Leaders Forum 2, chief executive mentoring and experiential learning group (with members from Central England) had a very lively and interactive workshop with Ken Allison (pictured right) on his “You’re Fired – Lessons in Employment Law” session.
This was a very informative and useful with many good tips and insights for application to the staffing side of your business’ HR.
3 things stood out for us:
- A reminder that you must now give at least 6 months notice before a “senior” member of staff is due to retire. Failure to give such notice means that the staff member would be able to continue in service beyond 65 until notice had been served.
- During the consultation period as part of a redundancy process it is quite acceptable and lawful to advise people that are not in the ‘pool’ or department affected, that their job is not at risk at this time (or alternatively that their job is one of the ones being considered for redundancy). Many members present had been under the impression that they had to treat everyone as being at risk until the consultation period had ended (which is obviously very unsettling).
- It would be sensible to re-position the “Disciplinary Process” (warnings etc for poor performance) as a “Performance Improvement/Capability Process”. This might seem trivial, but Members agreed that they would be more likely to use a less intimidating-sounding process at an early stage to improve an employees performance, rather than holding back until they had more or less decided that the staff member had to go. This is certainly a more positive approach for both employer and employee.
Peter Pritchett, Chairman Leaders Forum 2
The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates peer groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. To hear great speakers like this every month and engage in The Board You Could Never Afford®, to find out more about the Central England Leaders Forum, or to find a local group near you, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.