Breakfast Forum newsletter – January 2009

The changes to the Statutory Dispute Procedures was the topic explored at our last Breakfast Forum on 23 January. The procedures in place since 2004 are due to be abolished in April 2009. They are one of the most challenging areas facing employers and require meticulous attention to the regulations. Acas has drafted a new statutory Code of Practice and Guide, which we have attached for your information.

Discrimination will be the topic discussed at the next Breakfast Forum on Friday 13 February.

Those of you who attended our January Forum heard of the main changes due to take place. We stressed that although the statutory process is going, employers still need to follow procedures that comply with the new Acas code.

If an employee complains about his or her job, employers should treat it as a grievance until the matter is resolved. Failure to recognise a grievance for what it is can amount to constructive unfair dismissal. The safe rule is if it looks like a complaint, do not ignore it and treat it as a grievance. We also pointed out that whereas the statutory grievance procedure disadvantaged the employee, the new one may well disadvantage the employer.

Forum delegates asked questions on mediation, which is strongly recommended in the Acas guide. A grievance can be little more than a problem with management style, which could be solved with mediation. Few independent mediation services exist, although Acas can advise, as can occupational health experts and occupational psychologists.

Geoff Topliss was the guest speaker at the Forum, to illustrate what happens when a case does go to tribunal. We represented Mr Topliss in his case against his employer, NCP Services Ltd, after he was sacked for whistle blowing. He was awarded compensation of £162,042. This award included a 20% increase because of his employers’ failure to follow procedures. A key to a successful tribunal is careful preparation and Mr Topliss had been very organised and methodical. The short and full judgements in this case can be seen here.

We explained the importance of managing the expectations of complainants. Tribunals can in most cases only compensate for someone’s lost earnings. Awards are not intended to punish employers, so the conduct of the employer has no bearing on the level of award, provided proper process has been followed.

For the future Our aim is to explore hot topics in employment law and HR management, over a relaxed breakfast at the Rose and Crown pub in Elham. The number of members attending each Forum is limited to about 12, to enable everyone to take an active part in the discussions. Recent participants have come from a range of local industries including manufacturing software providers, the care services, business training, accountancy, further education, clinical and occupational psychologists and international transport.

If you are interested in attending the next forum on 13 February, please contact anne@employment-relations.co.uk, tel: 01303 840001.

Training

As management science grows ever more sophisticated training has become inextricably entwined with performance management and undertaken largely by line managers with a subsequent reduction in external training. It does not matter if your employment polices are state of the art, if training is not given to staff at the appropriate levels in their use and implementation. As the case of Corus Hotels PLC v Woodward and Rushton shows, employers can face discrimination claims from prospective employees who consider the interview process has been unfair. It is not sufficient to have an impeccable equal opportunities policy if all staff from telephone and reception staff to the very senior managers are not made aware of equality issues. You must ensure that everyone involved in the recruitment process, not just those directly involved in HR, fully understand the implications of the Discrimination legislation. In fact this applies to most aspects of personnel management see Discrimination

We can provide training packages for companies’ HR departments or management. The training will usually be accompanied by a Power Point presentation and course material, together with case studies and practical exercises. Numbers can be as few as 5 or as many as 20. Training can be designed to deal with specific shortcomings identified in our audit process as well as areas that may be of particular concern to the company management. In the past we have provided clients with tailor made training packages on such topics as: Training days can be combined with a golf challenge at nearby Etchinghill golf club


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