How to avoid being taken to an Employment Tribunal

 

Employment law can appear complex and tends to make managers nervous but according to HR expert Sue Ingram at Converse Well (www.conversewell.com) and author of 'FIRE WELL' - it's actually, at its core, simple, straightforward and based on common sense.
 
When Employment Tribunals were first introduced the idea was that lawyers would not be needed.  Unfortunately, one side hired a lawyer then the other and now few companies attend without legal representation.  Consequently, the costs in both time and money can be very heavy.  It is therefore best to do what you can to avoid having a case appear before a Tribunal.
 
Here are the three simple, common-sense criteria Ingram says you need to understand, as they are what an Employment Tribunal would assess a case on:
 
1)      Were Procedures Followed?  
 
Did the employer act in line with their own policies or procedures or, if they did not have any procedures in place, did they act in line with the guidelines set out by Acas (www.acas.gov.uk)? 
 
A manager can be correct to dismiss an employee but if they did so ignoring their own company's policies then an award will be made to the individual. 
 
Know your own procedures or visit the Acas site.  If confused by what you read then challenge and ask until you fully understand. 
 
2)      Did the organisation behave reasonably?
 
This is a hard one to prove or disprove.  After all what one person would consider to be a reasonable action another might not.
 
Again you can be right to dismiss but do so in an unreasonable manner and an award will be made to the employee.  Therefore, it is important to calmly consider each action you take throughout any formal process.  As the manager of what can often be an emotionally charged situation it is extremely beneficial to discuss the case with objective professional advisors who are experienced in such situations.  Always check with yourself, 'Would someone outside looking in consider this action to be reasonable?'  If you find yourself hurriedly justifying the action using the word 'but' think again. 
 
3)      Balance of Probability
 
As an Employment Tribunal is not a court of law there is no requirement to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt.  After all the only risk is a limited sum of money, not a criminal record or imprisonment.  So all an organisation is required to prove is that the individual was culpable on the balance of probability and they are then free to dismiss; remembering that it would be reasonable to conduct an objective investigation before taking such action.  It might be of value to include this fact in your written polices as some employees are acting under the misapprehension that evidence beyond reasonable doubt needs to be supplied. 
 
 As always, the best advice of all is to be a strong, clear and communicative manager.  Train, gain a mentor, learn about the art of managing people and thereby avoid ever having to stand in front of an Employment Tribunal.