What would you do if an employee refuses to work with a colleague?

The HR Blog

Firstly you should not make a decision based on their refusal to work with their colleague.   You would follow these steps.

Investigate

The employee may have made the statement in the heat of the moment or maybe it has been building up over time.  Get the employee to explain calmly the reason behind the statement.  Take notes and summarise back to the employee to confirm you have understood what they have said correctly.  Prepare a statement for them to sign

Follow this process with all the relevant parties.

Mediate

As the employees calm down and talk about it they may see the other employee’s side and you can get them to talk and patch up their differences.  It may not be that easy but you need to persevere.

You should not crumble too easily under employee pressure, particularly if the allegations are based on groundless prejudice, are unreasonable or are a complete overreaction to the situation. Indeed, in certain circumstances, you may have to consider disciplining the protesters if their actions amount to bullying or harassment of the employee in question. You will always want to protect the company’s business interests.

Where employees’ objections are well founded, it may be appropriate for the employee with whom the problem has arisen to be disciplined if the issue is one of misconduct or offensive behaviour. The fact that you are tackling the issue may be sufficient to calm the situation down and appease the workforce.

It sounds so simple on paper, but if you need assistance we can come in to ease the process by walking you through the process.  Just contact us on enquiries@HRBusCons.co.uk

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