Employment tribunals What you need to know

Employment tribunals What you need to know by Amber Rolfe Not sure what an employment tribunal is? If you’re having a dispute at work that can’t be resolved, you might decide to take your complaint to an employment tribunal. But if you’re not familiar with what it involves, submitting a claim and attending a hearing can be a daunting prospect.We’ve already covered why employment law exists, but here’s what to do if you think it’s not being adhered to:What is an employment tribunal? Employment tribunals are independent public bodies who resolve disagreements or disputes between employees and employers.They could deal with a range of employment issues, from unfair dismissal, discrimination, and bullying, through to redundancy payment or wage disputes.Unfair dismissal versus redundancyContract of employment â€" key terms explained and your rightsHow can I make an employment tribunal claim? If you have a problem at work that isn’t being solved through other methods (e.g. by submitting a grievance), you might need to consider taking your case to an employment tribunal.To start your claim, you’ll need to fill out the ET1 form on GOV.UK.This should include a detailed account (written in numbered paragraphs) of your complaint, covering events in order of when they happened.However, before you proceed, remember that employment tribunal claims are taken extremely seriously by employers. So always ensure that you consult a representative or advisor first, to discuss your claim in more detail before pursuing.  What do I need to do before the employment tribunal? A preliminary hearing will usually take place beforehand, which will give both parties an idea when they’ll be expected to attend the tribunal, and how long it will last.This will also provide the opportunity for the employer to discuss a potential settlement with the employee. If an agreement is reached, the employment tribunal won’t go ahead.If not, you will need to prepare:Any relevant paperwork (e.g. employment contract, pays lips, pension scheme details, or notes from meetings)Witness details and statementsNotes to help you present your caseWhat happens at an employment tribunal? Employment tribunals are usually held in a large room in an office building, rather than in a formal court room.Here’s a breakdown on some of the steps that might take place:When you arrive â€" you’ll be asked to sign in and wait in the appropriate waiting room (the claimant’s room). You’ll then be asked to hand over any documents you’ve brought with you. To allow time for this, you should always aim to get there at least half an hour before the hearing is due to start.In the tribunal room â€" there will usually be a tribunal panel of three people, or one employment judge (who will run the hearing) sitting at a slightly raised desk. You’ll be seated in front of them, with witnesses and members of the public located at the back of the room.During the tribunal â€" the panel members will start by introducing themselves , and the judge will decide which side goes first.Each party will be required to read out their witness statements and be cross-examined by the employee, employer, or the allocated representative.After the evidence has been heard â€" you may be asked to make a closing submission, giving you the opportunity to sum up your claim and reiterate the evidence and legal arguments that have been given.The tribunal panel will make a decision â€" this will either happen on the day, or at a later date. If you’re given an answer that day, the panel will take some time away from the room to discuss it beforehand. Otherwise, the decision will be sent to you in writing.  What should I wear to an employment tribunal? Whilst an employment tribunal isn’t as formal as a court hearing, you should always aim to dress as smartly as possible.  Will there be costs? From July 2016, employment tribunal charges were dropped, meaning you’ll no longer have to pay anything to make a claim.If you had an emp loyment tribunal before July 2013, you may also be able to claim back the fees you paid.To find out how, visit GOV.UK.  Can I bring anyone with me? If you have a representative, they’ll usually prepare your case in advance, and will come to the hearing with you. However, you’ll still need to speak when giving your evidence.You’ll also be able to bring friends and family to support you, but they will be required to remain quiet, and sit in the allocated space at the back of the room.What happens after the employment tribunal? What happens after the employment tribunal depends on the decision the employment judge makes.If you win your tribunal case â€" the sum will be decided upon and ordered by the employment judge, and your employer will have to pay this to you or your representative by a set date.However, the employer might choose to apply for a review or appeal against this decision. If this happens, your claim may be referred to a higher court (the employment appeal tribuna l), which is likely to extend the length of your case.If you lose your tribunal case â€" you may be able to request for the claim to be reviewed, or appeal against the decision â€" but this is usually only an option if there was a legal problem with your case.If you have a representative, they’ll be able to provide guidance on whether this is a good idea. If not, you may need to consult a solicitor for specialist advice on the matter.The Equality Act: What you need to knowWhere should I go for employment tribunal advice? For more information and advice on employment tribunals, you can consult the below services:AcasCitizens AdviceGOV.UKThis information is provided for guidance purposes only. For more details on employment tribunals, visit the gov.uk website.Still searching for your perfect position? View all available jobs nowFind a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Employee rights Employment Law

Professionalism in the Workplace Myth, Mystery or a Must

Professionalism in the Workplace Myth, Mystery or a Must True professionalism is an interesting phenomenon and seems to be vanishing as an office worker art. And it’s not just the fault of recent college graduates who are new to the workplace. If new workers don’t see professionalism in action it’s not likely that they’ll pick it up by accident or osmosis. Being professional doesn’t mean you acquire a façade of used car salesman falseness. It doesn’t require that you become an automatic yes-man or yes-woman either. Professionalism isn’t taught in university, but I’m starting to think it should be. Being professional at all times while still being willing to challenge the status quo requires nuance and subtlety. There is a fine line between innovation and insubordination. A comeback for Brooks Brothers suits and wingtips? In lieu of Professionalism 101, companies might do well to consider instituting a formal mentoring plan that could include older individuals with a good track record of professionalism instilling their insights into new employees over time. Things that most people consider basic common sense such as appropriate workplace manners and clothing choices could be part of a continuing emphasis on professionalism. I know that the trend toward casualness in the workplace isn’t going to change anytime soon and I’m not advocating a return to Brooks Brothers suits and wingtips…necessarily. But casualness can quickly descend into coarseness and before you know it the tramp stamps on display lead to inappropriate conversation talking points and HR is getting a deluge of complaints. The corporate uniform of the 1950’s and early 1960’s sure seems safer in comparison. Even the casual wear of the era looks good today. Dresscodes remind us of who we are The corporate uniforms of the past may be relegated quickly to the same forgotten dustbin of history as slide rules and dinosaurs. And if you feel this way, you may be right. I’ve been accused of being stuffy and I’m closer to dinosaur status than I am to my undergraduate years. But one thing that dress codes didâ€"even if they were unwrittenâ€"was to remind people of where they were. When you put on your suit and tie or dress and cardigan, it helped put you in a professional mindset. On a sub-conscious level, dressing professionally helped remind us that we weren’t in our living rooms. It helped us take ourselves seriously. And when you take yourself seriously you do good work. Clothes, not even PJs, do not make the man Your speech and actions are different when you’re dressed in a professional way than they are when you’re wearing ripped jeans and a stained t-shirt. It’s a logical extension of your persona. Which is, incidentally, exactly why I never wore pajamas to class in college, even when it was the preferred clothing choice of undergraduates everywhere. I never met a student who wore pajamas to class who regularly made the Dean’s list. But I digress. Clothes may not make the man. But dressing professionally can sure help a person act more professionally in the workplace. Mediocrity is the natural enemy of professionalism I would never argue that professionalism should require you to become a clotheshorse. But how many well-dressed individuals in your company do mediocre work? I bet not many. And mediocrity is seeping into corporate culture at an alarming rate. It may start with relaxed corporate clothing codes but it doesn’t stop there. It begins to infiltrate its way into water cooler conversation through ill-advised and inappropriate humor which has no place in a professional setting. Once on a roll, mediocrity â€" as the natural enemy of professionalism â€" can continue its march until positive professional attitudes devolve into defeatism and corporate culture corrodes from within. Final thoughts Arguing for a return to the corporate clothing cues of long ago may seem anachronistic or quixotic. But try dressing up every day for a week and see if you notice a difference in your work. Clothing may be a small part of professionalism but I think it’s an important part. And while you’re at it, if you find that wearing a pair of polished wingtips helps you take yourself seriously, break out the shoe polish and horsehair brush and get to it. For more professional tips, check out 7 Little Known Tips to Jump-Start Your Career. Author: Jesse Langley lives near Chicago. He divides his time among work, writing and family life. He writes on behalf of coloradotech.edu and has a keen interest in business blogging and social media. He also writes for www.professionalintern.com.

11 Ways to Create a More Human Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

11 Ways to Create a More Human Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The following answers are provided by members of  Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched  StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. 1. Act  More  Human Businesses have a reputation for being callous and soulless, and this is because they do things that,  were a  human  to do  the same, would be perceived as sociopathic. Allow yourself and your committee to make decisions that dont directly impact the monetary bottom line. Consider it a  brand-building exercise if that helps, but recognize that being good in the  human  sense will also be good for your profits down the line. Colin Wright,  Asymmetrical Press 2. Use Humor Create  humorous articles and post them on your blog or social media accounts. Make light of a recent mistake you made and write about how you overcame it. Find funny content on the Internet and use it as part of your content marketing strategy. People always love a good laugh, and youll make your  brand  more  human  as a result. Andrew Schrage,  Money Crashers Personal Finance 3. Show You Care If our customers take the time to give us their feedback we take it seriously. We make sure our customer service team responds to everyone.  Furthermore, we log all comments (both positive and negative) and when we see patterns in our feedback we are sure to act. Oisin Hanrahan,  Handybook 4. Tell Stories Apple,  the most valuable company in the world, tells a story with every product they sell. From their famous  1984 Super Bowl ad  to  Heres to the crazy ones  to  selling  their latest iPad, Apple creates an emotional connection  with stories that are at the core of being  human. Mike McGee,  The Starter League 5. Add Employee Photos to Your Site Put your people front and center. Use photos of your team. Online, text-based bios of your team are great, but photos bring people to life. Phil Dumontet,  DASHED 6. Take People Inside Your Office The simplest adjustment a company can make to  create  a  more  human  brand  is to show its  human  side! Tell customers about the people behind the company. Ditch the jargon and the veil and let people inside (you can do so literally with a video office tour). Who is the leadership behind the company? What do they believe in? A good example of a company that does this is  Mind Valley. They have photos and bios for all of their key staff.  Sean Kelly,  HUMAN 7. Connect Employees to Customers There is a big push right now around creating employee  brand  ambassador programs. One way to have a  more  human  brand  experience is to connect the employees with the customers. Think about where you would automate or provide some soulless interaction and replace it with a live  human  being (you can have different people rotate). Have some of your product creators available for QAs. Mike Ambassador Bruny,  Ambassador Bruny Dot Com 8. Put a Face to Your Company Make a specific person or group of people identifiable to give your company a face. Make their presence consistent, and let people know they can communicate with these real people and not just the company as an entity. Daniel Wesley,  DebtConsolidation.com 9. Reply to Comments on Social Media Replying to all comments on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or other social platforms where your  brand  has a presence is a great way to give consumers a meaningful connection to your  brand. For example, if a consumer is taking time out of his or her day to send a message to your  brands Twitter page, its imperative that you reply to let them know that your  brand  cares about their satisfaction.  A tweet might be all it takes to  create  lifelong loyalty. Doreen Bloch,  Poshly Inc. 10. Cut the Legalese Do not speak to your customers like they are a liability. Instead treat them like  human  beings that deserve dignity and respect, especially because theyll be paying you for your product or service. Even if theres no cash exchanged, remember that they can easily turn to another provider to fulfill their needs. So make sure you offer a bit of personality instead of coming off as  distant and unapproachable. Firas Kittaneh,  Amerisleep 11. Establish an Emotional Connection Establish an emotional connection with  your audience.  You can do so by caring about what they care about just as much (if not  morethan) they do. Trust is a trait  best built on common ground. Ashley Mady,  Brandberry Featured Photo

Goals - Part I of II Are You On Track Reviewing your 2015 Resolutions.

Goals - Part I of II Are You On Track Reviewing your 2015 Resolutions. Do any of you watch Family Guy? There’s this episode where Brian writes a book titled Wish It. Want It. Do It. (available on Amazon, by the way â€" please DONT buy it!). Brian writes this book to poke-fun at self-help books in general, and then watches it climb to #3 on the Amazon Bestsellers List. The key to the book is fifty blank pages in the middle that allow the reader to lay out his or her own goals and a plan to achieve them. While the book is total farce, the idea that you don’t just make a goal, but also set a plan is incredibly valuable. Which brings me to asking: How are you doing on your 2015 resolutions? Were you a gung-ho resolutionary a month ago, determined â€" list in hand â€" to complete a series of tasks by the end of this year? Has that resolve fizzled? As we come to the end of January, its time to take a look back at the goals you set a month ago. Even if youve slipped, you can still dust off your knees and climb back on the proverbial wagon. Setting SMART Goals Personally, I set my goals for 2015 last November â€" and I started working on them. Weird, right? Eight weeks out from 2015 and I was already deciding where I wanted to be by the end of this year. Let me tell you a secret: You can set goals at any time, and I personally find that intentional goal setting is much more valuable than hurried end-of-year resolutions. So, lets take a look. Pull out that list. What goals did you set for this year? Are they reasonable? It is critical to your success that your goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Bound. Are you actually interested in going to the gym? You dont have to be. Even better, take out a clean sheet of paper and think right now, one month into 2015, what you want to accomplish by the end of the next month, this year, and further. Do you have some big goals that need to be portioned into bite size pieces? Think about your career, your personal life, your mental and physical health, and anything else that is important to YOU. Be intentional. Once youve gotten some idea down you don’t have to shout them to the world. A good rule of thumb is to wait three months after setting a goal and starting to make changes before you tell other people about it. That said, it IS important to have a support system. Figure out who those people will be â€" your biggest cheerleaders â€" and ask them to hold you accountable for what you are trying to accomplish. Why wait three months? Because it takes that long for you to get in the groove of something new â€" it takes three months to build or break a habit. You don’t have to set any new goals right this moment, but when the time is right for you, pull out that old list and reevaluate the SMART-ness of your New Year’s resolutions, and then pull out a clean sheet and begin again, deliberately. Keep in mind what my Twitter friend James Clear reminds me from time to time: Successful people start before they feel ready. It is okay to be afraid of the goals you set. Push yourself! Try something new! Go somewhere youve only dreamed of! If you need some inspiration to get started, check out the career goals for 2015 of some successful and upcoming entrepreneurs.

Job Hunting Tips - Why Should You Use a Professional Resume Writing Service?

Job Hunting Tips - Why Should You Use a Professional Resume Writing Service?Specially for your purpose to be in the job market, you may want to consider a professional resume writing service provider like NAGAR or your local network marketing firm. This article will show you why you need to use such kind of firms in order to get the quality result you need.Resume writing services are especially designed to help people who hire them or get the services from them in order to get a better job. Such professionals can give you an easy way to improve your resume and enhance its marketing potential. It will be easier for you to get the job you really wanted, if you can get your resume written by professional writers, who know exactly how to do it.A resume must be able to attract attention of the hiring managers or interviewers. Good resume writers will know exactly how to write a professional resume for you and this can make you look more attractive in front of the right person. You can tru st the kind of service you want to get from a resume writing company. After all, there are plenty of talented writers out there.The most important thing to do is take note of some tips for when you want to write a resume or you may think of writing one. When you start on a good resume, you will know exactly how to increase its persuasive power.Writing a resume can be an art as well. The writer should know how to incorporate the information you put on your resume into the main content of your letter. It will make it easier for the hiring manager to see the information that is important to you.You will be given real advantages when you get to use professional resume writing services. They have the knowledge of what other employers like to see on their resumes. They can look at yours and they can tell you how to improve it so that it will be useful to you.When you go for resume writing services, you will be given excellent help in this matter. After all, writing a resume has nothing to do with just writing any letter. It needs to be written with a touch of confidence that will get you noticed.Writing a professional resume is not an easy task. For someone who wants to land a good job, it requires long hours of work. But in the end, it will pay off in the long run.

Oh, Job Search Isnt Like Trick or Treating

Oh, Job Search Isn’t Like Trick or Treating What better way to help job seekers than by drawing lessons from Halloween! Candy and Costumes Kids love trick or treating almost as much as Christmas. A bag full of candy in one night plus it is all yours! How good is that?! As a job seeker, are you anticipating your new job with all the excitement of Halloween? Which type of job seeker/trick or treater are you? Inspired! Some children plan what they will be well in advance.   These are the inspired costumes.   Hours go into planning, researching and securing the right items to assemble the costume.   These children also tell all their friends and every adult they know about what they will be, usually with great enthusiasm.   They want to try the costume ona lot.   It isnt just the costume they want to test, it is the character they want to try out as well. Uncertainty Then there are the non-committal children. They change their minds 5-6 different times between October 1 and October 30th.   One day they say they are going to be a ninja, the next day they say they are going to be a pirate. When asked what they are going to be, you are never quite sure what the answer will be. The pressure mounts as the big day draws near, they begin to panic which generally leads to frustration if   they feel the right costume cannot be secured. Plan The idea of aimlessly walking door to door hoping for a choice piece of candy is nothing at all like job search. Smart trick or treaters know which houses to visit for the best candy and the best entertainment.   They carefully plan the stops along their route for the optimum result (CANDY). Have fun this Halloween whether watching from a distance, dishing out candy, or escorting your Cinderella or Batman!   It is the small pleasures that bring us the greatest joy.   Savor the moments! Below, you will find the posts of many resume writing and job search experts, known as Career Collective.   We joined together once a month to provide varying insights on a specific topic.   I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I do.   There will certainly be nuggets you can take away from the collaborative effort.   Many thanks to Miriam Salpeter of Keppie Careers and Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter of CareerTrend for initiating this project, now celebrating its 12 month anniversary.   Save and share this post! Here are the posts from the talented experts of Career Collective! Where Are the Wild Things, Anyway?, @WorkWithIllness Is Your Job Search Making You Feel Like a Smashed Pumpkin?, @DebraWheatman Hiding in Plain Sight, @WalterAkana Dont make these frightful resume mistakes, @LaurieBerenson How Not to Be a Spooky Job Seeker, @heathermundell A Tombstone Resume:Eulogizing Your Experience, @GayleHoward The Top Ten Scary Things Job Seekers Do, @barbarasafani Oh, Job Search Isnt Like Trick or Treating?, @careersherpa A Most Unfortunate Resume Mistake No One Will Tell You, @chandlee Oh no. Not the phone!, @DawnBugni Halloween Caution: Job Seeker Horror, @resumeservice Boo! Are you scaring away opportunities or the competition? @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes Your Career Brand: A Scary Trick or an Appealing Treat?, @KCCareerCoach How to avoid mistakes on your resume, @Keppie_Careers Sc-sc-scary Resume Mistakes, @erinkennedycprw A Flawed Resume is a Scary Prospect, @KatCareerGal Job Search Angst: Like Clouds Mounting Before a Storm, @ValueIntoWords Does Your Career Costume Fit You?, @expatcoachmegan

Making A Difference With Exceptional Experiences

Making A Difference With Exceptional Experiences These days, it’s easy to feel small and insignificant â€" like a cog in a big machine. Maybe you wonder whether what you do and how you do it really matters. Well, it does matter. And that’s why I want to share with you a great experience I had earlier this year of an individual making a difference in daily life. It was in a Bed, Bath & Beyond store, of all places. In fact, the experience was better than great. It was exceptional… a “10”. Our exceptional experience My husband and I were settling our daughter in at college and looking for bedding for her dorm room. If you’ve ever been in one of these stores, they’re a bit overwhelming with floor to ceiling varieties of everything you could think of. It’s a lot of stuff to take in. Now, I always ask for help â€" to short cut the learning time. So I grab the first person with a name tag and ask for advice. She turned out to be a trainee and pretty clueless. I can almost hear my husband thinking, “I told you so!”. So we wander around for a while, looking on our own, until another person comes by and asks if we need help. Well, we hit the jackpot with Susan. When we ask about pillows, she explains that it’s personal to the position you like to sleep in â€" on your back, your side or your stomach. My daughter answers and then it becomes an easy choice. Then it’s the blanket size â€" she recommends getting a Full size and not a Twin so it’s useful longer term. And as for material, much better to have the proper down comforter â€" the machine washable blankets get lumpy after a few rounds in the washer/dryer. And so forth. We were in great hands. And better yet, the whole thing took 15 minutes. But it was more than that. The ripple effect She made us feel confident that we were taking great care of our daughter. That we were being responsible parents. It was not only easeful, it was reaffirming. The ripple effect of that exceptional experience made the entire rest of the day a “10” for us. And maybe we extended the positive waves to others we met that day. Susan’s “formula” for an exceptional experience So, what did Susan do or have that made it such an exceptional experience? 1. Connection She was able to immediately connect with us and put us at ease. She had a great “client-side manner” â€" as in doctors who have a good “bedside manner”. She focused her attention on us and was calm, not distracted. 2. Knowledge She was extremely competent and knew her product offerings well. In fact, her technical knowledge was superior and extensive. 3. Experience This was clearly not her first rodeo, and that experience helped her come across as confident in her answers. And that gave us confidence, both in her and in knowing we were doing the best thing for our daughter. 4. Respect She made us feel important and special â€" like we were the only people who mattered. She did this by the attention she paid to us, and listening to our questions and concerns before answering respectfully. Any one of us can make a huge difference This just goes to show that one individual can make a huge difference to our experience and also the results we achieve. It doesn’t matter whether we’re a small part of a huge organization or representing just ourselves. And that’s true whether it’s during a shopping experience, while serving corporate clients, or when working with our internal team. How can you provide an exceptional experience? So, turning to you What’s that extra factor you could inject to make it an incredible experience for people to interact with you, whether that’s in your company, with your clients, or at home? What can you do to make the experience a “10” for people you care about? And when you see an individual making that difference, let them know you noticed. Let’s encourage each other to create those exceptional experiences, and keep the positive ripple effect going…