Sometimes things just don’t work out how you’d want or expect to, and during my 17-year HR career, I have been a part of many short service dismissal procedures. Each case is different, and I assure you that they are never easy to go through whichever side of the table you are on; one consistent thing with my clients is that they never want to dismiss a member of staff.
They may be short serving, but it is not a risk-free procedure!
Contrary to myth, the process is NOT risk free. It is not a simple “car park conversation” nor a “it’s not working out chat” and for smaller businesses the implications if this process is not followed correctly can cost you dearly. With the costs of defending tribunal at an average of £8,000 it’s something smaller employers cannot afford to risk.
So as a business what can I do?
There are so many factors that employers need to consider before taking action: – Why do you want to dismiss the employee in the first place? – How many years of service does the employee have? To conduct a short service dismissal procedure, they must have less than 2 years of completed service. – Does the employee have any protected characteristics? This could be a huge discrimination risk if you’re not sure. – Do you have the right policies in place? Is your handbook up to date?
What is the first thing I should do?
We strongly recommend that if you are considering such process, you must have sought legal advice beforehand. Our job is to protect your business from costly legal mistakes by making the sure the process is conducted fairly and correctly.
We can help support with this process and we talk you through it step by step, we are even able to virtually support you at the meeting, preventing the situation from going wrong or prolonging it.
