Most people have seen the nasty side of employee relations gone wrong at work.

Examples include:

  • Being caught out by government inspectors for using an incorrect pay formula after misinterpreting an industrial pay award or agreement.
  • Underperforming staff members claiming “harassment” or “bullying” by their manager or supervisor who has been clumsy in their attempts to apply the company’s performance management policy.
  • Employees leaving the company and then poaching key staff.
  • Facing backpay claims by not being clear enough on the Employee vs Contractor issue.
  • Not having solid employment contracts in place.
  • Botching staff terminations and redundancies (creating a terrible working atmosphere for those who remain).
  • Not knowing how to handle unions in the workplace.
  • Discrimination claims made and eventually costing the business time and money.
  • Strikes or threatened industrial action poisoning a previously positive workplace relationship with the employees.

What Proactive Organisations Do

To save themselves the headache, proactive organisations tend to tick the following four items off the To Do list as soon as possible:Free HR & Staff Management Documents

  1. Have all employment law documentation (including HR policies, procedures, letters and forms) in place.
  2. Train all staff in the existence and the proper use of these human resources documents.
  3. Provide good employee relations training to all supervisors and managers.
  4. Have independent legal advice assess the documentation, processes, training before, not after, things go wrong.

Smart businesses add a 5th item to their list . .

The 5th item is to keep up to date with good workplace legal advisors so the business is ready for any problem that may arise.

Download Free HR & Staff Management Documents

You can download free staff management documents and details of legal advisors on a regional basis here:

Click here: Employment law advice

 

HRwisdom