Fair Dismissal Can Prevent Tribunal Troubles

Did you know that since the fees for tribunals were waived in July 2017, there has been a 90% increase in employment tribunal claims?

To protect yourself from risk of being taken to court for unfair dismissal, it’s important to know the difference between ‘fair’ and ‘unfair’ dismissal, as well as ‘wrongful’ and ‘constructive’ dismissal.

Do you know the differences? What about the relevant laws, and codes of practice? If you’re unsure of any of these and don’t want to risk paying thousands of pounds in compensation to employees taking you to tribunal, this blog will help.

What is Fair?

When you need to carry out a dismissal, it’s important to ensure that it’s fair on the employee not only for them, but also for the reputation and integrity of your organisation.

One of the first things you, as an employer, must understand is the differences between ‘fair’ and ‘unfair’ dismissals. ‘Unfair’ dismissal is usually where an employee was dismissed, for example, because of pregnancy; a family situation such as time off for dependents; or in contravention of the Working Times Regulations. These are just three examples of many that could end with you in a tribunal court if they weren’t handled correctly.

For a dismissal to be deemed ‘fair’ as stated under Section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, it would need to be carried out for one of these five reasons:

  1. Capability or performance
  2. Conduct
  3. Redundancy
  4. Contravention of a statutory duty or restriction
  5. “Some other substantial reason of a kind such as to justify the dismissal of an employee holding a position which the employee held.” (This is a direct quote from the Employment Rights Act 1996.)

Let’s delve into each point a little further:

  1. Capability or performance

An employee can be dismissed if:

  • They do not have the capabilities to do the job duties they were employed for
  • They have the capabilities, but are unwilling to do the job properly

However, you should still have a process of looking further into each point to find out more about their situation, especially as poor performance could be down to health issues, or because of stress. Read more about that here.

  1. Conduct

When there’s clear evidence of misconduct, such as persistent lateness or unauthorised absence from work, action should be taken to try to understand why the misconduct is happening, and to give your staff member a chance to improve. For more information on this, read my blog on Managing Capability and Conduct Issues Effectively to Avoid Dismissal.

If gross misconduct is evident, this must also be handled carefully and within the legal parameters of employment law. For more on this, click here.

  1. Redundancy

Making people redundant is always difficult, but may be necessary if the business is changing in some way, moving location, or even closing down. To genuinely make someone redundant, you must demonstrate that the employee’s job will no longer exist. Of course, the employee has certain rights throughout the redundancy process, such as needing time off to look for a new job, and they may be entitled to redundancy pay. Read more on this subject here.

  1. Contravention of a statutory duty or restriction

One example of this is of employees not having the right to work in the UK anymore, or not having proof of their immigration status. Other examples can include undertaking Trade Union duties, or not providing relevant work evidence to support their employment.

  1. Some other substantial reason

If none of the above four reasons for dismissal apply, then the phrase “some other substantial reason of a kind such as to justify the dismissal of an employee holding a position which the employee held” becomes admissible. Examples include:

  • Non-renewal of the fixed-term contract of an employee recruited as maternity leave cover
  • Dismissal and re-engagement of an employee to impose new contractual terms and conditions that the employee has refused to agree
  • A personality clash between employees makes working together impossible
  • Where there are concerns relating to the safeguarding of children or vulnerable adults, but there are no grounds for a misconduct dismissal

I have covered this last point in more detail in other blogs that you can read here.

Even where a dismissal is potentially fair for “some other substantial reason”, it’s important that you follow a fair procedure and act reasonably in dismissing the employee, taking into account all the circumstances.

Being such a minefield, it’s important to get expert help when you need to dismiss someone to reduce the risk of being taken to court.

Before you dismiss any member of staff, for whatever reason, it is best to seek professional HR advice. You can call me on 0118 940 3032 for a confidential chat or click here to email me.

Helping Employees in the Lead Up to their Retirement

The thought of retirement for the employee can be mixed – a relief, exciting, or even tainted with a dread of the unknown. Especially if they haven’t made any firm retirement plans. Alternatively, they may be planning to work until they’re 70, as recent research undertaken by the CIPD shows that many people feel this will help them to remain mentally fit.

Whatever the employee’s feelings about retirement, as an employer you need to be as supportive as possible on the lead up to retirement. You also need to be careful about how you approach people who you feel may be nearing retirement age. It could be that your employees don’t want to retire yet, and you may be accused of age discrimination.

Due to a change in the law introduced on 6 April 2011, employers can no longer compel employees to retire at a specified age, unless the requirement to retire is justified objectively – for instance, if your organisation relies on a certain level of fitness to perform their job functions effectively, such as within the construction industry. This change in legislation means that employees can choose to retire when they want.

The law now means that you cannot use retirement as an excuse to dismiss employees who might be experiencing difficulties with their work, for whatever reason. Instead, all employees of all ages should be treated fairly and equally when appraising past performance, or when providing training and development opportunities. Doing this regularly will help to prevent capability issues from arising.

Treating older employees differently from younger employees could amount to age discrimination, which could, unless justified, be unlawful. For example, if you disregard inadequate performance on the part of a 65-year-old employee on the assumption that he or she will be retiring soon, but deliver heavy criticism to a 25-year-old employee whose performance is similarly inadequate, the difference in treatment would amount to age discrimination.

Similarly, if the employee indicates during an appraisal interview that he or she is considering retiring soon, take care not to discriminate against him or her. Instead, you could begin to make future plans if the employee does decide to retire.

Dos and don’ts

  • Do continue to treat the employee in the same way as you would treat other employees, for example in the provision of training opportunities.
  • Do adjust the employee’s performance expectations proportionately if they indicate that they would like to work reduced hours in the run-up to retirement, and if you can accommodate this.
  • Do discuss with the employee how they could pass on their knowledge and skills to other staff in the run-up to retirement.
  • Do discuss succession issues with the employee, for example how they might be involved in training a replacement for the job.
  • Do reassure the employee that they can change their mind about retirement if they wish.
  • Don’t say or do anything that might amount to age discrimination against the employee.
  • Don’t assume that, if the employee indicates that they plan to retire at a particular time, they will do so. Until the employee actually hands in his or her notice, communication of an intention to retire is not binding on the employee. You could, however, remind the employee of the requirement to give notice under the employment contract, and the length of the notice period.

By being mindful of both your legal requirements and your employees’ needs, and acting accordingly, means that your business is not only helping your employee during this often difficult transition in their lives, but you are also protecting, or even improving, your organisation’s reputation as a good employer.

For any further advice on how to help your employees retire well with the least disruption to your business, do call me on 0118 940 3032 or click here to email me.

Dealing with Disciplinary and Capability Issues

It is a mistake to think that performance problems, whether they be capability or disciplinary in nature, will simply go away or sort themselves out.  

Issues such as sickness absence, poor attitudes/behavior, failure to meet objectives and poor general standards of work must be dealt with appropriately and effectively as soon as they occur. 

In most instances and informal chat may be enough to solve the problem but if not then you have laid the groundwork for the formal disciplinary process to begin. 

 What to consider when planning your approach:

  • Do you want to conduct an initial informal chat or start with a more formal meeting? Is the employee entitled to be accompanied by a representative at the meeting?
  • What is an appropriate review/warning period?
  • If dismissal is a possible end result, are there any alternative work options available to the employee?
  • What acts of poor performance are serious enough to instigate a dismissal procedure?
  • If the issue involves bad attitude/behaviour ? is this a capability or conduct issue? What are the differences in approach to handling these issues?
  • What are the legal requirements of a disciplinary procedure?  Informal and formal meetings, formal and informal warnings, right to respond, opportunities to improve etc. 

On Thursday 21st June we will be holding a workshop covering the practical aspects of carrying out a capability or disciplinary procedure.  We’ll look at what the differences are between capability and disciplinary and how you can handle them with confidence and success. 

The workshop will be held at the Hennerton Golf Club from 9.30am to 12.30pm.  Please contact Sue for further details or to book your place.