Employment Law Update (June 2010)
World Cup lessons for employers
Following England's less-than-sparkling performance in the World
Cup – a consolation for fans being an even worse performance by
France, which even saw a players' strike – are there any lessons
that employers could learn from the teams' experience? Did the way
the teams were managed have any impact on their performance? Our
Employment Law experts consider what lessons can be drawn…
Can you have too much team discipline?
Everyone knows team discipline is important and this applies to
the workplace too. That way, everyone knows what's expected
of them, where the boundaries of acceptable behaviour lie, and what
the consequences of stepping out of line will be.
But was Fabio Capello's decision to exclude the WAGs from the
World Cup really a wise one? Overly tight management, and
seeking to impose discipline on what is really personal behaviour
outside the workplace might be counter-productive and have a
detrimental impact on your team's morale. The lesson for
employers here is to weigh up the enforcement of discipline against
the effect on workplace morale of imposing seemingly needless
rules.
Look after your star players!
Losing the team captain to injury just a matter of days before
the big event might have been outside Fabio's control – England
footballers after all have obligations to their other employers,
the club teams.
But there's a lesson for your workplace that some members of
your team – and some events - will be really important and whatever
else you do, you must make sure your top players are available when
you need them – and have a back-up plan with equally well-trained
individuals in place to pick things up if needed.
Use disciplinary procedures fairly!
Not every employer will have to deal with their staff's
infidelities being exposed in the national papers, but nor will
ordinary employers have the option of demoting an individual
because of what the employer perceives as poor behaviour outside
work.
Taking such action is likely to lead to an unfair dismissal
claim in most workplaces, but even if it does not, the sense of
injustice caused by not following a fair disciplinary procedure –
allowing the employee to explain his or her side of the story,
allowing the right of appeal and keeping punishment proportionate -
is likely to result in staff knowing they have been treated fairly,
and stop problems in the future.
Don't let staff nurse grievances!
A lesson from both the France and the England team is that
simply "putting down" confrontation doesn't stop the root cause of
the problem.
All employers should have a proper grievance procedure in place,
which staff who feel aggrieved can use to sort problems out.
The procedure also ensures employers get to know about any matters
that might cause legal claims, such as discrimination, bullying and
harassment.
You can't build a good team by making late
changes!
Fabio Capello's policy of not announcing the final shape of the
match team until a few hours before each game may explain why the
England team often seemed not to "gel" on the pitch.
In the workplace, employers won't usually have a choice of who
they pick for each day's work, but it is nonetheless important for
everyone in the workplace to understand their part in the team and
to maintain good relationships with those they work with.
And finally…
Whatever the result of the World Cup, our Employment Law Team at
Mentor is here to help, with guidance, advice, training and
support.