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Using Peninsula's Face2Face services gave us peace of mind and legal reassurance
Helen Morris-Brown
Helen Morris-Brown is an independent business coach and consultant.
She supports a variety of organisations, helping them improve performance and productivity.
One of Helen’s clients outsources their HR to Peninsula. So, Helen often works with Peninsula’s advisers.
Often when I work with smaller organisations and charities...
...I consult on things like improving their recruitment, selection processes, and resolving disputes. Peninsula has helped me to ensure that all aspects of the law are covered in relation to employment contracts, and also provided advice when I’m helping organisations with internal disputes
When that client faced a discrimination and grievance case, Helen worked alongside Peninsula to navigate the situation…
Helen’s client experienced issues with a new employee. They weren’t meeting agreed-upon goals or managing their job duties well.
Concerned about the individual’s performance, but willing to give the employee a fair chance, the organisation agreed to extend their probation by three months.
But by the end of this, the employee still wasn’t performing well – so they decided to end the employment contract.
My client gave the employee three months grace...
...and at the end of that, it was clear that they weren’t going to perform to the expected standard. My client asked me to support them with a probation review meeting, in which it was agreed that the employee would be told that they hadn’t passed their probation. We anticipated that this would be a difficult conversation, hence my involvement
But the organisation didn’t get chance to discuss the employee’s performance in depth…
Because, soon into the meeting, the employee raised a formal grievance against a fellow employee.
They claimed they had experienced discrimination due to their religious beliefs. With such a serious allegation being raised, the organisation had to stop the probation meeting and investigate the complaint.
As soon as the employee raised the grievance, Helen contacted Peninsula.
Peninsula consultants helped the organisation to follow every step in the formal grievance process, correctly and lawfully. Following the process meant that they were able to protect themselves against legal action.
Peninsula helped us navigate the whole thing...
...advising all the way through, as to when we spoke to the person raising the grievance, helping us with template email communications and reassuring us throughout
At each stage of the grievance process, consultants called Helen to check the organisation was still on track, and gave advice on how to navigate the next stage.
They helped the organisation meet specific timelines and dates – like informing the employee of their right to appeal.
During this process, Peninsula prepared all the letters and emails that the organisation sent to the employee. This included Acas-based guidelines setting out the employee’s entitlement.
This meant that the employee knew that the organisation was honouring their legal rights, at all times. It helped to rule out any uncertainty, further disputes, or accusations.
What Peninsula was great at was telling us what to expect. Even when the employee was pushing back, we were able to say, ‘no, this is your legal right’. It helped us to be absolutely clear with the employee about when things were happening, and why they were happening
After an investigation, there was no evidence to uphold the grievance. So, they resumed the probation process…
To reduce further tensions with the employee, the organisation used Peninsula’s in-person HR service – Face2Face – to carry out the final probation meeting.
So, a highly qualified employment law consultant hosted the probation meeting, alongside two people from the organisation. The consultant asked a series of questions, which highlighted how the employee was underperforming.
Peninsula’s consultant then created a full report, which included objective evidence of the employee's performance.
Peninsula provided us with in-person support...
...to run that final probation meeting. The consultant was questioning the employee in such a detailed way that it was clear they weren’t delivering what they needed to deliver. Having the external person and report helped us to fairly demonstrate that the employee wasn’t performing in their role
Speaking to a neutral figure, the employee was less confrontational and defensive. This was because they felt reassured in the presence of a fair and qualified representative.
Then, the consultant arranged a separate meeting to provide the final decision.
After the evidence in the probation meeting, it was clear that the organisation had made the right decision to end the employee’s probation.
To help terminate the employee’s contract smoothly, the organisation decided to offer a settlement as a gesture of goodwill. Peninsula’s HR consultants facilitated the settlement – creating the offer letter, and negotiating with the employee’s lawyer.
The employee accepted the settlement, and the employment contract was terminated.
In Helen’s opinion, this complex process would not have been successful had Peninsula not been involved.
Using the additional Face2Face service...
...gave us peace of mind and legal reassurance, so it was money well spent
The consultant helped the employee to understand that the organisation had acted fairly at all times. As a neutral HR professional was present, the employee understood that the organisation wasn’t at fault – meaning that any attempt to raise a tribunal complaint would be unsuccessful.
In person support
A neutral expert consultant carried out the probation meeting, ruling out the risk of bias, mistakes, or disputes.
Documentation support
Employment law specialists wrote all communications that the employee received, including formal letters.
Unlimited HR advice
Advisers contacted the organisation regularly to check they were still following the correct HR process.
Helen continues to work with Peninsula to protect her client against HR risk.
If Helen identifies any potential problem, she raises it with Peninsula as soon as possible. By discussing the situation at the first sign of an issue, she is able to get pragmatic advice to prevent the situation from spiralling into a risky or costly dispute.
Helen believes this saves time and money in the long run.
It’s why Helen advocates for Peninsula, and urges other small organisations to outsource their HR to Peninsula too. She finds that, by the time her clients ask for HR support, they’re already at legal risk.
By navigating issues with Peninsula, Helen knows that her clients would be less likely to need costly advice from a solicitor – or get taken to tribunal.
I'm an advocate of Peninsula, I would like to get other organisations involved. I hear so many stories of smaller organisations being taken to tribunals and that's when I get called in – after the event – and then I'm firefighting. So if an organisation has people on their payroll and doesn’t have an internal HR department, I will always recommend Peninsula
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