Contents
All change for pensions
A waste of time & money
Tax credit mess
Fuel up (shock)
Gimme shelter
Gulp! SIPPS
Paper or plastic?
Re: Mortgages
Bank the cheque
Subs beware
VAT's the limit
Dividend end?
The buck stops
Sack with care
Selling up
A matter of trust
We're watching
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If you have ever had to sack a worker, you should know that you have to follow the rules very carefully - proper warnings, disciplinary hearings, second chances. If you don't, you could end up facing a claim for unfair dismissal. If the worker has done something outrageous, it may seem completely unfair on the employer - but the law reckons that the employer is in a much stronger position, so it's the worker who needs most of the protection. In a recent case, the Employment Tribunal showed that there are limits to this. The finance director of a NHS trust was summoned before a disciplinary hearing because of problems with the way he was managing his staff. At the meeting, he made a number of unfounded allegations against his senior colleagues, and the chair of the trust decided that he should be dismissed immediately with six months' pay in lieu of notice. This was held to be unfair dismissal - the chair should not have been presiding at the meeting, because she had already discussed how to get rid of the finance director with the trust's advisors. She was not impartial. The Tribunal held that the procedure was wrong, but reduced the award by 100% - to nothing - because it was satisfied he would have been instantly dismissed by any disciplinary panel after the way he had behaved. The chair's prejudice would not have changed the outcome! Even so, it's still better to be very careful about disciplinary hearings. If possible, you should get people who have not previously been involved in the dispute to lead the meeting and take the decision.  |
© Bayar Hughes & Co., 2010.