HR horror stories - Third of 4

Suspicious employee – should you suspend? Your employee has been accused of diverting work to his own business and you are VERY suspicious. Do you have the right to suspend your employee while you carry out an investigation? There are only limited circumstances when an employee can be suspended, i.e. if the employee’s presence would impede an investigation or lead to a serious risk to the business/customers/employees etc. It is a protective measure only and should not be used as a knee-jerk reaction. Furthermore, don’t forget there may be certain circumstances where an employee can have an implied right to…

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Updates - Uber and Deliveroo

  There have been two recent decisions about the status of those who work for Uber and Deliveroo. Uber Uber has lost an appeal meaning that its drivers should be classified as workers rather than self-employed. Last year a tribunal ruled Uber staff were workers meaning they were entitled to rights such as holiday pay and the national minimum wage. Uber appealed, arguing its drivers were self-employed and were under no obligation to use its booking app. However, this was rejected. This is due to the lack of control to the jobs assigned to them. Uber has indicated that it would appeal…

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HR horror stories – Second of 4

Your pregnant employee’s poor performance Issues with your pregnant employee’s performance have not been raised formally and she has passed her probationary period. You are about to call her to a meeting to dismiss her for poor performance (as she has no right to claim unfair dismissal) when she informs you she is pregnant. Can you go ahead and dismiss? To dismiss her now would put you at a high risk of a claim of automatic unfair dismissal (for which an employee does not need two years’ service) and/or discrimination. Or would it?  See what happened in a recent case…

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No Termination Settlement Agreements

It is often thought that a Settlement Agreement is only used to bring the employment relationship to an end. However, it is possible to reach a binding settlement agreement and for the employee to continue in employment afterwards. With a no termination agreement, the intention is that, in return for a compensation payment, the employee waives all and any claims they may have against the employer in connection with a specific complaint and to a certain date to the full extent permissible by law. This may be appropriate in cases where the employment relationship has not fundamentally broken down. Examples…

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HR horror stories - First of 4

What are the most common HR horrors and how should employers deal with them? 1.Your employee’s announcement of stress at work One of your employees has been accused of bullying at work. You’ve invite them to a disciplinary hearing but then receive a fit note signing him off work due to stress at work. Do you have to postpone the disciplinary meeting? Not necessarily. As an employer, you have two differing priorities: the need to conclude the disciplinary process in a timely manner – especially if it is the cause of the stress at work, and an obligation to look…

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