Managing disputes: best practice

Section 4 of the Personnel Today Management Resources one stop guide on managing disputes. Other sections.

BEST PRACTICE IN HANDLING DISPUTES

While it is important to have fair and effective grievance and disciplinary procedures, it is even more crucial to find ways to prevent problems and potential disputes arising in the first place. This means having firm written policies on disciplinary and grievance issues which are followed by and clear to everyone, and much more besides.

According to Acas, areas that can have an impact in this area include:

In its advice on discipline and grievances at work, Acas says actions that can nip situations in the bud before disciplinary action becomes necessary include:

In other words, the use of formal procedures should be a last resort rather than the first thought of managers or aggrieved employees.

Preventing disputes

Communication works in two ways. It is being as open and consultative as possible about changes taking place in the organisation, and taking time to find out the individual and collective concerns of workers about issues that may be causing conflict among the workforce.

The warning signs that presage disciplinary or grievance problems will often chime with those coming up on risk assessments for work-related stress. For example, signals from departmental meetings, employee surveys, focus groups or exit interviews that workers are feeling stressed by a lack of support or by bullying management tactics, are likely to lead - if not acted upon - to formal grievances and the need for disciplinary actions.

Equally, problems that may, at first glance, look like a disciplinary issue - such as high levels of absenteeism in a particular part of the business - must be carefully examined to ensure there are no other stress-related problems at play.

Regular, informal contact between managers and staff is the quickest and easiest way to pick up problems before they escalate. Cases of minor misconduct or poor performance often require just a quiet word; the matter can be dealt with quickly and confidentially. However, much will depend on the skills of the manager.

Equipping managers to take responsibility

Research suggests that managers are taking more and more responsibility for discipline and grievance that was once the preserve of HR.² Surveys suggest that discipline takes up, on average, somewhere between 5 and 10 per cent of managers' time. Dismissal is still rare - an IRS survey undertaken in 2001, found employers dismiss on average 0.5 per cent of their workforce each year and discipline 2 per cent.

The challenges for line managers should not be underestimated. The flatter, less hierarchical structure of modern organisations means that managers have to deal with a much wider, less predictable range of problems than ever before. Rapid and frequent organisational change may mean the 'rules' keep changing, and some people may feel uncertain and out of control. Recent studies have supported the idea that people are being called upon to give far more of themselves personally, or emotionally, in the workplace, with the potential for a whole range of personality-related problems - clashes, aggression, even 'desk rage' - that would once never have surfaced at work.

Add to this the competitiveness, pace and long hours of working life, the growing diversity of the workforce, and the increasingly complex demands of consumers, and the need for sophisticated discipline and grievance policies is clear.

Soft management skills and qualities such as empathy, emotional intelligence and conflict management are vital to meet thedemands of discipline and grievance situations and to resolve and defuse problems before they escalate into full-blown disputes. These are not easy skills to pass on, as they require coaching, modelling and mentoring, as well as more traditional methods of teaching; and they require constant sharpening and revisiting. For guidance on where to go for help on this, see the list of resources at the end of this section.

DISCIPLINARY POLICIES

Why have a written disciplinary policy?

As Acas points out, rules in an organisation are necessary because they set standards. It helps workers know where they stand and what is expected of them, in terms of both performance and behaviour, and helps employers deal fairly and consistently with those who fall short.

The policy should be

What should the policy cover?

The clearer an organisation is about its expectations at the outset, the better. The aim, says Acas, is to specify clearly and concisely the rules necessary for the efficient and safe performance of work and the maintenance of satisfactory relations between the workforce and management and between members of the workforce. Rules should be tailored to the needs and legislative framework of the employer's business.

Areas that might be covered, though the list is not exhaustive, include:

Employers may want to deal with some of these through separate, specific policies, eg, on bullying and harassment, or e-mail and internet use. In all cases, spell out the rules, give examples of the types of behaviour that are not acceptable and the possible consequences of breaching the rules.

Gross misconduct

Employees should be made aware of the likely consequences of serious breaches of the rules - the type of conduct, known as gross misconduct, that may lead to summary or without-notice dismissal. These should be made available to new workers, who should ideally be given a copy. You may want to include them in the handbook and the induction programme. In smaller organisations it may be sufficient to display the rules in a prominent place. Bear in mind that best practice requires even allegations of gross misconduct to be reasonably investigated before deciding to dismiss.

Actions considered as gross misconduct:

What should disciplinary procedures contain?

A disciplinary procedure, says Acas, should emphasise not the imposition of sanctions, but the intention of encouraging a worker whose conduct or performance is below standard to improve. While Section 3 focused on the legal requirements set out by the new statutory minimum disciplinary procedures, this chapter looks at best practice and what further employers should do to ensure a fair and consistent approach.

Key points in Acas advice when handling a disciplinary matter:

Acas reminds employers that disciplinary procedures should have regard to the requirements of 'natural justice'. If the formal procedure is to be invoked, the employer must:

How should disciplinary hearings be conducted?

See Section 8  for an example of one company's guidance on conducting disciplinary hearings.

Dealing with absence

It is important to determine why the worker has not been at work before considering any action. If there is no apparent acceptable reason, the matter should be treated as a conduct issue and disciplinary action can start. If the absence is due to a medically certified illness, however, the issue becomes one of capability and Acas advises a "sympathetic and considerate approach". Keep in regular contact with the worker, secure consent before obtaining medical reports, and take action only on medical evidence.

Consider:

See the Acas Advisory Handbook (details below) for more detail on handling medical reports.

Dealing with poor performance

Poor performance cannot be dealt with as a straight disciplinary issue. It requires a separate, but parallel, policy and procedures.

Acas advises that employers should: