and Employee DISCIPLINE Why taking shortcuts can cost you!

There have been a number of cases in the press recently which have highlighted the risks to business owners of not following the correct processes and procedures when either terminating or disciplining employees.

There seems to have been a shift away from following more robust, traditional disciplinary processes; and this has seen more businesses ‘cutting corners’ to expedite the desired outcome. Unfortunately, this has resulted in several employers being ruled against for not demonstrating procedural fairness. The bottom line is that when dealing with complicated issues, in order to reduce the risk of litigation (eg an unfair dismissal or general protections claim), a clear, fair and well documented process must be followed.

There is a wealth of information, resources, guidelines, professional advice and support available to managers to help navigate and manage these inevitable situations. However, people leaders often don’t feel confident enough to tackle these issues; are too quick to act, or don’t follow professional advice. Acting hastily can often lead to crucial steps in the process being missed, and even if you think your decision is justified, a lack of process could be considered harsh, unjust or unreasonable to the employee. It can be challenging dealing with conflict or under performance, but it still needs to be done properly!

Time and time again, Fair Work has ruled that there were sufficient grounds to dismiss an employee, however because the process undertaken by the employer to affect the dismissal was determined to be unfair, the dismissal was not upheld and the employee was reinstated.

If you need support in the areas of misconduct, employee discipline or dismissals, don’t take the risk and cut corners – give us a call and let us help your through the process the right way.

Mary Cairns hr@hrmaximised.com.au