As Solicitors we have organised a series of employment law seminars over the past few years and the normal attendance has been around 60-70 general managers and human resource managers. However, the latest course about dismissal for poor performance attracted around 140 bookings! It seems clear from the popularity of this seminar that this issue really matters to local businesses.

The main risk involved in dismissing an incompetent employees is losing a claim for unfair dismissal and having to pay an award of compensation for loss of earnings of up to £53,500. This is generally only a risk where employees have been employed for at least 12 months.

In order to justify the dismissal of an under performing employee, the business will need to show that they honestly and reasonably believed that the employee was failing to meet established standards. It is generally accepted in employment law that businesses are entitled to introduce rigorous standards of performance provided that they are not unachievable and provided that they are consistently applied. Many businesses will adopt standards in the form of sales targets or productivity requirements.

Assuming that an employee has failed to meet established standards, the business will still be required to follow a fair procedure before dismissal. This will generally include giving a formal written warning to the employee and then a final written warning. The employee needs to be given an opportunity to improve and their performance needs to be monitored. Although there is no strict duty to help the employee, businesses should act reasonably in responding to requests for help. There is a specific duty to make reasonable adjustments if the employee concerned suffers from a disability.

Assuming that there is no improvement following a final warning, then the employer can proceed with dismissal. However, it is essential that the employer holds a formal disciplinary hearing before dismissal and gives the employee an opportunity to appeal against dismissal.

For information on employment law Swindon look at the website for these Swindon Solicitors.

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