Employment Tribunals vs Your Business Reputation: 4 Ways to Minimise Damage

Employment tribunals can happen for a wide variety of reasons. From issues around equal pay, discrimination, problems with redundancy and even claims of unfair dismissal. While you, your management and your legal team have done all you can to resolve the issue, often cases head to a tribunal to determine a better outcome for everyone.

Your employment tribunal solicitors will work around the clock to ensure the best possible result for you and your business, but once the tribunal ends, the issues facing your business are far from over. Many businesses are at the mercy of reputational damage in the wake of an employment tribunal, regardless of the outcome. Therefore putting a process in place that ensures any damage is kept to a minimum is vital. Here we’ll explore 4 ways to minimise the damage to your business’s reputation in the wake of an employment tribunal.

Update Your Social Media Policies

As an employer, you should already have a strict social media policy in place to protect your business online from wayward or derogatory comments made by employees about you or the business. In the wake of a tribunal, this information and your policy must be updated and regularly checked to ensure it is robust and understood by your employees. Your policy should make it clear that any posts or comments made online about the business can result in disciplinary action or even dismissal.

Remove Anything That May Harm Your Business

Sticking with social media, it’s important that when any derogatory comments or posts are made about your business, that they are flagged and removed as quickly as possible. Even if these comments weren’t made by an employee, you can still reach out to the host site and ask for these comments to be removed – or pursue legal proceedings.

Increase Training Across Your Management

Often, a lack of training within your management teams leads to the poor handling of employee disputes, which in turn can lead to an employment tribunal. By taking positive steps to improve and update training within your management teams, you’re not only protecting your business for the future but also minimising reputational damage with a commitment to reducing mistakes and moving forward positively.

Address Your Employees

Don’t be afraid to talk about the elephant in the room, once the tribunal is over – regardless of the outcome, it’s important to address your employees. Of course, you don’t have to go into details about the case, but highlighting your apparent shortcomings as a business and pledging to improve the way you handle these issues going forward, will minimise the damage to your business reputation. This approach can also prevent misinformation from being posted online or discussed by employees who don’t have all the facts.

Final Thoughts…

Minimising the damage caused to your business after an employment tribunal can feel like an overwhelming task, however with the right approach and with the right legal team by your side, you and your business will be able to bounce back and move forward positively.