EMPLOYMENT LAW JUNE 2019
Employment law SOS
This month, our legal expert looks at a complicated
compassionate leave request, disciplining senior management
over food contamination rules and how to deal when heated
disagreements over Brexit break out on the shopfloor
BY SHARON BROUGHTON, HEAD OF HR CONSULTANCY, MAKE UK www.makeuk.org
On our small shopfloor in
South-East England, we
have two machine operators
who happen to be siblings.
It has been brought to my
attention that their aunt,
who I’m told they’re close
with, is extremely ill and
will unfortunately die very
soon. Our policy states that
compassionate leave is for
immediate family (parents,
grandparents, spouses and
siblings) only. We also have
policy that only one machine
operator can be on leave at
one time, due to how small
our staff base is. Their family
is from Aberdeen, over a
day’s drive from here. What
can I do when they both ask
to go to their aunt’s funeral?
Under normal circumstances
it is important to follow the
company policy and look at
what the company has done
in the past, i.e. historically
what compassionate leave
has been provided to others
outside of the ‘immediate
family’ (custom & practice).
If the company has provided
leave outside of ‘immediate
family’ in the past then the
sibling machine operators’ case
should be considered carefully
and it would seem fair to offer
compassionate leave. If no
compassionate leave has been
offered outside of ‘immediate
family’ then a request for
compassionate leave could be
refused with clear justification.
However, in this case it is
also important to consider the
message the company would
be giving by not allowing the
employees to attend. What
impact would this have on
others in relation to their
motivation and wellbeing,
especially given you have a
very tight-knit shopfloor?
For the employees
concerned refusing the
request at such a difficult
time may also make them
feel unsupported and affect
their general engagement and
productivity. The other point
to consider is that if the time is
not allowed, the employees in
question could legitimately ring
in sick in any case, based on
the emotional trauma they’re
experiencing. Therefore, it
would seem a much better
approach to control the
situation and plan for their
absence as much as possible.
employees when they return to
work; they may need additional
time off or support beyond just
the run up to and the day of
the funeral. Whatever is
ultimately decided, you’ll
need to ensure you treat both
employees the same regardless
of the operational impact,
given in isolation their
situations are identical.
I am middle-management at
a nut-free food processing
plant. It is understood that
all staff bring no food outside
of the canteen, as we have
strict cross-contamination
rules. However, I have
recently noticed some of
the directors eating lunch
at their desks, which are in
cubicles on the second floor
of the building. Although
I haven’t seen anything
containing nuts specifically,
I’m worried about any
incidents that might occur.
How do I bring this to the
attention of my superiors,
who must be ignoring the
signs saying “No food beyond
this point” that are already
on display in the canteen?
It’s important to, first and
foremost, speak to the
directors about it. Impress
on them how their behaviour
may be viewed by others,
especially when they are the
ones supposed to leading by
example. If you’ve seen it then
it is highly likely others will
have seen it too. Remind them
that if there are any issues with
employees, then it would prove
difficult to impose disciplinary
sanctions for their actions,
given they could argue they
were doing exactly the same
as a director.
If there is going to be
a critical impact on the
organisation by two employees
being off work at the same
time the company should
take a serious look at how it
is organised. Although this
is a situation that is unlikely
to happen again, it does not
prevent sickness and general
absence meaning two machine
operators are off at the same
time. There should threfore be
robust contingency plans in
place in any case.
Finally, don’t forget
to consider the ongoing
impact the death of someone
important will have on the
12 www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
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