2. If you’re employing other people, there’s always a
possibility that you may end up being involved in an
employment dispute. In this article, we take a look
at how a solicitor can help you to resolve
employment disputes, should they arise.
3. The chances of being involved in an employment
dispute can be minimized by ensuring that you
follow the correct procedures when advertising
vacancies, recruiting staff, drawing up terms and
conditions of employment, and making staff
redundant.
4. However, you may find that a member of staff is
unhappy with an aspect of your employment and
decides to take this further. Alternatively, you may
be unsatisfied with an employee’s performance and
decide to take action, in which case a dispute may
arise.
5. GRIEVANCE AND DISCIPLINARY
PROCEEDINGS
According to Lina Franco Lawyer most issues arising
between an employer and employees should initially be
dealt with through the employer’s internal grievance or
disciplinary procedures. Therefore, it’s important that
you provide details of these procedures in your
company’s staff handbook and that all staff can access a
copy of these easily.
6. It’s also vital that your grievance and disciplinary
procedures comply with current employment law, so
it’s worth asking your employment solicitor to help
you to draw them up and review them regularly.
7. If an employee decides to raise a grievance or you
decide that you need to take disciplinary action in
respect of an employee’s performance or behavior,
consult your employment solicitor as soon as
possible.
8. Your solicitor will be able to discuss the specific
case with you and advise you about how best to
proceed. By doing this, you can rest assured that
you are complying with relevant employment law
throughout the process.
9. MEDIATION, CONCILIATION, AND ARBITRATION
Issues between an employer and employee are
often able to be resolved during an internal
grievance or disciplinary procedure. However,
sometimes further discussions are necessary.
There are three main processes available –
mediation, conciliation, and arbitration.
10. Mediation involves the employer and employee
discussing the situation with an independent party,
known as a mediator. The mediator can often help
the employer and employee to come to an
agreement without needing to take the dispute to
an employment tribunal.
11. Conciliation is a very similar process, also involving
a mediator. However, conciliation usually takes
place when an employee is considering taking his
or her employer to an employment tribunal or has
already made a claim to an employment tribunal.
12. The third process, arbitration, is similar but the
independent party involved, the arbitrator, listens to
both sides of the dispute and makes a firm decision
about the case.
13. Many firms of solicitors provide assistance with
mediation, conciliation, and arbitration processes
and these can be quicker and cheaper solutions to
employment disputes than going to an employment
tribunal.
14. EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS
If you are unable to settle a dispute with your
employees, your employee may decide to make a
claim and take you to an employment tribunal. At an
employment tribunal, the case will be heard by a
panel which will usually include a qualified
employment judge and the panel will make a
decision and decide whether compensation should
be awarded.
15. Employment tribunals hear cases relating to a
number of different types of employment issues,
including unfair dismissal, discrimination, and
breach of contract. Decisions made by an
employment tribunal are legally binding.
16. Lina Franco Lawyer says if an employee decides to
take their case to an employment tribunal, you should
consult your employment solicitor as soon as possible.
Your employment solicitor will be able to discuss the
process with you, help you to prepare your case, and
represent you at the tribunal.