Rowena Kay

The interaction of employee health and performance/disciplinary processes is one of my most frequent enquiries. Employees whose health is impacting their working life have one of the broadest packages of workplace rights of any employee. I would always recommend calling me to talk through the details of the situation before taking any action.

Employment law is a balancing act. In dismissals it is often a balance between cost and process. I understand that commercial considerations can overrule everything else if an employee is damaging your business, but I might have to warn you that lack of process will be expensive.

Hopefully you asked me for advice when she joined you and her contract contains a full package of protections. The time to think about an exit is before the employee joins. If your contract has been well drafted, you will have a range of options at your disposal, including placing her on ‘gardening leave’ during notice to allow you to build new client relationships, and contractual clauses restricting her ability to approach or deal with your clients for a period after leaving.