We believe in being open, so we want to briefly acknowledge an employment tribunal from 2018 and provide some context.
In 2018, we were involved in an employment tribunal relating to a short period of employment with a former team member the previous year.
At the time, we faced a difficult situation involving performance concerns with someone who was also pregnant. We took professional HR advice, followed the guidance we were given, and sought to handle the situation with care and fairness. We also chose to go beyond our legal obligations by continuing to pay full maternity pay after employment ended.
The tribunal ultimately found against us. While we accepted the decision, apologised, and paid the award promptly, we did not feel the outcome fully reflected what had happened, nor how we look after members of our team.
This case was deeply upsetting for our team and remains the only tribunal hearing we have faced in over 25 years as an employer. Throughout that time, we have supported many teammates through pregnancy and other family-related matters, with consistently positive staff feedback.
While we already had a strong track record as an employer, the experience led us to reflect carefully, as we believe responsible businesses should always do. Since then, our workplace culture has been independently recognised through multiple Investors in People accreditations and by being named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work, both based largely on confidential feedback from our employees.
We share this statement for transparency. We believe this case was an isolated incident and does not reflect our values, our culture, or the way we support our team, clients, and partners.
Steve Brennan, Co-founder & CEO
Our learning from being taken through the tribunal process was that there are rarely any winners.
Each case takes many months, costs a lot of money, creates stress for all involved, and often neither side feels they've fully "won" at the end.
If you’re considering a tribunal case, either as an employer or employee, we invite you to speak to us confidentially before doing so.
We hope that by sharing our experience, we might be able to help others find ways to resolve amicably and avoid the process altogether
If you’d like to talk to us about our experience with a view to helping you resolve your own matter please fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch.
Any submission made through this form will be treated in confidence.
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