Why do employers always get penalised in every way? -

I have an employee at the moment who has been very rude in how she addresses me on two occassions. For me to discipline her I have to write to her first to advise of a meeting that might lead to disciplinary action and she has to be given sufficient time to prepare for the meeting and she can bring a colleague with her. Then I have to have the meeting then advise her I will write to her to advise her of the outcome of the meeting then I have to hold another meeting with her to advise her of the outcome. I think the law is extremely unfair to employers. I am a very easy going employer, I employ 7 women in childcare I am very flexible with holidays, days of as they all have children. I listen to any concerns they have and resolve them very quickly keeping everyone happy. I hate confrontation and I worry a lot about things like this. I have been stressed all weekend so far in relation to this and cant sleep ie posting question on yahoo at 2am. How do I cope with the stress, I have pains in my chest and am struggling with breathing.

I know exactly what you are talking about, I had the same problems with a member of staff and had to go through all the procedures of writing letters and meetings. it s a lengthy process and takes time but you have to do it by rules ( employment law ) and it can be very frustrating but if you don t do it right they can take you to an employment tribunal and you will lose which will result in a fine and compensation. stick to the procedure as laid out in your disciplinary manual supplied by UK government. and you will be able to terminate their employment with no problems.as for the pains you are experiencing in your chest this can be caused by the all the stress you have to put up with in dealing with this problem and lack of sleep, you didn t mention your age but as with any chest pains go see your doctor and get it checked out.and i make you right the employer is penalised in every way it seems like there is a new law forced on employers every few months, well that s a labour government for you.I sympathise with you, it s hard enough running a business today without having to through all this hassle in your work place, good luck.

Where do you operate?In the US, you would not have to do this. If you are in the US you can:- fire her immediately the next time you think she is disrespectful (it s called employment at will).OR- you can tell her immediately, that future actions like that will result in termination. You don t need to wait for her to prepare and you don t need to allow her to bring a colleague.OR - or you can give her a written notice, that future actions like that will result in termination. You don t need to wait for her to prepare and you don t need to allow her to bring a colleague.

You are the boss! You need to be a bit tougher. It s lovely that you are so easy-going and good to your employees, but in any walk of life there are always those that will take advantage. Some employees will really appreciate your leniency and will give that little bit more because they appreciate it. Others will take advantage - when they do you need to act swiftly to stop it before it gets out of hand. There is no need to get upset about what has happened. You are the boss and there is no excuse for this woman being so rude to you. You have to abide by the employers code of conduct and do everything by the book, but do not feel bad about it. You are obviously very approachable as an employer so the woman should have spoken to you in private about any issues she has, and not been rude to you.

How does someone own a business but not know about paragraphs?