Clarion Solicitors A law firm which offers more Call us: 0113 246 0622 Home Who we are Our services Sectors Blog Contact us Search Blog Clear policies and good communication can avoid employee claims Clear policies and good communication can avoid employee claims Written by Sarah Tahamtani on October 9, 2014 Other recent posts The Bankruptcy Debt Threshold 26th Feb 2015 Insolvent Estates – how to deal with them effectively 26th Feb 2015 Top 10 stresses - how do you cope? 18th Feb 2015 Valentine’s Day – a day for romance and love or bragging rights? 13th Feb 2015 Time for change 6th Feb 2015 Related articles you might like Sections Employment Contracts and Policies Employment Tribunal Litigation Employment Law Training Redundancy and Business Reorganisation News November Employment Law Newsletter March Employment Law Bulletin April Employment Law Bulletin May Employment Law Bulletin Sectors Professional Services Comments ← Prev Next → Sarah Tahamtani, Partner and Head of the Employment team at Clarion, offers advice to businesses about ways of avoiding an HR issue escalating into a costly and time consuming employment tribunal claim. 1. Maintain Documentation Make sure that all employment documentation, in particular contracts of employment, are in place, up to date and stored sensibly. 2. Review regularly Regularly review your employment documents, such as your disciplinary procedure, to ensure they meet your organisational needs, reflect changes in the law and your culture. 3. Communicate effectively and be consistent To avoid any potential misunderstanding, communicate your policies to staff so that there is no doubt what is expected and ensure that when required standards are not met, that you deal with issues consistently. 4. Provide training Train line managers so that they have the knowledge to ensure that they are able to competently deal with staff issues, by following the correct procedure, without concerns. 5. Don’t discriminate Be aware of the grounds on which discrimination can occur and ensure that there is no subconscious discrimination or ‘banter’ in the workforce which would offend. 6. Be proactive Don’t ignore any warning signs - always try to address any issues informally at the earliest possible opportunity as many disputes that end up at tribunal could have been nipped in the bud had they been dealt with efficiently before the parties’ positions become polarised. 7. Document Decisions Keep written records of all employment decisions whether it is as minor as cautioning employees on time keeping or your decision making process in ending employment and always follow up by communicating the outcome in writing. 8. Be pragmatic If you find yourself on the receiving end of a tribunal claim, be pragmatic and commercial by ensuring that you go in to the process with your eyes wide open knowing the risk and cost you face so that you have an informed strategy from the outset. 9. Be transparent Have a transparent pay, promotion and bonus structure in place to help avoid any equal pay claims. You can do this by being proactive and carrying out an equal pay audit which would provide a good defence should a claim be brought. 10. Seek advice If you have any concerns, seek advice from an employment specialist at the earliest opportunity – a short early conversation could save you time and prevent the dispute escalating to the tribunal stage. If you have any questions please contact the employment team or alternatively employment partner Sarah Tahamtani on 0113 336 3314. Clarion Elizabeth House 13-19 Queen Street Leeds LS1 2TW 0113 246 0622 Legal & regulatory Terms & conditions Accessibility Sitemap Diversity and Equality Employee services Contact us Complaints Careers Add us on Linked In Follow us on Twitter Watch us on YouTube Find us on Google+ Please note We use cookies to help enhance your experience while using our website. We will take your continued use of our website as your consent to our use of cookies. For further information click here. © Clarion 2015. All copyright in this website and in any materials appearing on this website is the property of Clarion Solicitors Limited.