Changes to the qualifying period for unfair dismissal....should we see it as big change?

I'm seeing and hearing a lot about businesses needing to prepare for the labour governments changes to employment legislation which we expect to learn more about this month. I've posted about it and marketed how I can support SME's to be prepare but in reality, businesses should already be ready for one in particular, the removal of the two year qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims.

The government want to make unfair dismissal a day one right for employees which means organisations will no longer be able to do a short service dismissal. Well, not completely true and, lets not forget that we haven't seen the detail of the legislation yet. Why is it not completely true? Because you will be able to terminate employment. You will just need to ensure that regardless of length of service you are treating employees fairly, have defined policies and are following them.

Why do I think businesses should be ready without much fuss? Because if you are a business that operates with a culture of fairness, integrity, solid management and leadership that is underpinned, supported and guided by your HR Business Partner then you've already been preparing for this, in fact you're already doing the right thing and so the changes should be minimal.

I've never used short service dismissal in my 25+ years in HR although I work with clients who do and that is their choice. It's not something that has sat well with me; I always advise organisations to have the fundamental people policies in place, the right manager training and employee education and to rely upon utilising this to manage situations. I help managers work through processes that can be tricky, with ease and speed.

While I understand the urgency that managers may feel in addressing people-related matters promptly, I believe it is important to ensure fairness in the process. Managers often refer to HR policies to determine the appropriate timeline for addressing performance issues, attendance problems, unacceptable behaviours, or the need for downsizing. While it may be tempting to seek quick solutions based on an employee's start date due to lengthy processes, I maintain that fairness should be prioritised. Handling these issues, although potentially distracting, is an essential aspect of a manager's responsibilities.

What would I recommend instead of a short service dismissal for the examples above:

• Managing poor performance

  • Develop clear job descriptions outlining tasks, responsibilities, expectations, accountability and decision making

  • Implement performance management policies or a culture of coaching conversations where feedback, development, expectation setting is discussed and followed up

  • Communicate performance improvement policies to help employees understand the consequences of underperformance and the steps that will be followed to manage this

  • If you use a probationary period and the employee is still within that timeframe, dismiss due to failure to satisfactorily complete the probation. The employee should always know why, so ensure you set objectives, goals and have regular conversations about how they are performing and settling in.

• Managing poor attendance

  • Implement clear absence management policies which outline consequences of persistent unexplained absence, support mechanisms and information about what is considered unacceptable. Taking care not to manage genuine absence or authorised absence inappropriately.

• Managing behaviours that aren't acceptable in the workplace

  • Develop code of conduct policies and provide training managers and employees

  • Refer this back to your performance management programmes to include the 'what' is expected and the 'how' it is expected to be achieved

  • Ensure that you have disciplinary procedures that are simple to implement

• Reducing headcount as part of a cost saving exercise

  • Having a fair selection process in place is key; it's not always those who have been in the organisation the least amount of time that are adding value and your objective is to retain the talent to keep the business in operation. This is often seen a quick way to reduce headcount.

    
    

There's a reason that something isn't working and it's best to explore that and manage it appropriately.

Addressing problems as soon as they arise; reminding employees of expectations; having clear policies and processes; educating everyone on the policies and training managers to manage and use the policies is critical. Using the policies when you need to also helps navigate and manage the process; communicating each step and being clear on your timeframes.

I haven't covered reputational damage but it's something I think about if a business operates using short service dismissal regularly - those using short service dismissal will feel the impact so for them the change may be significant. The circumstances in which they could do short service dismissal may not be an option going forward.

This blog was written as a reaction to a post I saw about a short service dismissal and whilst I'm not one to react normally, but it really got me thinking. The scenario was an employee on holiday and the manager didn't want them back in the business and wanted to send an email to them to tell them not to come back! I've not given context, but I don't think anyone deserves to be dumped by email and especially not when they're on holiday.

As a partner to SME's I support clients through both a commercial and people lens (today my people lens is the sole driver of my response to the post). I also remember that 'people' are human and we should treat everyone fairly and with respect.

So are you ready for change?

If you'd like to find out how Reach Peak Performance can support you business get in touch with us at info@reachpeakperformancecoaching.co.uk - we look forward to hearing from you.