Dismissal
What can an employer do about misconduct outside of the workplace?
Dealing with misconduct in the workplace can be problematic - but it can be even more challenging when it happens outside of it.
The dilemma can often be: How much contro...
The use of settlement agreements to resolve workplace disputes in the right way
It’s always best to settle workplace disputes in the right way, as the manner in which it is done can often attract a lot of attention.
Two high profile cases and the resolution to the breakdown...
Millions of workers need urgent protection from unfair dismissal
There are fears that in the coming months more jobs will be lost and one in four workers will not be protected from unfair dismissal.
It is reported that about 7.5 million employees began this y...
Monitoring remote workers in the comfort of their own homes
Employers have the right to observe employees at work, but they may need to adapt if they wish to do so for those now working from home.We are well aware that CCTV is fitted throughout workplaces, ...
Successfully challenging a decision to dismiss.
When bus driver Scott was dismissed for refusing to take a drugs test the outcome appeared a forgone conclusion.The bus operator that Scott worked for carried out random drug and alcohol testing ac...
Adapting a dismissal process during the pandemic
Life goes on as normal as it can do in the current employment climate and it will unfortunately mean that employees will lose their jobs for any number of reasons.Hundreds of thousands of jobs have...
A helping hand to make a good recovery after the sickly feeling of being unfairly dismissed
An employee can be dismissed for any number of reasons but there are some decisions, such as the one in Dane’s case that can leave you dumbfounded.The medical sales worker was sacked for failing to...
Sacked During the Probationary Period and With Less than Two Years’ Service
When Frank contacted Castle Associates for help with a dismissal appeal he admits he did not expect too much – but he did get his desired outcome.Frank, a carer, was distraught when he was dismisse...
The thin line between banter and bullying.
There is a current trend for comments that cause serious offence to be dismissed as banter – or ‘bantz’ if you were probably born in the 1990s or thereafter.The fear is banter is becoming a friendl...
Losing your job but maintaining the right to be treated fairly
If you were told you were at risk of redundancy and made redundant the following day, what would you do?In recent months tens of thousands of employees have lost their jobs by way of redundancy.Man...
Sacked for being pregnant
The bad news that can follow the good news of a pregnancy announcement at workFor an expectant mum the thought of a new arrival can be a joyous time but unfortunately the response of an employer ca...
The aim of disciplinary action and factors to consider
Most people are likely to agree an employee deserves to be punished if they do something wrong - but is it how disciplinary action should really work?The disciplinary procedure is the formal ...
Challenging if a redundancy proposal is being used as an excuse to dismiss
Most of us will have been in a position where financial concerns have caused our employer to review how it operates – and the impact of that can be extremely serious.In Davina’s case she was told s...
How to conduct a fair disciplinary hearing and avoid getting it wrong
‘It’s not fair’ may sound like an unwelcome protest from an unhappy child, but when it’s said in relation to a disciplinary process it should be taken very seriously.An employer’s failure to conduc...
Dismissed because of depression
No consideration of poor mental health in decision to dismissWhat an employer knew and when it knew it can be crucial when an employee challenges a decision to dismiss them.Nursery worker Michelle ...
Unpicking the detail of the evidence to get a just disciplinary outcome
An employee can be forgiven for thinking everything is against them when facing disciplinary action and witness statements appear to go against them,GP receptionist Molly faced the threat of dismis...
What an employer needs to know about the HR policies required by law
What an employer needs to know about the HR policies required by lawPolicies are important in any walk of life and for an employer they play a key role in outlining its approach to a range of cruci...
Out with the old and in with the new to manage staff performance?
Out with the old and in with the new to manage staff performance?Crucial to the success of any business enterprise is the performance of its staff and getting the best out of employees needs good m...
I'm being forced out of my job
The hard work in getting an employer to rethink unfair restructuring plansSuch has been the financial climate in the past decade that there are likely to be employees who have been through more tha...
How does disciplinary action work?
By now we all know what is required to conduct a fair disciplinary process, but ensuring it actually is fair is not always straightforward.An employer’s disciplinary procedure should be documented ...