Two recent Employment Tribunal judgments serve as a reminder of the importance of conducting fair and thorough HR processes.
In the first case, an NHS Trust employee was fired for gross misconduct after a physical confrontation with a van driver in the hospital carpark. Even though the Trust carried out a disciplinary investigation and hearing, they were found to have been carried out in an unfair and discriminatory way. The Trust also failed to investigate a grievance raised by the employee that he had been racially abused during the incident. As he lost substantial pension rights due to the dismissal, the employee was awarded £1 million in compensation.
The second case concerned the former Chief HR Officer of the Co-operative Group. Despite pressing for a pay increase to match her co-workers, she was denied a raise and eventually dismissed. The Tribunal established that she had been judged more harshly in her end of year appraisal than her male colleagues and, during a job review process, was given less contact time with senior management to raise issues.
In both of these cases the Tribunal concluded that there was unfair dismissal and discrimination.
It’s not just a box-ticking exercise…
These cases highlight that carrying out HR procedures is not simply a box-ticking exercise.
While you must ensure that you follow your HR policies and procedures, you cannot simply avoid claims of discrimination or unfair dismissal if those procedures are not fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory in the circumstances.
In both cases the employers were shown to be insufficiently sensitive to discrimination issues raised both before and during HR proceedings. It is vital that you investigate allegations of discrimination thoroughly and objectively. It is also crucial that staff members in comparative positions are subjected to the same processes and have equal opportunities to discuss matters.
Sparqa has recently published guidance on dealing with grievances and taking disciplinary action against staff, which is supplemented by content on dismissing staff and dealing with legal claims that staff might bring.
We provide checklists, templates and lists of questions to help you navigate these HR processes.
For more information visit www.sparqa.com.