Nipping issues in the bud

Our clients regularly tell us that their business is doing well, but that it’s their employees and HR issues that are causing them sleepless nights! 

Being proactive and nipping HR issues in the bud is a far better use of resources than hoping the problems just go away. In our experience they rarely do and matters generally escalate, going from bad to worse, ending up taking longer and being more costly to resolve.  

It’s critical to avoid waiting until employees raise a formal grievance, go off sick, resign or worst-case scenario you receive an Employment Tribunal claim before acting!   

Absence issues

To nip absence issues in the bud, we recommend that you introduce an absence management process, that uses a trigger system to enable you to be proactive and consistent in your approach.  Early intervention regarding concerns about absenteeism usually sees an improvement in attendance without the need to go down the formal disciplinary route.

Health issues

Not all health issues lead to poor attendance, some employees will attempt to continue as normal, but it will be clear that they’re struggling in work.  In which case, we advise speaking to your employee from a point of concern.  If they have an underlying health problem or disability you have a legal obligation to explore making reasonable adjustments.  If your employee is carrying an injury, which is overlooked, continuing to work without a risk assessment or adjustments could end up aggravating the injury.

Bullying, victimisation or harassment

If you witness bullying, victimisation or harassment in your workplace it’s important to be proactive and address the issue.  Even if the situation on the surface appears to be banter or was not intended to offend, the chances are if it’s made you feel uncomfortable then you won’t be on your own.   From 26 October 2024, the law has tightened up, with the aim to strengthen protection for employees against harassment in the workplace.  

For further details on Sexual Harassment read our previous article

When relationships break down

Mediation is a great option for resolving a dispute informally and will save you time and money.  Your workplace will benefit from improved communication, a more positive work environment, improved mental health and improved performance.   Not to mention, you reduce the risk of a grievance and the dreaded Tribunal claim.

Here’s what one of our clients had to say about how mediation helped them.

“We hadn’t really appreciated how mediation could work for us until we spoke to Spectra.  Alison took time to understand the situation from all sides and was able to be get both staff members into a meeting to hear each other out.  Until then they hadn’t really spoken for months, and the response has been amazing.  They are both relieved and so glad they took this step.  The atmosphere is so much better – everyone has noticed and we’re all benefiting from the change.”

If you’re not sure how to approach a situation, perhaps you’re concerned about making things worse or would like to explore how mediation could benefit your business, then don’t be an ostrich, why not ring our HR experts for a chat.