DEAL WITH MY BOSS: RESOLVING DISPUTES AT WORK
Thursday, October 5, 2017
It’s fairly common that for most people, they may have had a dispute of some description, whether that’s as an employee or employer and for the majority of cases, most disputes are settled informally before they escalate, however, some situations may require further action.
Generally speaking, any dispute with your employer will fall into one of two categories: grievances or disciplinaries.
Grievances, by definition, are concerns, problems or complaints that your employer will raise with you and this could be about your:
- job
- terms and conditions of your contract
- contractual/statutory rights
- behaviour or treatment in the workplace
For any immediate problems, it is important that as an employee, you raise your concerns with your manager to see if the problems can be sorted out informally.
Disciplinaries, on the other hand, are concerns about your conduct, absence from work or the way that you’re doing your job. Any concerns that your employer has with you should be initially raised informally as part of a performance review, except if it is a more serious issue which could lead to disciplinary action such as dismissal.
Having trouble solving the issue between yourself and your employer? You may be required to bring in a third party to try and resolve the issue. This could be through:
- mediation or conciliation
- arbitration
If you’ve managed to solve the dispute with your employer, it may be a good idea to record your agreement in writing, or even include a legally binding agreement – this agreement will ensure that you give up your right to make or continue a claim about the issue that has been resolved and this can only be done through one of the following agreements:
- a conciliation agreement
- a compromise agreement
In order to avoid or resolve disputes in an early stage, we recommend that you do the following:
- Stay calm
- Listen to understand and emphasize the positive
- State your case tactfully
- Confront the problem, not the person and avoid blaming anyone
- Concentration on the future
If your dispute cannot be resolved, we highly recommend that you seek the appropriate legal advice. Contact us today at either our Wolverhampton, Dudley or Birmingham office and we can explain the next appropriate steps that you will need to take. You can also get in touch with us by emailing: [email protected]