Russell HR Consulting

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Doing so much employment law training means we have to work constantly to keep on top of developing areas and cases. The case of Tim Nicholson, currently being hailed by some environmentalists as a ‘green martyr’, after being made redundant by Grainger plc, is an interesting one.

Grainger plc is Britain’s biggest residential property investment company.  Mr Nicholson was Head of Sustainability. He is claiming that his dismissal on grounds of redundancy from the company was unfair and discriminated against him on grounds of his philosophical belief. Philosophical belief is one of the heads of protection given under the 2003 religion and religious belief legislation. He claims that his strong belief about the importance of the environment contributed to the loss of his job.

At the hearing Mr Nicholson said that the company had good written policies both on the environment and corporate social responsibility, but there was a mismatch between the policies and the way in which the firm was managed. For example, executives would drive highly polluting vehicles. When he tried to get the company to act in a more environmentally responsible way, he said that senior company executives obstructed him.

At a pre-hearing review an employment judge at the Central London Employment Tribunal agreed with Mr Nicholson’s submission that his environmental beliefs could amount to a philosophical belief.

This is the first case of its kind. The case will go on to a full hearing in June.

Despite our reputation for commercial toughness and robust handling of HR, we do have a bit of a soft side. 

Several years ago we started working with Dogs for the Disabled and have become firm fans of their work.  Not only do the dogs give disabled children and adults more independence, something I hadn’t realised when I first got involved was that a dog can help break the ice conversationally.  Able bodied people often don’t know the best way to approach a disabled person, but the presence of a dog gives that immediate social bond and can help break the isolation that some disabled people feel.

We like to provide some practical support, so this year we were pleased to be able to increase our donation.  On the day we trotted along to make the donation, we were invited to go to puppy class.  As you might imagine, eight puppies in various stages of Andrex cuteness was a delightful sight, but the noise of so many excited, chatty little pups all training together was indescribable.  

We had an absolute riot with the puppies and after some persuasion, they proved that they could pout at the camera as well as Kate Moss!

For more information about the excellent work done by the charity, visit them at www.dogsforthedisabled.org

Russell HR Consulting Team at Dogs for the Disabled

While the HR Headmistress rather relishes a bit of a skirmish, at Russell HR Consulting, we do try to minimise the tears-before-bedtime scenario.  And so it came about that we decided to introduce a new service to our HR portfolio.

Workplace mediation is based on the principles of encouraging constructive communication in a safe and confidential environment and identifying mutual solutions and agreements which will restore appropriate and happier working relationships.

It is becoming a well established dispute resolution method for the resolution of employee conflicts.  There are several good reasons to use mediation   - the huge increase in the number of employee complaints (employment tribunal cases reached record levels last year), high levels of compensation, the continuing introduction of new employment legislation and, for many, the realisation that formal procedures and investigations can in some circumstances be so adversarial and stressful to all concerned that any possibility of people working together again is minimal. 

Workplace mediation is a structured process in which an impartial mediator enables disputing parties to communicate so that they can clarify the underlying issues and come up with agreements on how to improve the working relationship in the future.  

And if the mediation is not successful or if the complaint is more serious, then people can always invoke formal or legal procedures.

I came across this clip on a mediator’s website.  I have seen it before, but it’s so funny that it bears repetition.  Hope you enjoy it.

Mediation for cats (Simon’s cat)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q

Call us if you’d like some information about our mediation services (we have no cats on our team).

We are really delighted to pass on the news that one of our clients, Building Services Design has been recognised by The Sunday Times as one of the best small companies to work for in its Top 100 Best Small Companies report.

Several of the Russell HR team have now worked with BSD and when we heard they’d gone in for the award against intense competition, we can safely say that we expected nothing less for them.

In their first year of entry they ranked an impressive 32nd in the newspaper’s annual survey of firms with under 250 employees (and that makes them the highest listed company from the construction sector).

We add our warmest congratulations to Davids White and Featherstone and the rest of the excellent BSD team.

But of course - that’s what happens to organizations who take our HR advice!

Read all about them at www.BuildingServicesDesign.co.uk