Stripped of the job

The truth comes out... and hurts!

Getting the facts straight at an employment tribunal is a key part of any defence if you go to the expense of time, money and effort in defending a tribunal claim. We really don’t have to go very far to find some eye-rolling employment tribunal stories that make you hold your head in your hands.

A sacked manageress of a strip club near Windsor Castle challenged the decision by her employer and brought a claim of unfair dismissal. The employer in question, Mr Lumba, argued he dismissed Ms Harris for misconduct because Ms Harris had assaulted him by striking him over the head with a diary.

When the issue of misconduct came up in tribunal, Ms Harris appealed by maintaining ‘I struck Mr Lumba AFTER he sacked me’.

Taking the lack of evidence into account, the employment tribunal found that there was no substantiated reason for the dismissal of Ms Harris and awarded her almost £25,000 based on unfair dismissal, unpaid holiday, loss of earnings and not having written terms and conditions.

Lesson: record everything in dealings with your employees and maybe use an online diary instead (!)

Conflict at 30,000 feet

This week we came across a unique unfair dismissal case which was heard recently at Exeter employment tribunal involving two pilots who were dismissed for having a bust up mid-flight. 

Both pilots were dismissed for ‘endangering passenger safety’ while engaging in an argument in the cockpit. You can view the whole story here

We thought we would share this one with you, but sorry to anyone reading this who is a nervous flyer!

Having a Quiet Word

Making the considerable financial investment to recruit, train and then hold onto talented workers is an even more time consuming activity during unstable economic times, but thoroughly worth it in the long run. Your brand will only grow if you have committed employees talking positively and proudly about your product or service.

This week has seen proposals for sacking lazy workers, a report leaked in The Daily Telegraph about abolishing unfair dismissal rights and the idea of being able to ‘have a quiet word’ in an under performing employees’ ears without repercussion. This has totally shifted the focus that good management standards and leadership are a vital force in being able to motivate and manage a workforce for success.

Any reduction in red tape is always going to be welcomed whether in large or small businesses; however they aren’t really that helpful. Any amendment or abolishment to any employment law takes time, and will always throw up other issues. In the case of the three proposals above, this will lead to an increase in discrimination, whistle-blowing and health and safety claims at employment tribunals. These types are often the most expensive claims to deal with in terms of actually getting to a tribunal to defend a case.

The reality is (and we know this because we speak to SME business owners everyday) a claim by a disgruntled employee is an employers biggest fear, because even if there isn’t a legal basis to the claim, they have to spend money defending it robustly and their time is taken up dealing with it, not focused on growing their business.

HR rant over – onwards and upwards