B is for...

A bit of employment law for you.

Most people have heard of the phrase ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’ (usually in TV crime dramas) to determine if someone is guilty or not. However in employment law, things are slightly different and there is a different phrase that is used to determine whether an employee has done something wrong. 

Whether it is the panel deciding if someone has committed an act of gross misconduct or an Employment Tribunal judge is weighing up the facts in a case, the ’balance of probabilities’ says that based on the evidence, the occurrence of an event was more likely than not to have happened.

So what does this actually mean? Very few disciplinary cases are cut and dried. Employee A punched Employee B and this was witnessed by 10 other employees. However, when the facts aren’t as clear cut as this, you then look at the balance of probabilities to determine whether the employee committed misconduct.

For example, an employee is suspected of stealing money from the office.

As part of the investigation you identify that Employee A and Employee B both have access to the safe but Employee A been sick for the last three weeks. Whilst the employer may not have concrete proof, on the balance of probabilities, it is more probable than not that Employee B stole the money.
If you need any help with misconduct issues then please get in touch.

Being Honest

If we’re going to work together then we need some ground rules.

We need to be honest and trust each other (not in a Meet the Parents circle of trust way though!!).

You need to trust me that I will do everything I can to support your business and I need to trust you that you have told me everything. That you have a) given me the background and b) been honest about what outcome you really want.

If you don’t, we could take a walk down a very looooonnnng garden path that leaves you feeling frustrated as a business owner.

It will take time to build the relationship but to get the best from my HR advice, trust me to help you.

Better normal

Everywhere you turn someone is using the phrase ‘the new normal’. But how about using ‘the better normal’ instead. At the beginning of lockdown, I wrote a blog post on the better normal so have a read here.

Breathing Space

Lockdown has created a lot of opportunities for organisations to pause and to rethink their approach and the type of organisation they want to be going forward. If you would like an initial discussion to talk through any of these ideas or even if you would like some support rethinking your approach then give me a shout.

If you would like any more information on the 4 B’s above let me know.
 

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