Swindon employers are being urged to seek professional HR advice before making workplace decisions that could leave them facing expensive employment tribunal claims and damage to their reputation.
The warning comes from the team at The HR Dept, who say that navigating UK employment law remains a particular challenge for small and medium-sized businesses.
According to the HR specialists, employers can sometimes find themselves in difficulties not because they deliberately set out to break the law, but because they misunderstand their obligations or fail to seek advice before taking action.
One area where businesses can particularly come unstuck is when dealing with employees returning from maternity leave.
Helen Imbusi, Head of HR Consultancy at The HR Dept, said returning employees have important statutory protections which employers need to understand.
“Such employees have the right to return to the same job unless the employer has a genuine reason why this is not possible. In these cases, they have the right to return to a suitable alternative role.
“This right applies even if someone else is covering their job well during maternity leave. If there’s no alternative but to offer them a different job, the job must be suitable and appropriate. It cannot be on more detrimental terms than the previous job.”
Getting this wrong can lead to formal grievances, constructive dismissal claims or allegations of pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
For employers, the financial consequences can be particularly serious. Compensation awarded by employment tribunals in discrimination cases is not subject to the same statutory cap that applies to some other employment claims.
Helen said The HR Dept was recently consulted by a client who had selected an employee for redundancy while she was on maternity leave, despite there being potential alternative roles available.
“Thankfully, they had the sense to seek our advice first and we were able to steer them in the right direction,” she said.
Maternity and parental leave are not the only areas where employers can find themselves exposed.
Informal restructures, disciplinary procedures and performance management can all create problems if the correct processes are not followed.
The HR Dept says that getting professional advice at the outset can be considerably less expensive than trying to sort out a workplace dispute once it has escalated.
For smaller businesses in particular, where there may not be an in-house HR department, knowing when to seek advice can make the difference between a straightforward workplace issue and a costly legal dispute.
Helen Imbusi said employers should not wait until a problem has developed before asking for help, with early advice helping ensure that decisions are fair, compliant and properly documented from the beginning.
Businesses looking for HR support can contact Helen Imbusi by email at helen.imbusi@hrdept.co.uk or by calling 01793 683 398.
More information about The HR Dept’s services for businesses in Swindon, North Wiltshire and the East Cotswolds is available online.
