Some people live to work; others work to live. However, whatever your mentality may be, I think everyone goes to work hoping for a problem free day. But, unfortunately, we can hear all too often some of the workplace issues both the employee and the employer are faced with day in day out. For many, you might think that the employees are at a disadvantage and your employer holds all the cards. But quite frankly, each side has its fair share of issues. I thought it would be worth covering some of the most common issues in the workplace. Offering a few tips along the way to help you perhaps avoid them yourself.
Being in breach of your contract
By definition, being in breach of your contract is quite self explanatory. A contract of employment is a legally binding agreement between an employer and employee. A violation can happen when either party breaks one of the terms, for example, you don’t get paid, or you don’t work enough hours. A violation is more likely to be caused by the employee. There can be many different ways that you can be in breach of your contract. The most common reasons being leaving without notice and working for a competitor.
So, what happens next?
In most cases, if you find that you as the employee have been accused of being in breach of your contract, then the employer will try and resolve the matter. However, if there isn’t a resolve to the matter than it can go further on to the courts. The likelihood is that these things are settled outside of court before the fee’s get added. Either party can sue the other for losses. The best advice is always to read your contract before signing it. If you plan on leaving it is always worth giving it another look.
Getting injured at work
One of the toughest things that can happen to anyone in the workplace is obtaining an injury while working. Not only does it cause problems initially, but sometimes those injuries occurred could mean you are off work for some time. Some employers don’t have extensive sick pay schemes, and so it can leave you, the employee, out of pocket, when it may not have been your fault. The question anyone needs to ask themselves in this situation is whether this accident could have been avoided. If the answer is yes, then it may be worth seeking some legal advice to make a claim. This should never affect your employment; they have insurances in place to cover such incidents. However, many employees will feel a fear of doing something like this just incase it does affect their long term employment. This is why companies like Nationwide Injury Lawyers can help.
So, what should you do?
If you find yourself in this situation and are losing out on money and other things, then lawyers can help advise on your next steps of action. An accident in the workplace should always be avoided at all costs. Sometimes they are inevitable, but in most cases, they should have been resolved.
Increased workload
Are you getting more work piled on to your existing workload each week? Sometimes employers can take huge advantage of their staff and try and save a wage by asking others to take on the responsibility. Thankfully, in this scenario, it is not as common as it once was. Often employers will now incentivise for additional work or even create promotions to withstand the extra work.
So, what do I do?
If you find yourself in this situation, then don’t be afraid to communicate your issues with your line manager. They are there to offer support to their team. Many times these kinds of issues can be resolved through good communication.
Retention of staff
Many employers can find themselves in a tricky situation when it comes to staff retention. For many reasons people choose to part ways with a company, but it’s the reason why any employer should be listening out for. Some reasons for resigning could be other employees or a clash of personalities with a line manager. One or two employees sharing this opinion should not be an issue, but if you find it more frequently then you may have an internal problem to resolve. Other reasons could be low pay, no bonuses or incentives, or simply the hours they are expected to work. Staff retention is a tricky thing to stabilise. Some companies are just known as open doors, where people start and leave quite regularly. However, employees are the lifeblood of any business. Providing the skills and attributes to keep productivity levels high. Often, any employer will have invested time and money into each employee. Even with initial training, there is a cost, so to continually lose staff can have a big financial impact on any corporation.
So, how is this improved?
A great tip is to keep staff incentivised and motivated to do their job. Being approachable so that smaller issues can be resolved quickly could go a long way to avoiding people leaving. Retention is key for the smooth running of any business.
Recruitment of the right people
While retention can be a problem, so can the recruitment of the right people for the roles. Again, it’s all down to ensuring the smooth running of any business. Having people in the right jobs with the correct skillset is vital to keep productivity levels high. Finding staff with the correct blend of skills and personality is difficult. Many employers will tell you that good people are hard to find and subsequently keep.
So, how do you do that?
Making sure the job is advertised in the right places and with as much information as possible is vital to attracting the right people. It’s worth centralising any recruitment and gathering the information. Making sure you have a good selection of candidates. Keeping a record of unsuccessful candidates can reduce recruitment costs in the future. As you have people you could contact, if another role presented itself.
Discrimination and Diversity
We live in a world where everyone is entitled to their opinion and voice. So with that comes the risk of discrimination and diversity. Not only between an employer and employees, but also amongst team members. This is also especially noted if the company has a direct dealing with the general public. The business, as a whole, must show equality and not discriminate in any way at all. But yet, we still find ourselves hearing about racial issues and other discrimination issues. Any incidents that do occur must be noted down and investigated thoroughly, both amongst staff or with the general public. An employer has the right to take disciplinary action against those involved in their business. According to their own policies and guidelines that will be highlighted in the handbook.
So, how do you avoid these situations occurring?
The problem is you can never predict when discrimination or diversity is going to cause an issue. Again, it is down to how people are and their opinions. But what you can do is ensure that everyone is aware of the guidelines that they must adhere to. Every employee will receive a handbook, and these must be signed for. Once you have the compliance of everyone, then you can only trust that issues won’t occur. We live in a world where equal rights must be adhered to. You cannot discriminate anyone.
I hope this productive rant about common workplace issues has you more aware of what goes on behind the scenes. Both for an employer and employee. As you can see everyone has their fair share of issues.