Is no news really good news? NICOLA GRAY says employers should not wait for formal complaints
The old adage “no news is good news” may hold some truth in everyday life, but when it comes to managing a workforce, silence can be misleading. A lack of formal challenge following a management decision doesn’t always mean employees are satisfied. In fact, it may simply indicate that staff don’t feel comfortable about raising concerns – or don’t know how to.
Good employers will bear this in mind when considering their workforce as they will appreciate that not all complaints will take the form of formal grievances. Identifying issues early – before they escalate – not only helps to contain concerns and implement quicker solutions but will foster stronger and more productive employee relations.
How can this be achieved? The first step is ensuring open channels of communication between staff and managers. This allows managers to be considered approachable at the earlier points when concerns may be more readily addressed, but also provides a foundation of confidence for the concerned employee that their issue may be received and understood, and that the employer can take suitable action.
However, open communication will only be beneficial if the manager knows what to listen out for. While many employers may provide vocational training necessary for the performance of their employee’s “job”, good employers will recognise that staff who excel in their area of expertise and merit promotion to lead, senior, or managerial positions, may not have the innate skill to “manage” and leadership training may be beneficial to allow space for the senior staff to up-skill in the softer skills of management.
It is important also that the senior staff recognise and can uphold the employer’s policies and procedures to address concerns or complaints, providing that the policies/procedures themselves are in-keeping with up-to-date legal expectations.
It may not always be obvious whether the employee concern is a “grievance”, a “protected disclosure” or a “work complaint” and the appropriate handling of each, as well as any legal protections for the complainer, will differ.
Staff should be aware of their available routes of recourse if they do have a concern to raise. Regular review of handbooks/policies will ensure that the policies/procedures remain fit for purpose within the employer business, as well as legally compliant. Any updates to these policies/procedures should be communicated to staff, as well as suitable training provided to those responsible for enforcing the policy.
Following the introduction of the “proactive duty” to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, identifying and addressing concerns of this nature has come under increasing focus, and for good reason.
Increasing staff awareness of what may constitute sexual harassment, usually through suitable training provision, can be a double-edged sword. Although any inadvertent breaches/unsavoury behaviours may hopefully be curtailed when potential perpetrators are educated as to how their actions may be perceived by potential victims.
However, this may lead to an increase in complaints, as serious “labels” may then be attached to
behaviours staff may have found unnerving but may have not quite considered that the
behaviours could be considered to constitute sexual harassment.
All concerns should be considered by the employer, whether investigations are necessary will depend upon the nature and form of complaint, but a discussion with the unhappy employee will always be prudent.
Whether these conversations are conducted through a formal complaints process (such as a grievance policy, whistleblowing policy, anti-harassment and bullying policy) or in an effort to address concerns before they grow into formal complaints, addressing concerns timeously will improve the employer and the employee’s working relationships.
To learn more about spotting employee concerns at their inception, as well as dealing with formal complaints including grievances and subject access requests, and any interaction these may have with simultaneous disciplinary proceedings, readers are welcome to join our upcoming seminars on 30 April and 1 May.
Nicola Gray is a partner at Aberdein Considine
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