generic advice given on the portal or from the contact centre operative.  

There are also a number of lone working HR consultants.  They can often provide a very personal service however they can sometimes lack the range of experience and expertise to be able to fully advise on all matters.  Being a single point, they sometimes also have problems offering support 365 days of the year (if required) or being flexible enough to attend site should that be required.

At Harwood HR Solutions we adapt our outsourcing model to suit your specific requirements and charge you no more than you would pay for a typical generic template-based model!   You will get a dedicated senior level HR professional who has legal support.  Our wider team is also available for specific projects and challenges ensuring consistent availability and a highly personalised service. Our support is made available to you by telephone, email, text and even in person on-site should you need us there. 

View this blog being discussed here https://youtu.be/cef2PsoDRoI

 

If you need HR support from a company that understands the needs of your business, contact us today. At Harwood HR we can support your business, help you to grow and promote your employees’ talents. Our UK-based team offers a range of HR support services and advice for SME businesses, including outsourced HR support.

 

Hello, let’s talk menopause. Not something that I’m overly comfortable talking about as a man which is half the problem!

A lot of women aren’t happy talking about it either however i’m going to talk about it.  Davina McCall recently brought out a program on Channel 4, if you haven’t watched it watch it.   If you’re a man and haven’t watched it, definitely watch it!  If you’re a man in a senior position or in an influential position in business, then definitely watch it as it’s a huge education!

I’m not ashamed to admit it, I’ve been very naive and probably dismissive of the menopause.  This is partly due to the subject matter not being a comfortable topic of conversation, however this isn’t good enough and I need to be comfortable with it and so do all business leaders.

In today’s business world we run a whole range of initiatives to  encourage diversity, to understanding different beliefs and cultures etc..  And why do we do that?  Well, because we want a more diverse workforce, which then makes it a more motivated workforce and more productive workforce, so that we actually become a more productive business and ultimately make more money!

The menopause is exactly the same sort of historical subject that we have been afraid to address but it is impacting women and ultimately our businesses every day.  If we ignore it and believe it is not happening,

then that’s just ridiculous, because 51% of the UK population of women and all women go through it and more often than not, women go through it on their own and without support or any consideration or from their employers, colleagues but also sometimes at home.

So, for all those guys that were naive about menopause before.  Like me, here are a few facts,

• The menopause is caused by changes in hormone levels that take place when women get older.
• Symptoms include hot flushes, mood changes, memory problems, fatigue/insomnia, brain fog, depression and anxiety!
• The length of time it takes for women to go through the menopause varies between individuals, however, staggeringly the average is four years!
• To help with symptoms treatment is available if you want it. The key is identifying, you are going through the menopause, and then asking for that, that support which again, if you watch the Davina’s program, it’s not straightforward.  However, it’s there if it’s required.
• Healthy eating, regular exercise, along with simple behavioural changes can help with some of the symptoms. How often do we talk about that type of behaviour helping people, especially with mental health and well-being challenges?
• Talking helps, talking to friends, family and professionals helps people to get through. Just having people that can understand and show empathy and have some support is incredibly important.  But also, so is having a very understanding considerate workplace, that acknowledges the situation, has policies, and procedures in place and is supportive is absolutely critical.  As we sit here today, that simply isn’t the case in most businesses.

So, as business owners, we need to wake up smell the coffee and realise that this is a fact of life.  It happens to all women including your daughters, your wife, sister etc… and I am sure that you would expect the right support for them.   So let’s make changes and support, women who are going through the menopause.

Also, although the menopause is not considered a disability under the Equality Act it is important to remember that it can lead to the development of other issues that are (such as depression etc).

Therefore, this is a reminder that companies have a duty to make reasonable adjustments and may be at risk if they do not support women going through this – adjustments are wide ranging so talk to Harwood HR for support, Policies and guides for helping your business!

Thank you for listening again and let’s wake up and make a difference! Thank you, Davina, and make sure you watch the channel 4 documentary, It’s very insightful!

See our video for more information on the menopause https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7al1py3-2g&t=43s