Avoiding legal problems at work

As employees' rights are becoming increasingly well known and as employees are becoming more and more aware of these rights in the workplace, employers cannot afford to ignore or completely mishandle employment problems. Following the introduction of the Industrial and Employment Relations Act 2002, Maltese workers were bestowed with a wide array of rights that were non-existent before this law was enacted.

For many, 2003, the year the act came into force, was seen as one of increased rights and better working conditions, as well as an introduction to improved ways on how to strike a balance between working and family life for a better quality of living.

A botched employment situation could cost the employer a lot of money in legal expenses and possibly fines or compensation if found guilty after a lawsuit is wound up. It does not take much for an employer to stir himself away from legal trouble with his employees, and rightly so! All it takes is a bit of common sense and the knowhow of how to keep employees happy in the workplace.

Respect: Treat your workers with respect because anyone would feel bad if he or she is deprived of dignity or when humiliated for petty things which do not matter all that much. Workers obviously don't like it when they are treated in ways they consider mean are likely to seek some form of revenge on their employers.

Some workers are immature enough to take the law into their hands and pay back their employer by doing something that will hurt him or the business. This is downright silly because, apart from the fact that the worker will be getting absolutely nowhere, disciplinary and criminal proceedings may be instituted against him for breaking the law.

A few years back, for example, the police charged a man in court who was accused of stealing items from his workplace because his boss did not pay his employees on time. The man obviously lost the case because, as soon as he told the police, the man was given a suspended jail term.

Another way - and many choose this avenue - is suing an employer, either directly by filing a complaint with the authorities like the Courts or the Ombudsman, or through the union representing the worker.

If an employer shouts at or completely degrades a person for poor performance at the workplace, or if the employer publicises a personal problem one of his employees has and confided in him about, then the employer can expect trouble.

Communication: This is a very important policy at the workplace for a good, healthy relationship with your employees. The best way to ensure good communication is by adopting an open door policy where employees can discuss any problem with you but, more importantly, you need to put this policy into practice.

Undoubtedly, this will help you find out about workplace problems long before they reach a level where they cannot be solved. It is very important to nip these problems in the bud rather than wait for them, without knowing, to reach exaggerated levels. Such a policy will also show your employees that you value their opinions and want to know and care about everything that goes on.

Consistency: Consistency is an important element to retain your employees' trust at all times. It is important to apply the same standards of performance and discipline with all your employees and not have special proceedings for the selected few.

Workers quickly sour on a boss who plays favourites or who punishes scapegoats. Successful discrimination lawsuits start when a boss, manager or direct superior treats employees in the same situation differently.

For example, in a recent court case in the UK, a manager was fined and scolded for treating two workers in the same situation differently. One day, John (name has been changed) asked his boss to leave an hour early from work to attend a dentist appointment he had fixed three months earlier. His boss immediately told him that it would not be a problem and that the hour's leave would be reduced from his annual leave allowance.

However, a few weeks later, Joanna (name has been changed), John's colleague, asked the same boss for a hour off from work to go to her gynaecologist for a regular check-up which takes place every six months. The boss told her she could not leave early from work and that if she wanted to go to her gynaecologist, she would have had to take the whole day off. This is a typical example of inconsistency, especially because the boss had no obvious, good and apparent reason why he was not allowing her to visit her doctor.

Regular evaluations: A few months ago, we dealt with the importance of performance appraisals and how these are important for both the employee and employer. It is essential that employees know where they stand at work and, just as importantly, for an employer to know where he stands with respect to his employees.

Performance appraisals are certainly essential too for the effective management and evaluation of staff. Appraisals help develop individuals, improve organisational performance and feed into business planning.

In terms of avoiding legal trouble with employees, performance evaluations are an employer's early warning system regarding employment problems and also proof that he has acted reasonably, in case the matter ends up in court.

Take job-related decisions: It is very important that every decision taken by the employer at the workplace is guided by job-related criteria rather than based on the workers' race or gender. Discrimination at work is not given the attention it deserves and occurs when someone is treated differently because of a specific characteristic, like, for example, the village the employee hails from, his gender, weight, height, hair colour and style, religious beliefs, political party, disability, and the list goes on and on.

Ensure that your personnel decisions are based on performance of the business and are strictly business-related, decisions that make economic sense, avoiding legal trouble with employees for discrimination, violation of privacy and wrongful termination of employment.

Sound policies: An employee handbook is an indispensable workplace tool that will help an employer communicate better with his employees, manage the workforce better and protect the business from lawsuits.

However, once adopted, these policies must be followed and respected by all employees. If rules are bent for one worker, the same must be done for all the others. Moreover, it must be stressed that if rules are bent employees won't take these rules seriously.

Let us take a practical example. If a warden sees a car parked on a double yellow line and only tells the driver to remove it instead of booking him, the warden must apply the same rule when he meets another car parked on a double yellow line one corner up the road. Basically, the concept of two weights two measures need to be abolished and bosses must be more careful when applying rules at the workplace.

Keep good records: If a worker decides to sue, the employer is required to testify in court about what happened, when and how. However, when testifying in court you must be in a position to prove that the version you are giving is accurate.

In order to make the best case, careful, accurate records must be kept of every major employment decision taken with regard to each and every worker. This form of record should include performance evaluations, disciplinary warnings and all other proceedings taken.

Once an employment problem comes to the attention of the employer, he must resist the temptation of hiding the employee's head in the sand. Action needs to be taken almost immediately before the situation turns sour. It is also important to remember that discretion is the word - loose lips about employee problems are a sure-fire way to bring the law down on an employer's head.

An employee could sue for defamation or could haul an employer into court for causing emotional distress, for creating a working environment that is hostile and for poisoning prospective employees against them. The stakes are high so it is of utmost importance that employers, managers and superiors are protected by providing information on a need-to-know basis only.

CSB Recruitment Agency has been supporting the local business community with its services since 1987. For more information you can write to CSB at Vincenti Buildings, 14/19 Strait Street, Valletta VLT 08, call on 2122-5800 or 2124-6543, fax: 2123-0520, e-mail: jobs@vacancycentre.com, or visit www.Vacancy Centre.com

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