A Tale of Two Employers

A while ago we were asked to attend a disciplinary meeting with our client, an employee of a large, well known, company in the financial sector. Our client had been dishonest in their dealings with a client of the employer. The client had acted stupidly and felt genuinely sorry for what they had done. Pressures in their personal life had impaired the person’s good judgment.

We had to advise the client that being dismissed was a very real possibility. The client wanted to remain with the company and we talked about alternatives that we could discuss with the employer. The client was willing to accept a demotion and a warning that would stay on their record for a year. The client was open and honest with the employer and expressed real sorrow.

The employer took a break from the disciplinary meeting and asked to meet us again in half an hour at which time they would advise their decision. When the employer came back they offered to keep our client on but in the demoted role. Given the circumstances, and the client’s wish to remain in the company, this was an excellent result. Many companies would have dismissed without further thought. I was impressed with this very large company and their capacity to give an employee a second chance. I also liked how they advised their decision quickly so that the stress and worry for the employee was reduced. A company of compassion that managed to retain a loyal employee with an outcome that was fair to both employer and employee.

I contrast this company’s attitude with that of a large airline which is known for its harshness in employment relations matters. Even quite minor slip ups often lead to a dismissal. Not only that, the HR process is dragged out over many weeks and months, placing the employee under huge stress. Because this airline follows the correct employment procedure (in most cases), it can usually get away with its decision to dismiss. I wonder though how sensible this is. Of course there are situations where someone’s actions need to lead to a dismissal. In the case of an airline, safety infractions should usually be treated seriously. However, there are many other things that can happen that are one offs, or the employee can be brought back on track to being an excellent employee. It costs money to hire and train people and it makes good business sense to not waste that investment by dismissing people when this is not necessary. By dismissing people who would have carried on as good employees, not only does this large airline lose valuable staff members, it encourages an atmosphere of fear where things that go wrong are not going to be reported for fear of being dismissed.

In acting for an employee we will tailor our advice based on our knowledge of the company that we are dealing with. In the case of the airline, if it looks like a dismissal is going to be the likely outcome, we may advise the employee that their best way forward is to seek other work without delay and to exit before a warning or a dismissal is placed on their employment record. However, even in the case of the airline, there is always going to be more than one way to resolve a problem. A through analysis of the situation, and knowledge of the employer, are essential to gaining the best possible outcome for our clients.