Throughout our latest webinar on Grievances within the Office, we acquired some questions by way of the chat facility. We addressed two of those right here – under we’ve answered a number of extra.
What recommendation, steerage, or suggestions would you give to HR professionals when eager about utilizing voice recognition know-how to take notes of conferences?
Now, name us quaint, however our recommendation relating to taking notes of conferences would normally be to have a separate human note-taker current who can report the important thing points coated. There’s, in any case, no requirement (topic to something in your coverage to this impact) for assembly notes to be an entire verbatim report of every part that has been mentioned – not solely can that make any assembly notes extremely lengthy and tedious, however usually it could imply you lose the important thing factors made amongst all the opposite chatter that has been captured.
On the subject of taking notes of grievance conferences, there’s not a lot steerage on the market when it comes to what’s required. The Acas steerage on self-discipline and grievances at work merely says that, the place doable, employers ought to organize for somebody who just isn’t concerned within the case to “take a notice of the assembly” and to behave as a witness to what was mentioned. The Acas steerage on conducting office investigations goes a bit additional and confirms that the notes of investigation conferences don’t have to report each phrase that’s mentioned however ought to precisely seize the important thing factors of any dialogue. It goes on to say that “recording the assembly utilizing an audio machine could also be achieved if the organisation’s coverage permits it or with the consent of the interviewee. Nonetheless, this may unnecessarily complicate the matter. Realizing they’re being taped could also be intimidating to an interviewee, making them much less capable of discuss brazenly in regards to the matter. It may also be time consuming as a result of a transcript of the recording will normally have to be typed up in order that it may be used as a witness assertion.” As famous above, though dictation software program could lower down the time situation, we might echo these feedback.
We recognise that technological advances imply that if a gathering is going down just about, your entire factor may be recorded on the contact of a button. Some techniques additionally now present an automated transcribing service. As soon as once more, nonetheless, we might urge warning earlier than adopting this method. Sure, it does make issues less complicated, and it could probably prevent having to rearrange for a separate note-taker to be current, however, as anybody who has needed to learn such transcripts will affirm, the know-how continues to be not 100% correct and it could provide some very fascinating ideas as to what was mentioned – definitely relating to much less on a regular basis phrases/phrases or technical phrases. It additionally does nonetheless imply that you simply probably find yourself with reams of notes and it may be tough to see the wooden for the timber relating to the important thing factors that had been mentioned.
If you will go down this route, we might advocate that you simply spend money on correct software program (or as correct as it may be in the meanwhile). Additionally, don’t forget to think about the information safety implications of utilizing such know-how. If you happen to report and transcribe a gathering, you can be amassing private information (and presumably “particular class” private information too), storing it, probably sharing it, and so on., so make sure you comply along with your obligations beneath information safety laws, together with having the right data in your privateness notices and the related lawful foundation on your processing of the information. Don’t delete the recording as soon as transcribed – there could also be arguments in regards to the accuracy of the written textual content or later challenges by the worker that the assembly was performed with a sure diploma of “tone” or “edge” which might not be seen within the black-and-white transcript.
If the worker asks to report the assembly, must you agree? Until you positively intend to say one thing inappropriate or concern that you could be not have the ability to cease your self, sure, you need to. This can be an affordable adjustment for a incapacity, by which case you might have little selection, however even in different circumstances refusal simply appears as if you don’t want an correct report made. As well as, in fact, your staff can now report the assembly on their mobiles with out your data, and even in case you have expressly mentioned no to recording, the transcript and/or the recording itself would nonetheless be admissible as proof within the Tribunal, however it was taken covertly. The one secure course is to imagine that you’re being recorded regardless, and act accordingly.
An worker submits a grievance throughout the discover interval after which promptly goes off sick. Wouldn’t it be cheap for us to withdraw firm sick pay?
The important thing query right here just isn’t a lot whether or not it’s cheap to withdraw firm sick pay however whether or not you might have a contractual proper to take action – and it will rely on what your documentation says.
The place to begin can be that staff are entitled to firm sick pay within the ordinary manner, supplied they’ve complied with any necessities of your sick pay coverage (e.g., re: self-certification, notification of supervisor, and so on.), and that their having given discover doesn’t have an effect on that. In these circumstances, you’ll solely be entitled to withhold sick pay in case you have good goal grounds to imagine that the worker just isn’t actually sick, the burden of proving that being squarely on you.
Nonetheless, if there’s an specific provision in your staff’ contracts or in your illness process which says that staff is not going to be entitled to firm sick pay if they’re absent on account of sickness while they’re figuring out their discover interval (whether or not discover has been given by the employer or the worker), then you have to be entitled to withhold firm sick pay in these circumstances. One caveat to this – remember that sections 88 – 91 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 present that the place staff are unable to attend work due to illness or harm throughout their discover interval and the employer solely has to provide the statutory minimal discover interval to terminate the contract, they’re entitled to obtain full pay for the relevant statutory discover interval. That is the case whether or not it’s the employer or the worker that has served discover.
The above statutory provisions don’t apply the place the discover interval to be given by the employer is no less than one week greater than statutory discover. So, verify the contract rigorously and, if unsure, take some recommendation. If you happen to withhold firm sick pay and also you don’t have a contractual proper to take action, it’s doable the worker could resign and declare constructive dismissal, which is clearly a state of affairs you wish to keep away from. Though the worker could already be beneath discover, so the worth of any declare could also be minimal, that might nonetheless danger invalidating any restrictive covenants, confidentiality obligations, or different persevering with provisions beneath the contract of employment.
If you will withhold sick pay, even the place contractually entitled to take action, you also needs to watch out that it can’t be alleged to be in retaliation for discrimination or whistleblowing allegations.
Are you able to give steerage on what outcomes may be shared with the worker who raised the grievance?
Allow us to begin with what the Acas Code of Apply on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures has to say about this. The Code states that following any grievance assembly the employer ought to “determine on what motion, if any, to take.” It goes on to say that “choices ought to be communicated to the worker in writing, with out unreasonable delay and, the place acceptable, ought to set out what motion the employer intends to take to resolve the grievance.”
Do not forget that, beneath the Acas Code, staff ought to be allowed on the outset of the method to clarify their grievance and the way they suppose it ought to be resolved. The employer just isn’t sure by their response, however this may increasingly assist body a decision to go well with all events. It ought to all the time be inspired.
So, the main focus may be very a lot on what the employer is now going to do in relation to the grievance. If, for instance, an worker made a simple criticism about not being paid for some extra time final month and the employer, having investigated this, accepts that this was the case, then the worker ought to be knowledgeable of the employer’s findings and paid for the sums owed. Grievance resolved.
Issues have the potential to get extra sophisticated the place a grievance includes a criticism in opposition to a colleague or a supervisor, e.g., allegations of bullying or harassment. If the employer accepts that this has occurred, then the worker ought to once more learn of the employer’s findings and on this state of affairs be advised in define what measures the employer intends to take to forestall this occurring once more.
A typical query we get requested is whether or not on this state of affairs the worker who raised the grievance is entitled to dictate, and even simply be advised, what particular disciplinary motion, if any, is taken in opposition to the colleague/supervisor concerned. As a basic rule, the reply isn’t any. If, following the grievance investigation, the employer considers it acceptable to set off the disciplinary course of, then that could be a separate matter. It ought to be ample in these circumstances to clarify that acceptable motion has been taken in gentle of the grievance investigation – the worker has no proper to be advised what exact disciplinary motion follows consequently, or of any related sanction resembling a discount to the responsible worker’s bonus, and so on. The complainant is entitled to a treatment (i.e., that the conduct just isn’t repeated), to not revenge. It can solely be if the remedial motion taken by the employer is exterior the vary of cheap responses that the complainant has any recourse – a primary written warning for critical sexual assault, for instance – which may generate a discrimination and/or constructive dismissal declare. See our earlier weblog piece by which we focus on in additional element the aim of a grievance course of and the sensible distinction between redress and revenge.