Learn more about the people profession its wide-ranging roles and expertise, the standards we uphold, and the impact our profession makes. Organisations may use employee voice tools such as surveys and collective bargaining. As well as giving the employee copies of witness statements before the meeting, there should be an opportunity for both parties to call witnesses in person. c) Assess a range of employee voice tools and approaches to drive employee engagement. Following the involvement of the HR department in a disciplinary procedure that would have resulted in a final written warning, the outcome of that procedure changed to dismissal for gross misconduct. The employees disciplinary record (including current warnings). However, employee grievance is caused when there is a gap between what the . Still stuck? The legal position varies depending upon whether the recording is open or secret. The regime is intended to simply reflect reasonable behaviour. The EAT confirmed that once a warning has expired, the slate should normally be wiped clean, but employers may rely on expired warnings in the right circumstances. Kay v Cheadle Royal Healthcare Ltd t/a Affinity Healthcare (2012). Any decisions to suspend or dismiss must be taken by that specified manager. , an employer relied on an expired warning when deciding to dismiss. A study conducted by (Baillien et al., 2018) highlighted that occurrences of manager-instigated workplace bullying tend to rise during times of organisational transformation. Organisations that cannot swiftly construct a picture of how they need to adaptand then take proactive actionare likely to lag as the business landscape evolves. Every employee is encouraged to contribute by coming up with suggestions based on real-life occurrences that could jeopardise computer security. It is advisable to be direct with employees when dealing with a grievance or disciplinary matter (Bai et al., 2019). is whether internal processes encompass a mediation stage. You are the HR manager for Makite Solutions, a small-medium sized logistics company which distributes products nationally. Employers should think carefully about requests to be accompanied and should not interfere with an employees choice of companion, unless that companion is not a trade union official or work colleague. Explain the principles of legislation relating to dismissal in respect of capability and misconduct issues, AC 3.2 Analyse Key Causes of Employee Grievances. Different witnesses may have different versions of what happened and the employer must decide which witness is to be believed. This is a main reasons of employee grievances and need to be checked. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), there are several key causes of employee grievances. Following the initial interviews (and depending on the strength of evidence), if the complaint is valid the employer should take prompt action to stop the bullying. An employer must still follow a fair procedure as for any disciplinary matter. Employers should always follow their own fair and reasonable procedure before dismissing an employee on the grounds of ill health. Disciplinary procedures warnings: Davies v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council: Court of Appeal: 26 Feb 2013. They should also obtain up-to-date medical evidence, otherwise the dismissal may be unfair. Has the informant any reason to fabricate evidence, for example, because they were in a previous relationship with either the alleged harasser or the harassed? Crafting employee trust: from authenticity, transparency to engagement. A better working life refers to a healthy balance between an individuals professional and personal life. This task requires you to produce an advisory briefing note to senior managers facing industrial unrest in the organisation. The EAT held that the employees secret recording of her disciplinary hearing could be used in evidence in the tribunal. Employee voice accelerators of employee engagement. Non-union employee representation. NHS trust was certified unfit for work. Unlocking the secrets to success, Netflix has rewritten the script on how to build a thriving company. Employee participation refers to employees having a part to collectively play in company operations to attain a shared goal (Bai et al., 2019). Employee participation encourages a collaborative approach in which a team of employees completes a project by combining their varied skill sets to reach a shared goal. If an employer dismisses an employee for an act of gross misconduct and the employee subsequently proves their innocence, the employee will not automatically succeed in an unfair dismissal claim. Please note: While every care has been taken in compiling this content, CIPD cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. In making their decision, employers should consider the seriousness of the allegations and the consequences for the employee and should also. In one case, , the employer referred to a 'loss of 3,000'. The Employment Appeal Tribunal found that the dismissal was fair. This will minimise allegations that the process was unfair. In a case of suspected misconduct, an employer does not have to investigate every line of defence put forward by an employee. If employers veto an employees chosen companion with no good reason, the compensation would be higher. Human Resource Management Review, 30(1), p.100674. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), there are several key causes of employee grievances. Assess a range of employee voice tools and approaches to drive employee engagement. Alternatively, they may decide that the arbitrators ruling is not legally binding, allowing them to pursue the dispute in court or before a tribunal (Nash and Hann, 2020). The employer should keep a careful written record including the nature of the grievance, what was, and actions taken, the reason for the actions, whether an appeal was lodged, and any subsequent developments. Grievances. Employees can be disciplined and dismissed for misconduct outside the workplace, provided that the incident is sufficiently closely connected to work to have had an impact on the work environment. Keep any period of suspension (which must be with pay) very brief. (AC 2.1). Find out about the people profession Careers in the people profession Careers in the people profession The people profession Careers in the people profession The issue is was it reasonable to dismiss the employee concerned and tribunals will treat arguments based on disparity of treatment with care. . Required fields are marked *. Use the bullet points below each task as headings and sub-headings so your marker can see where your answer begins. During the disciplinary hearings she admitted to the allegations. Employers and employees should do all they can to resolve disciplinary and grievance issues themselves and if necessary should use a third party (for example, a mediator or an arbitrator) to help resolve the problem. 7.3 Boosts Morale and Emotional Security. 7 Benefits of Grievance Handling. Khans unfair dismissal claim failed. Exactly parallel circumstances, where one employee has been dismissed and another has not, may mean the dismissed employee can challenge the reasonableness of the dismissal. The Employment Appeal Tribunal said that compensation would be awarded, but that this would probably be nominal as they suffered no loss or detriment as they were accompanied albeit by someone else. Employers do not have to remove expired warnings from an employees file, unless their disciplinary policy requires this. Jiang, H. and Luo, Y., 2018. The employer said that the chosen companion had to be reasonable and that, if there had been any breach, it had been waived by the employees anyway, as they were accompanied to their grievance meetings and appeal hearings. It does not matter if the employer is subsequently proved to be wrong provided it had a genuine belief that the incidents occurred at the time it takes appropriate action. With advances in technology, including smartphones, recording disciplinary and grievance meetings happens more frequently. The informal industrial conflict is purely expressive, as it is not based on any structured organisations and arises from a sense of grievance (Nash and Hann, 2020). The court held that the expired warning could be. The EAT said a disciplinary process can be fair overall where the appeal process is thorough and reasonable. Despite this euphemism, the employee knew she was actually being accused of theft. It is acceptable for additional information explaining the basis of the allegation to follow in verbal or written form after the initial letter, but before the disciplinary meeting, although this is not ideal (, The employer should supply enough information so that the employee knows what the allegations against them are. Twenty Years of the Third Statutory Union Recognition Procedure in Britain: Outcomes and Impact. In fact, it is almost always. The witnesses may have information which supports the employers version of events or the employees version. Before issuing oral or written warnings or suspending an employee on full pay, employers must comply with both the organisations own procedure and the Acas code of practice. Keep a careful written record including the nature of the problem, what was decided and actions taken, the reason for the actions, whether an appeal was lodged and any subsequent developments (records are confidential and should be kept in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR see our Data protection, surveillance and privacy at work Q&As). If employers have included such a right, it would be advisable to follow the Acas code and include a second right of appeal. Grievance: data table (CSV) 5. In one case, an employer fairly dismissed an employee for a fight at the end of a Christmas party (Gimson v Display By Design Ltd, 2012). dismissals because of redundancy (see Redundancy Q&As). The employee and their companion are also free to take notes during the hearing. Can action be taken against employees when its not clear who was at fault? the non-renewal of fixed-term contracts on their expiry. Surprisingly, work type can also influence employee grievances. Reflecting on your own experiences of learning opportunities and training and continuing professional development. In todays business world, giving employees more say over how they carry out their responsibilities and soliciting their views during decision-making has enormous benefits for both employees and employers. Regardless of the cause, grievance handling should be swift and effective. Can employers take expired warnings into account when dismissing an employee? (Records are confidential and should be kept in accordance with data protection legislation - see our Data protection, surveillance and privacy at work Q&As). Employee grievances may also arise when they find out about others salaries, especially if another worker with similar credentials with them earns more. In order to implement a fair dismissal for misconduct, the employer must: have a genuine belief based on reasonable grounds that the employee committed the misconduct. Employees who feel offended when another coworker tells a racist joke could take the grievance to any level. The contemporary business landscape has seen significant evolution around conflicts and industrial sanctions. Employees have an avenue to voice concerns about a safe working environment without fear of negative ramifications if they use a formal grievance procedure. HR departments should not control managers decisions to discipline or dismiss. and the employee is accompanied to meetings and hearings with other companions. It suggests 12 months for a final written warning and six months for other warnings. The fairness of a dismissal depends on whether it was reasonable based on the facts known to the decision maker and not the information known to others in the organisation. She had been told by the NHS that, while off sick, she should not work in private. A common-sense approach should always be taken. The EAT said a disciplinary process can be fair overall where the appeal process is thorough and reasonable. Organisations should arrange for an interpreter if need be. HR can educate managers to reach strong decisions, explaining that they are entitled to, Appeal procedures: McMillan v Airedale NHS Foundation Trust: Court of Appeal: July 2014, If an appeal is the final right of appeal, as in this case, and the sanction was increased, then the employee would have no appeal against dismissal. If the companion is a colleague, the employer must give that person time off work to attend the hearing. The short answer is that disciplinary decisions should be made by the person whom the employer has held to be responsible for making decisions in the context in which the disciplinary issue arose. A consultant working for a NHS trust was certified unfit for work. Management aims to balance a fulfilling personal life and a healthy level of working strictness. There is still a breach of the rules if a companion is refused and the employee is accompanied to meetings and hearings with other companions. Distinguish between third-party conciliation, mediation and arbitration. Was it reasonable to identify this group of employees as capable of committing the conduct complained of? There is a requirement for Acas early conciliation in most cases the, Writing a dismissal, disciplinary and grievance policy, Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. If necessary, arrange for an interpreter to be present. However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and confirmed that the dismissal was fair; the tribunal was entitled to find that the council rightfully considered the final written warning when it made the decision to dismiss. The employees accepted the other companions, but later claimed that their right to be accompanied had been breached. A compliance inspector with the Department for Transport claimed excessive transport and subsistence expenses and was investigated by a manager on behalf of the employer. any express contractual entitlement to legal representation at disciplinary hearings. All employees were found to have committed gross misconduct but, taking into account the expired warning, only the claimant was dismissed. Managing people is a demanding job which typically comes with a host of other responsibilities (only one of which is conflict management); performing these on top of one's operational role can be challenging. Referring the alleged victim to a confidential counselling service, as well as dealing with the grievance, will help the employers position. AC 3.2 Analyse key causes of employee grievances. Explore our professional development learning platform. You must be logged in to reply to this topic. There are three main potential scenarios: The grievance relates to the subject matter of the ongoing disciplinary proceedings: In this situation the grievance and disciplinary issues are related. The roles of HRM in CSR: strategic partnership or operational support? Clear identification of matters that amount to gross misconduct. it can show it genuinely believed that the employee was guilty of misconduct. The organisations grievance procedure should be followed, and all such procedures should provide for the possibility that a line manager may be the source of the grievance and therefore nominate an alternative senior member of management to hear the grievance. An employee has the right to put their case to the manager making the disciplinary decision without the negative influence of others. While on full sick pay from the NHS she did private patient work, for which she was disciplined by the Trust. However, the law states that the employer must permit the companion to do any or. As a result of that second hearing the council dismissed her, taking into account the written warning which she had been given previously. Case law has confirmed that while this is generally not a breach of Article 6, in certain limited cases the employee may be entitled to legal representation: for example, where the disciplinary meeting could lead to serious consequences, such as the employee no longer being able to work in their chosen profession (R (on the application of Puri) v Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 2011). but that hearing had been adjourned for organisational reasons and never rescheduled. The Trust did not consider alternatives to dismissal because the matter was one of breach of trust. A failure to allow an employee (or worker) to bring a companion will lead to an automatically unfair dismissal claim. Failure to provide managers with ongoing support, expertise and guidance makes the task even more daunting. Which communications should be treated as grievances? These practices further increase absenteeism and staff turnover. Distinguish between official and unofficial employee action. The offer can be conditional, but it must be accepted by the employee who receives it. Workload and pressure: Overloading employees with too much work or unreasonable deadlines can cause stress and frustration (Obiekwe and Eke, 2019). The Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures states warnings should be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after a specified period. Have employees been treated consistently? The allegedly similar situations must be truly similar for inconsistent treatment alone to make a dismissal unfair. Journal of Communication Management. Despite the increasing number of campaigns to end discrimination in the workplace. In fact an employee (or worker) can choose one of two types of trade union official or a work colleague. The employer only interfered with the choice. The main advantage of having a grievance procedure in place is that it provides a way for employees to air their grievances and hopefully resolve them. However, employers should review disciplinary and grievance procedures to check they do not contradict its provisions. It must include a consideration between the parties involved, such as the employees job in exchange for the employers wage offer. Employee voice helps to prevent the loss of knowledge and skills. The teacher claimed unfair dismissal in a case which eventually reached the Court of Appeal. In another case, a doctor faced being barred from employment in the NHS. The team provides a platform for employees to offer suggestions for completing the work. The employer does not have to allow the companion to answer questions on behalf of the employee. HR can create incentive schemes that effectively orient employees toward accomplishing organisational goals if individuals can speak up regarding what they find essential vis--vis what is attainable (Duan et al., 2017). If an employer fails to comprehensively deal with some of the allegations in disciplinary proceedings, this failure may be a breach of contract (see Patel v Folkestone Nursing Home Ltd, 2018). The employer should have reasonable grounds for its belief based on a reasonable investigation. Case law has established that a written request for flexible working under the Employment Rights Act 1996 can count as a grievance letter, even if there is no specific reference to a grievance as such. The employer investigated and found that the nurse manager had engaged in bullying behaviour along with another colleague. The data presented here shows the percentage of employees who have raised a grievance against their status in relation to each of the following protected characteristics: age; disability; ethnicity; and gender. The employer should follow its own comprehensive disciplinary and grievance procedures which must, at the very least, comply with the Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Therefore, an employee grievance encompasses any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice related to ones employment situation brought to managements attention. A verbal or written warning may be appropriate in minor isolated cases.