Employment tribunals are intentionally easy to access, so there is little businesses can do if an employee becomes convinced that it is their only option. These tribunals cost businesses an average of £8,500 per claim and also damage their reputation. However, there is much your business can do to manage risk and avoid situations getting to the point of needing a tribunal.
An employment training tribunal can enormously help you and your team to manage risk and avoid costly and time-consuming tribunals. They are particularly useful for small businesses without a dedicated human resources team.
Understand the Greatest Sources of Employee Risk
Far too many businesses are stabbing in the dark when dealing with issues that could turn into tribunals. The first step is to understand your biggest sources of employee risk.
One example is certain stages of an employee’s time with your business when they are most likely to become disgruntled. The clearest time when this could happen is if you have to dismiss a staff member due to redundancy or misconduct. Make sure that you have clear, consistent, and fair procedures in place for when such actions need to be taken.
It is also worth considering which staff members are at the highest risk of being mistreated within your business, such as if they may be discriminated against. This occurs when an individual is treated differently because of one of nine protected characteristics, such as sex, race, or sexual orientation. Make sure that all staff have adequate training and sensitivity towards discrimination.
Consider your Employee’s Emotions
Having the correct procedures in place for moments of heightened employee risk is a fantastic way to limit any liabilities. However, it is important to remember that you, your management staff, and your employees are all humans with emotional needs. Reduce the likelihood of disputes by ensuring employees don’t feel like cogs in a machine.
Ensuring that your employees feel heard, respected, and treated fairly is essential during moments of high risk, such as when you are taking disciplinary measures or if you are dismissing employees.
If you are making someone redundant, make sure they understand it is not about their workplace performance and that you will support them in their future endeavours. Internal measures, such as positive messaging to mark their departure or a leaving lunch, are also a good touch to soften the blow. A generous redundancy package is also likely to help employees move on to the next opportunity with minimal disruption in their lives.
A sense of fairness is also essential when you are dealing with disputes. It is essential to demonstrate that you aren’t jumping to conclusions or giving particular staff members preferential treatment. That is particularly important if senior, managerial, or popular employees are involved.
Be Proactive
The easiest time to solve disputes in your workplace is as soon as they emerge. Don’t dismiss employees’ complaints when they emerge, but move quickly so that they don’t escalate. This both prevents a tribunal and ensures your talented staff members don’t reach a point where they feel they have to leave your business.
A great way to be proactive is to have clearly defined procedures. That stops your management team from wasting time establishing the way that the complaint should be dealt with. You should also foster an environment where staff members feel comfortable raising complaints, rather than hiding them while resentment builds.
Consider External HR Support
Small businesses are vulnerable to employment tribunals because they usually don’t have a dedicated human resources team. Your managerial staff, who will already be busy with the job that they signed up to do, may see HR responsibilities as an unwelcome distraction. That makes employee disputes and tribunals far more likely.
It may be most cost-effective to work with an external HR provider. These teams handle your contracts, redundancy and disciplinary processes, and more. They can also ensure that your procedures are up to date with the latest legislation, and study tribunal trends to understand where your business faces its greatest risks.
These services don’t come cheap. But, you only need to avoid a few tribunals for external HR services to pay for themselves.
Stay Prepared for Tribunals
It is impossible to totally avoid employment tribunals even if you are aware of the risks, have properly trained managerial staff, and make use of external HR advisers. As a result, it’s essential that you are always prepared to face tribunals so that your business can have the best results possible.
The most important thing is to ensure that everything is properly documented, particularly when you have to deal with disputes. Ensure that actions taken by your business and its managers are thoroughly recorded, along with the reasoning behind them. If you have any mediation processes or meetings with the disgruntled employee, these will need to be minuted. Meanwhile, any correspondence you have with them should be retained.
Use this paper trail to ensure the evidence that you present at the tribunal doesn’t have any gaps. Points in the tribunal where it is your word against your employee can only harm your business and its reputation.
How Can Immigration Advice Service Help?
If you want to keep HR responsibilities in-house, a cheaper alternative could be to make sure that your management staff is properly trained. Confident, compassionate, and knowledgeable managers can prevent disputes from occurring or stop them from escalating to a tribunal.
Immigration Advice Service offers a comprehensive training course for your managerial staff. Participants learn about the legal and practical risks your business faces from its employees. We will teach your staff to identify these risks as they emerge and manage them appropriately. Our trainers have already helped many businesses like yours, and 92% have reported that the course is useful and beneficial.
Immigration Advice Service is also a leading immigration law firm. Our team can help your business sponsor foreign workers, so your team can open up to the international talent pool.
