Update

The 4P's: Policies, Procedures and Process = Protection

There is a very good reason why employers have policies and procedures in place – they are to provide a structured framework on how to manage difficult situations concerning their employees, they assist to protect employees to ensure a fair process and they protect an employer's position should their process ever be challenged. Applying a well-drafted policy, consistently and transparently, will ensure a reasonable process in managing difficult employee situations and will enable an employer to more robustly defend any claim of unfair or constructive unfair dismissal by an aggrieved employee.

The St John Ambulance and Rescue Service (the Service) provides a recent example of a local Guernsey business successfully applying three  of the Ps and by doing so not only protecting their employees in effectively investigating and managing a sensitive and difficult situation, but successfully defending a constructive unfair dismissal complaint lodged by an ex-employee, Jason Garnham (Mr Garnham). By doing so, they achieved the fourth P of protecting their business. This briefing further discusses that case.