As a business owner you have probably heard the term ER issues bandied about by HR professionals, like all professions we love an abbreviation or an acronym. Terms like TUPE, ER, EVP, EAP, SS, FWR, RTW and the list goes on. If you are new to management or running a business with employees the list of HR terms are meaningless. However, what you do know is that you have people problems. So back to ER, which is “employee relations”, a term encompassing the relationship between the employee and the organisation and like any relationship things can, and do go wrong.
So, what types of areas would be covered by ER issues?
Disciplinary, these types of issues occur when an employee knowingly behaves in a way which is considered unacceptable. So, an extreme example would be punching a colleague in the face, stealing from the company or from colleagues, posting something sensitive or derogatory about the company on social media, sexual harassment, and leaking sensitive data. These example, would all be considered gross misconduct, meaning that they could result in immediate dismissal without notice. Lesser examples could be incidents such as repeatedly being late to start work, inappropriate banter, sitting on your phone instead of working. This type of behaviour is frustrating but unlikely to lead to dismissal. Whilst an employer can move straight to dismissal if the behaviour constitutes gross misconduct, there are caveats to this, the dismissal must be a reasonable and proportionate response to the conduct. For example, if an employee has been employed for 10 years with an exemplary record, to move straight to dismissal may not be a reasonable response, again it will dependant on the circumstances. Always, follow your disciplinary process.
As a disclaimer and before we move to look at other type of ER issues, it is worth stating that there is a lot of misunderstanding about the 2 year qualifying service rule in the UK. Firstly, this is being removed by the current Government so that employees have day one rights, likely to come into effect in October 2026. Final details of which, at the time of writing, are still to be confirmed. Currently if an employee has less than 2 years notice they can be dismissed and would not be able to bring a claim unfair dismissal. That said, there are a number of instances where the above rule does not apply. If an employee has been dismissed as a result of being discriminated against then they would have a claim. The Equality Act 2010 outlines protected characteristics which are covered and not subject to qualifying periods. Employees are also protected from dismissal if it relates to whistleblowing or Union activity.
Capability, this is different from disciplinary as it focuses on someone’s ability to do the role. This is an issue around, knowledge, understanding or ability to do the tasks associated with a role. Sickness capability also comes under this category if an employee is too unwell to perform their duties. There are 2 things to note here, capability follows a 3 stage process and does not generally move straight to dismissal, although a modified procedure can be follow if they do not have qualifying service. Secondly, make sure you understand the employees sickness and whether it would be considered to a disability as it could constitute discrimination.
Grievances are formal complaints which an employee has raised in regards to issues including but not limited to bullying, pay disputes, issues around terms and conditions, harassment, health and safety, organisational change or working practices.
Flexible working requests, where an employee has the right to request a change to their contractual working pattern also comes under employee relations. This is now a day one right and there is a strict process which needs to be followed in order to effectively deal with these requests. The onus is on the employer to demonstrate why they cannot accept the request, covering 1 or more of, 8 reasons which would detrimentally affect the business.
In short employee relations cover a range of issues such as performance management, bullying and harassment, discrimination, conflict management, communication issues and inclusivity.
These issues are often bubbling away under the surface and arise as a result of employees feeling disgruntled, badly treated especially compared to someone else, a sense of perceived unfairness or a sense of being promised something which does not manifest. Often managers are aware of issues but do not address them, hoping instead that it will go away or resolve itself, it rarely does. If a behaviour is ignored, then it will likely keep happening and become harder to deal with.
Often when working with my clients they just want to be able to discuss the people issue and get advice on how to resolve it. As a business owners you don’t start a business to deal with people issues, when your business grows and you need to recruit you find yourself having to deal with different personalities and HR process.
As an HR professional with 20 years experience, I can support you with resolving these problems in a clear and straightforward way saving you time, HR doesn’t have to be a headache. Contact me to discuss your “ER” issues at bev@bdhr.co.uk and lets chat about how I can help. Several packages are available from adhoc to retained services to suit your business needs.
