13/07/2023   Wilkin Chapman - Case Study - On-site HR Assistance

Wilkin Chapman acts for GP practices across the country as well as private and third sector organisations operating across the health and social care sector. Our team provides practical and focused legal advice on HR and employment law, compliance as well as regulatory, corporate & commercial and commercial property law.

Our on-site HR support service is available to organisations in the healthcare sector whenever you need it from a specialist who really understands your operation. The team can attend formal meetings on-site, including disciplinaries, grievances and ill-health absence meetings and take accurate minutes. We will also ensure the process is compliant with both the legislative requirements and internal procedures. Furthermore, our team is on hand to advise on decision making following internal hearings, providing assistance in formalising written decisions.

Recently, the team were instructed to advise Libertas, a care provider who delivers flexible and tailored care to help elderly people continue to live independently at home, regarding a long-term ill-health issue with an employee.

The employee had been absent for a period of six months and despite slow initial engagement with the employee, they eventually agreed to our client obtaining an occupational health report. This then started a capability process, which spanned two weeks, in which our client considered the report with the employee. 

Whilst the occupational health adviser made suggestions of reasonable adjustments to be able to return to work, those were difficult for the client to support; suggestions as to office work for an individual who was trained and experienced to work in the community, and who had no IT skills, meant that our client could not facilitate these reasonable adjustments. 

Consideration therefore turned to whether the employee would be able to return to her substantive post with our client in the short to medium term. It was decided that she could not, so the employee agreed with that, although expressed disappointment that she could not be given an office role. She did, however, agree that her computer-based skills were lacking. 

Our client eventually had no option but to dismiss the employee on the grounds of long-term ill-health.

During this process our HR on-site team supported our client throughout the process advising them on fair and compliant procedures ensuring there would be no risk of a claim.

“Wilkin Chapman has supported us for a number of years now, and while the advice is always excellent, by far the most important thing for us is accessibility and continuity. We always get a quick response and almost always have the same person seeing a case or query through from start to finish. This makes a huge difference for our managers and leaders, often just in terms of confidence, knowing that there is someone to bounce even the simplest question off.

Wilkin Chapman does of course offer a lot more than this, and this is where we go for contractual advice and disputes too. 

Steering a course though an increasingly complex and, in my view, threatening legislative environment is difficult at the best of time. I can honestly say that the team at Wilkin Chapman is a real source of support - one of the few we actually rely on.”

Tom Carter, Managing Director Libertas 

For more information on how Wilkin Chapman’s on-site HR team can assist you, contact Tracy Rowbotham on 01472 265984, email [email protected] or visit here