Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

person’s employer has a duty of care, not only to the em- ployee, but to the potential new employer. Therefore, you should not give any opinion about an employee’s perform- ance or level of skill...even if it’s all positive. Unfortunately, this does not really help you when try- ing to appoint your own team members, but it’s important to be seen to treat all your em- ployees the same and to be fair to all parties at all times. Usu- ally a reference will consist of confirmation of the employee’s dates of employment and their job title only. Redundancies and dismissals Redundancies are sometimes a necessary course of action when workload has dimin- ished significantly. However, you need to have evidence to show that this is the case. You cannot, therefore, make a team member redundant if you’re not happy with their work. It’s also worth bearing in mind that, in redundancy cases, if an employee has been with you for more than two years, they are entitled to compensation. If you are dismissing a member of staff you need to en- sure that you have document- ed evidence of fair process. If you have given the employee fair warning and the opportu- nity to rectify the problem, you can then undergo a consulta- tion with them to explain why you are planning to let them go and your reasoning behind the decision. There should then be a short period of no more than 48 hours before another meet- ing is held. This is to hear the employee’s thoughts and any ideas or suggestions they have and they are entitled to bring a representative to this meet- ing such as a work colleague or trade-union representative. It’s a good idea to give any ideas some serious considera- tion, but you are not obligated to take them up. If, after this meeting, you decide to let the employee go, you can hold a dismissal meeting to formally give notice. The employee then has the right to appeal to bodies such as the Defence Union, but this does not happen in the vast majority of cases. You’re not alone Hopefully the information above has given you some use- ful ideas and guidance. Recruit- ment and employment law is a complex topic, but please don’t feel like you are alone. You can not only get valuable advice from bodies such as www.direct.gov.uk, but some payment plan specialists also offer training courses on the topic. These can not only provide helpful informa- tion, tailored to your specific needs, but can also offer veri- fiable CPD, so why not check them out? So, please don’t feel overwhelmed and there is also no reason not to make recruit- ment and employment law work for you. DT page 17DTß 30% 22% 16% 10% The Pioneers of Teeth Whitening Time to change to ‘LowCost’ Carbamide. Increase your profits to beat the recession. Call for our latest offers: 01227 780009 www.quickwhite.info info@quicklase.com The New ‘LowCost’ In-surgery Power gel & Home Carbamide QWCPHP050511RG About the author Jo Banks is Denplan’s Sales Trainer Manager, highly ex- perienced in working with dental practice teams to en- sure they feel confident in their ability to communicate with their patients and offer them best options for their oral health. ‘Recruitment and employment law is a complex topic, but please don’t feel like you are alone.’ Be careful what information you ask for June 13-19, 201118 United Kingdom EditionPractice Management