Absence

The best absence policies and procedures in the world will not, unfortunately, secure you from having to deal with employee absence on occasion. Everyone gets ill at some point and needs to take some time to recuperate.

However, what your policies and procedures can do is let your workforce know that you take absence seriously, addressing all instances and therefore deter any opportunists who may be inclined to take more time off than they really need to.

Taking time off for family problems, as well as in relation to health issues such as heart attacks and depression, have all been the focus of calls to the Advice Service. Peninsula's advice is consistent regardless of reason; record, monitor, follow up. No absence should go unaddressed.

Discipline

Consistent treatment is also important when dealing with disciplinary processes. Certain procedural steps are expected from an Employment Tribunal in all cases of alleged misconduct.

Breaches of confidentiality, complaints of a dentist bullying a member of support staff and failure to maintain comprehensive patient records are some of the serious allegations which have been the focus of calls to the Advice Service.

Employees must always be given as detailed an explanation as possible of the allegations against them including dates, times and people involved. It may seem a minor point but if employees are not made fully aware of the case against them, a tribunal is likely to find that they were not given the opportunity to fully defend themselves. Ultimately this can result in higher compensation to the employee if, in all of the circumstances, they are found to have been unfairly dismissed.

Grievance

Employee complaints can be dealt with in different ways depending on the nature of the complaint. In some cases, the complaint will be a straightforward grievance about a decision taken by management against the individual - for example, a decision to reject an annual leave request, or removal of a car parking space. A short investigation should be relatively simple to undertake and the response provided to the employee.

Peninsula Employment Law Advice Service - top five topics

Peninsula Employment Law Advice Service - top five topics