Employment Law and Authentic Relationships

Government plans to overhaul key areas of employment legislation have not surprisingly led to the full spectrum of responses from those who say ‘jolly good, about time’ to others who see it as a charter for unscrupulous employers. The basis for the plans is the view that employment law impedes business growth and therefore changes are proposed to legal provision including dismissal and the employment tribunal system: http://bit.ly/u72lcK

Whether the proposed changes will lead to greater profitability can only be a matter of conjecture. Making it easier to dismiss someone, for example, is much more complicated than just getting rid of a problem person: covering that person’s work, finding a replacement and then training them up bring a raft of costs which need to be balanced against other savings. The law has a clear and crucial place in ensuring fairness, protection for employer and employee and consistency of practice but whether someone can legally be dismissed after one or two years is actually not the point. The point should be that we build good relationships and that those with people management responsibilities work to establish clarity and fairness. There is a danger that we can become so legally driven that the law becomes a distraction from basic good practice and authentic human relationships. An understanding of the legal risks must be part of the management ‘toolkit’ but this knowledge should support and rationalise business driven actions rather than be the sole driver.  

Creating an environment in which there is mutual trust and respect supported by clearly articulated standards, processes and sanctions provides the strongest context in which to develop happy, performing employees managed by effective managers and led by authentic leaders. 

Have a look at our Level Seven ‘7s’ to see how legal awareness can be created within an open and honest culture http://bit.ly/uRGEiG.