Christmas is a time of celebration, goodwill, summer sun and sometimes… bad behaviour. Here are a few of the most common types of questions we get this time of year, and what to do about it.
Can I Do That? Q & A
We are frequently asked questions by employers that go along the lines of ‘Can’t I just ….dismiss them; give them a warning; tell them to leave; change their job before they injure someone…?’ The short answer is yes. You can do anything you like. Unfortunately, your preferred course of action may have some unintended consequences. The most common one is a personal grievance that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
We have a one hour free webinar next week to cover off some of the more common questions we get. Here is a taster of what we will cover (some with short answers and some without answers to leave you wondering).
You can, but you will likely get a better outcome by rewording the message. It is becoming a more frequent occurrence that employees are taking the approach that ‘they are who they are’ and everyone around them needs to adjust to accommodate them. Try to remember that personality may explain behaviour, but it doesn’t excuse it. I suggest using a phrase along the lines of “I appreciate you sharing your personality style. That helps me understand how you think. However, we still need behaviours that meet our required standards and support the team and the business.” Then set out what those standards are and give the clear message that they are non-negotiable.
If you did this, your employee could make a claim against you for the unauthorised deduction. Wages claims can be made up to six years after the issue arises, not just the 90 days for most personal grievances (and 12 months for claims of sexual harassment). The short answer is no, this would unlikely be a legitimate deduction. This question will be answered more fully in the webinar.
If you tread carefully, there is a possibility that you can, depending on what your selection criteria are. Deciding on and consulting on your selection criteria are critical parts of the restructuring process. We will discuss what needs to be done to ‘safely’ select who stays and who is redundant.
It is a good idea, as a minimum, to start a preliminary investigation. This may be as simple as going back to the employee and asking for details of the behaviour of the manager that they believe is bullying. We also suggest directing them to the WorkSafe guide on bully which has a great section on explaining what is and isn’t bullying. We will talk this through in more detail at the webinar.
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These are the other general areas we will be covering at the webinar.
- Can I just let a casual employee go?
- What do I do if someone fails a drug test?
- How do I handle repeated absences?
- Can I make deductions from minimum wage employees?
- Redundancy: do I have to consult my employees?
- Can I require attendance at a disciplinary when the person is sick?
- Do I have to investigate a bullying allegation when I know it isn’t true?
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