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In this week’s HR bitesize:

  • Would you weaponise your dad? Someone one has, but not me – below is a picture of me and my dad (a very long time ago)!
  • Introducing Holly
  • Access our free work from home risk assessment

Rose, our Senior HR Advisor, has been in to see me this morning.

Last week she talked me through a case she is working on with a client.

It’s not untypical, employee is performance managed for poor attendance within his probation period and employment is eventually terminated as a failed probation when the employee refuses to attend work regularly and / or ontime.

During the performance management process, the employee informed us that his father had passed away and as a result he was upset. Despite not being able to tell us whether it was in the last couple of weeks or last couple of months, he was given and accepted a week’s compassionate leave.

After being terminated, he went to a no win, no fee solicitor and put in a claim against the business for £35,000 for disability discrimination.

We responded stating the reasons he had been terminated (unauthorised leave, consistent lateness and refusing to following normal reporting procedures) and informing the solicitors that we required a copy of his father’s death certificate in the event that the case went to tribunal.

His solicitor responded:

Apparently, there was a misunderstanding!

His father had not passed away.

But give him £2000 for disability discrimination.

This is not the first time we have had the apparent death of a loved one weaponised and used against our clients.

It has made us cynical.

How is it, that we are now unable to believe an employee who states their parent, sibling or child has passed away?

Do we start asking for a death certificate every time?

We ask employees for proof of pregnancy, is this any different?

We encourage all clients to have open, honest and trusting working relationships with their staff, but don’t be naïve. If something doesn’t feel right, investigate more and keep asking questions, (without harassing, bullying or discriminating against them) until you understand what is really going on.

At DOHR we are very excited to be growing our team

We have new starters in September, October and November.

So let me start by introducing you to Holly Bradshaw.

At the beginning of September, our latest graduate trainee Holly joined us.

She wrote to me last year asking for work experience.

She was between her second and third year at Warwick University, where my son had been studying, so I thought I’d give back by inviting her in for a couple of weeks.

I really didn’t get to meet Holly during her work experience as I was away on holiday and then out of the office in meetings.

But the team did meet her, work with her and Holly made a great impression.

When I returned to the office, the team informed me that they wanted to hire her.

With one more year at Uni, I interviewed Holly and offered her a job following her graduation.

We stayed in touch with her. Invited her to a couple of team lunches as well as our team day in April and, on the 2nd September, while I was away (yes again), Holly joined team DOHR.

Holly is now on a two year graduate training programme where she will learn her craft. She will be working as an HR Administrator, supporting our HR Advisors with all things HR: Hiring, Managing, Inspiring and Firing. She will also be studying for her CIPD qualifications so that at the end of the two years, she will be an HR Advisor, working as part of our team, under the supervision of our Senior HR Advisor.

I’m sure you will join me in welcoming Holly to team DOHR.

Since covid, there has been a massive increase in the number of people working from home. Despite a growing trend for employers to ask people to return to the office on a part time or full time basis, the number of people working from home is holding fairly steady and I think we will shortly see this increase again.

There are two key reasons for this:

  1. The Government is giving employees more rights to request flexible working, which includes working from home
  2. There is also a push from Government to return ‘absent’ workers to the workforce, making benefits harder to claim and forcing people to return to work.

Whether people are working from your office or their home, you are responsible for their health and safety and this includes both physical and psychological.

One of the first steps to ensuring you are compliant is to carry out a home worker risk assessment. You can grab one here. Get all of your staff to fill it in at least once a year. If they move home, they need to complete a new one.

Until next week, have a great week

Donna

P.S. When you are ready, there are three ways we can help:

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