Common HR Issues
Consider the following scenarios. If you recognise some of these issues and don't have a dedicated HR resource you may want to consider an independent HR support mechanism…
Long Term Absence
A member of staff (Mary) went off sick in May 2000 and received a doctor’s note for mental exhaustion and anaemia. Prior to her absence, Mary had had a number of informal meetings with the HR Officer claiming she had been bullied by her line manager, but was reluctant to put anything in writing as she was afraid of the consequences. The sick note was repeated for several months and an application was made under the PHI scheme. This was rejected on the basis that the illness appeared to be work related. At this point, the member of staff became pregnant and subsequently took 18 weeks maternity leave. At the end of this she was signed off again for a further 4 weeks with hyper tension, notwithstanding discussions with her to reduce her working hours and change her duties, which she had agreed to. She now writes to you requesting paid holiday….
Regular Short Term Absences
A member of staff (Jean) has been a secretary for 3 years. During that time she was regularly off sick on Mondays and Fridays. She openly talked about her wild boyfriend and the parties she attended. She always appeared unwell and distracted at the beginning of each week. Her work was regularly below standard although her supervisor protected her by sweeping up any mistakes. However it had reached the stage where managers specifically asked for their work to be completed by other secretaries. Last month line management responsibilities changed and the new line manager was asked to 'sort' the issue…
Data Protection
You went into the stationary room and caught two members of staff laughing over the appraisal comments they had seen on a desk in the outer office concerning another member of staff.
Gross Misconduct
A member of staff comes to see you to say that they had overheard another member of staff talking with a client and making seriously disparaging remarks about the company and specific members of the senior management team. This information was corroborated by another member of staff….
Equal Opportunities
A member of staff comes to you to complain that she had overheard another director say that there was no chance that he was going to recruit another ugly fat personal assistant over 35…..
Maternity Leave
Suzanne who has been with the firm for 2 years has just asked if she can take 56 weeks off to include maternity and parental leave….
If you need some practical advice on how to deal with situations like this, Mercia HR can help, contact John Sharkey or call him on 0116 258 1200.
