Employment Disputes

What is this?

Arguments : confrontation : disagreements : tension : yelling : physical fight

These are examples of employment disputes that can unfortunately happen between staff in the workplace. An employment dispute can be between team mates, cross-departmental or conversed seniority. It could be longstanding or a shorter stemmed reaction. Either way every dispute will be different so should be managed carefully to resolve and move forward.

In these circumstances we have found it is also important to consider the impact disputes can have on the rest of the workforce such as lowered morale, teamwork, communication or increased stress. Disputes can also affect the workloads, productivity and overall cause disruption to the business.

What do you need to do?

 The appropriate course of action chosen to resolve the issue will need to be in line with HR documentation i.e. policies, staff handbook, contract of employment or code of conduct. Options that may be applicable are disciplinary action or penalties; mediation, communication training; review of documentation and policies i.e. bullying and harassment, equal opportunities; or simply an informal discussion with both parties to talk it out. What you choose will be dependent upon your culture, how matters have previously been handled and if the situation arises again, could the same decision be made consistently. Lastly, future planning and provisions should be put in place to ensure it does not happen again.

What can we do to help?

No matter how serious this dispute may be we understand that it can be a stressful and emotional time therefore we can guide you through the situation offering advice and options moving forward to manage the dispute fairly and consistently, ensure it does not happen again and take the stress away from you.

In the situations that lead to an investigation, disciplinary or grievance we can be on hand to manage the situation for you or advise you every step of the way. In cases where legal proceedings appear likely to occur we have ACAS qualified mediators within our team who are able provide a mediation service to help try and resolve the dispute between relevant parties without having to go through the courts. This can help resolve the dispute in a much shorter period and can ensure that occurring costs remain much lower than if taken to court. It also helps protect the dispute from becoming public information.