I’ve been doing this long enough to know that HR emergencies rarely come out of nowhere.

There’s usually a warning sign. A moment where someone knew something wasn’t right but hoped it would sort itself out. It doesn’t. And by the time the phone rings, it’s already messier than it needed to be.

So here are the five things I get called about most often and what you can do right now to make sure you’re not next on the list.

1. Performance issues

By a country mile, this is the most common reason people call me. Someone isn’t performing, and the employer wants them out, but they’re not sure how to do it without landing themselves in hot water.

Here’s where it usually goes wrong:

• They hired someone who was never quite right, a ‘maybe’ rather than a ‘hell yes’
• They let them pass probation anyway; too busy, gave them the benefit of the doubt, didn’t want the hassle
• They told them everything was fine and now the employee is genuinely confused about why there’s suddenly a problem

That last one is the kicker. If you’ve passed someone through probation and said nothing, you’ve essentially signed off on their performance. Trying to manage them out a year later, after praising them, is not only difficult, it’s genuinely unfair on the employee.

And nine times out of ten, when I dig into it, the real problem isn’t the employee. It’s that the manager wasn’t clear on what good looked like, didn’t give them proper training, and never set clear expectations. Vague management produces vague performance.

How to avoid it:

Hire carefully. Induct properly. Set SMART goals from day one. Have honest conversations during probation, not after it. And if someone isn’t performing, deal with it while you still can.

I’ve written about performance issues and ‘bad employees’ in more detail here.

2. An ACAS early conciliation claim

For a lot of employers, this is the moment the bottom drops out. You think it’s all over – the employee has left, the situation is done – and then a letter arrives from ACAS.

ACAS early conciliation is the first step an employee takes before making a tribunal claim. ACAS contacts the employer to ask whether both sides want to try to resolve things. It’s neutral, it’s confidential, and it’s a lot cheaper than a tribunal.

My advice is almost always this: try to settle!

Employment tribunal cases cost a minimum of £20,000 in legal fees to defend and that’s before any award (which could see you shelling out another £10,000+). If you can settle for less, you’re ahead.

I know that stings when you believe you’ve done nothing wrong. But principles cost money. At this stage, it’s a commercial decision, not a moral one.

A lot of what I do here is take the emotion out of it. Employers who’ve had a difficult time with someone often just want to fight. I help them step back, look at what a court would actually make of the evidence, and make a clear-headed call.

A quick side note:

If you don’t already have employment tribunal insurance, speak to your insurance broker. It won’t prevent a claim, but it can take a significant chunk of the financial risk off the table. I can point you in the right direction if you need a recommendation.

3. Appeals

Once a disciplinary, redundancy or grievance outcome has been given, the employee has the right to appeal. And if they do, someone has to hear it; ideally someone who wasn’t involved in the original decision.

That’s often where I come in.

Appeals are useful for two reasons. First, they’re a chance to catch something before it becomes a tribunal claim. Second, and this matters, they’re a genuine opportunity to right a wrong.

Last year, I heard an appeal for someone who’d been dismissed for capability. When I looked at the evidence properly, I didn’t think the dismissal was reasonable. My advice was to offer reinstatement. The employer accepted that advice. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was right, and it was far better than the alternative.

On the flip side, I recently heard an appeal where an employee with 18 years of service had a legitimate grievance, and the employer had completely bottled the original decision. I advised them to settle. They pushed back, and it cost them.

I’m not blowing my own trumpet here; this is a cautionary tale to you. Settling may hurt your pride, but it will hurt your bank balance significantly less.

4. Redundancy

Redundancy is on the rise. I’m dealing with more of it than ever at the moment across businesses of all sizes.

It’s also one of the areas where employers most commonly come unstuck. Redundancy has a specific legal meaning: the role no longer exists, or the need for it has diminished. It is not, and I cannot stress this enough, a way to manage out someone who isn’t performing. If you use redundancy as a performance shortcut, you’re heading straight for an unfair dismissal claim.

When I support businesses through redundancy, I help them understand whether it’s genuinely the right process, structure a fair selection process, handle the consultation period correctly, and avoid the procedural mistakes that make it all go wrong.

5. Long-term sickness

This one isn’t always in the top five, but it’s one of my specialisms, so I’m including it anyway.

Long-term sickness is one of those situations where businesses often do nothing because they’re scared. They’re worried that taking any action will land them with a discrimination claim. So the employee stays off, weeks become months, months become years, and no one deals with it.

I once stepped into a situation where someone had been off sick for four years. Four years (!) and nobody had done a thing about it. Not because they couldn’t, but because they didn’t know how.

There is a right and lawful way to manage long-term sickness. It requires care, the right process, and a clear understanding of what the law actually allows you to do. Done properly, it protects both the employee and the business.

If you’ve got someone who’s been off for a while and you’re not sure where you stand, please do get in touch. It’s much easier to sort out than most people think.

The common thread

Every single one of these situations has one thing in common: they’re almost always preventable.

Performance problems happen when:

• Recruitment and onboarding aren’t done properly
• ACAS claims and appeals happen when processes aren’t followed
• Redundancies go wrong when employers don’t understand the rules
• Long-term sickness drags on because nobody knows what to do

Good, proactive HR isn’t glamorous. But it is significantly cheaper and considerably less stressful than the alternative.

If any of this sounds uncomfortably familiar, sign-up to my Mayday Maintainer; ongoing HR support that keeps you one step ahead.

When you read that title, did someone specific come to mind?

Whether you’re in the thick of a probation you’re not sure how to end, managing someone who’s making everyone else’s life harder, or you’re three months in and quietly thinking ‘what have I done?’ – this post is for you.

Are ‘bad employees’ actually bad?

I use the phrase because people know what it means. But in twelve years of HR, genuinely bad people – people who are fundamentally difficult and beyond any reasonable management – are actually fairly rare.

What’s far more common is a wrong employee. A decent enough person in completely the wrong role, team, or environment. That distinction matters because it changes how you handle it.

A wrong employee might need a different role, clearer support, or an honest conversation about whether this is working for either of you. A genuinely bad team member, someone with a poor attitude who undermines the team or refuses to engage with feedback, usually needs to be managed out.

Knowing which one you’re dealing with is the first step. Getting it wrong wastes time, damages morale, and can expose you to legal risk if you act on the wrong assumption.

The signs something’s wrong

These aren’t always obvious at first, especially if someone interviewed well. But there are common patterns I hear about time and time again.

1. They wait to be told everything

No initiative, no proactive problem-solving. Some people need more direction than others, that’s fine. But there’s a real difference between needing clear guidance and being completely passive. If you’re constantly chasing them for updates, or tasks simply don’t happen unless explicitly prompted, that’s worth addressing.

2. The ‘yeah buts’

You give feedback. They agree, technically. But it’s always followed by a reason it wasn’t their fault, or why the circumstances made it impossible. Accountability is nowhere. Excuses are everywhere. A pattern of deflection, particularly after repeated conversations, is a serious red flag.

3. The team don’t like them

This one’s harder to pin down, but don’t ignore it. If people are going out of their way to avoid someone, if energy drops when they walk in, if the same name keeps coming up in conversations you’re not supposed to be part of, pay attention! Culture issues often show up here before they show up anywhere else. And by the time it’s obvious, the damage is often already done.

4. Great in interview, inconsistent in reality

Some people are brilliant at talking about work. Actually doing it is a different story. Or the reverse; they can do the job technically, but the way they interact with people is creating friction you didn’t see coming. This is why structured hiring processes matter (more on that in part two), but it’s also why you need to act early when there’s a gap between expectation and reality.

5. They clash with your values, even if you can’t quite say how

This is the one that keeps employers up at night. Nothing’s technically wrong. But something’s off. When this happens, go back to your company values and assess this person against them honestly. Nine times out of ten, that’s where you’ll find the answer. A values mismatch rarely improves over time and it rarely stays contained to one person.

Before you do anything: look in the mirror

I know this isn’t what everyone wants to hear. But it needs saying because it matters legally as much as it matters practically.

Most underperformance isn’t just about the employee. It’s about the environment they’ve been put in. Before you make any decisions, ask yourself honestly:

• Did you clearly explain what good looks like from day one, not three months in?
• Do they have a proper job description?
• Have you had regular one-to-ones, or just a check-in at the end of probation?
• Did you raise concerns early, or hope it would sort itself out?
• Have they had proper training, or were they expected to just figure it out?

I once started a new role and inherited someone who’d been off sick for four years. Nobody had dealt with it — not because they didn’t know it was a problem, but because they didn’t know how to handle it. The same thing happens with performance. People see it, feel uncomfortable, and wait. It never sorts itself out. The longer you leave it, the worse it gets, and the harder it becomes to manage lawfully.

If you’re coming up blank on any of those questions, that matters. It doesn’t mean you can’t take action, but you need to factor your own process into the picture before you do. My free checklist, Things to do before you fail someone’s probation, walks through exactly this. Use it before you do anything else.

Why the timing matters right now

Currently, employees need two years of service before they can bring an unfair dismissal claim. That’s changing. From early 2027, the threshold drops to six months; effectively, the end of a standard probation period.

What that means practically:

• Your probation process is about to become your most important HR tool
• If you’re not managing it properly – clear expectations, regular documented check-ins, early feedback – you’re about to lose your main safety net
• If you’ve already got someone who isn’t working out, the time to deal with it is now

And beyond the legal side: the longer you leave a problem in place, the more damage it does. Not just to that person’s performance, but to everyone around them. Your best people will go the extra mile to cover a gap. They won’t carry someone who’s dragging the team down. Eventually, they leave and then you’ve got a much bigger problem.

So you’ve got a bad employee. What now?

You’ve done the self-check. You’ve been honest about your process. You still believe this person needs to go. Here’s how it works.

Still in probation?

This is your clearest window. As long as you haven’t discriminated – which means considering any underlying health conditions, disabilities, or protected characteristics – and you’ve followed a fair process, you can end the employment by giving contractual or statutory notice, whichever is higher. It doesn’t have to be drawn out. A meeting, a clear explanation, the appropriate notice. Done. But make sure you document it, even at this stage.

Passed probation, or beyond six months once the new rules apply?

Here’s where it gets more involved. The route depends on the reason.

For conduct issues, such as attitude, behaviour, or values clashes, you’re looking at investigating the facts, a formal meeting, and progressive warnings before dismissal.

For capability or performance issues, you’ll need a performance improvement plan with clear, measurable targets, regular review meetings, and documented outcomes. The minimum to manage someone out fairly for capability is typically around four months.

Neither route is impossible. They just require documentation, consistency, and a process you’re actually following. If you’re in the middle of something and not sure of your footing, get advice before you take the next step.

Don’t wait for bad employee issues to resolve themselves

Bad employees aren’t as common as people think. Wrong employees, on the other hand, are everywhere. And the biggest factor in how things turn out is usually the process around the person, not just the person themselves.

But if you’ve genuinely got a problem, don’t wait. The law is changing, the window is closing, and delay almost never makes these situations easier.

If you want someone to look at what you’ve currently got, or you’re already dealing with something live, get in touch. A quick conversation now is almost always better than the alternative.

Let me paint you a picture.

You’ve spent weeks recruiting. You’ve interviewed, made an offer, done all the admin. Your new hire starts and… within a few months, something’s not working. They’re struggling. Mistakes are piling up. You’re wondering if you made the wrong call.

So you end their employment. Probation failed. Job done, right?

Not necessarily.

Because here’s the thing most business owners don’t realise until it’s too late: the problem usually isn’t the employee. It’s the process that surrounded them from day one.

And with significant Employment Rights Act changes on the horizon – changes that will reduce the time before employees can bring an unfair dismissal claim from two years down to just six months – getting your probation process right has never been more important.

The real cost of a failed probation

Beyond the obvious cost of recruiting again, a badly managed probation period can expose you to legal risk. If you haven’t followed a fair process, documented concerns properly, or given the employee the support they needed to succeed, you could be looking at an unfair dismissal claim.

Employment tribunal legal fees start at £20,000. Compensation is on top. And in discrimination cases, there’s no cap at all!

Prevention is always cheaper than crisis management. Which brings me to the stories I find myself telling again and again.

Jane: the employee set up to fail

Jane started in a sales office, tasked with typing up menus for events. Straightforward enough on paper.

What her manager didn’t know was that Jane was dyslexic.

On her very first day, she overheard colleagues mocking another dyslexic employee. That was enough. She never felt safe enough to speak up about her own struggles, never asked for help, and quietly battled on while mistakes mounted up.

Her manager didn’t ask what was going wrong. Jane failed her probation.

Later, she told HR that just two simple adjustments would have changed everything: recording training sessions on a dictaphone and typing up her notes at home.

That’s it. Two things. Nobody thought to ask.

The business lost a potentially great employee. And depending on how the process was handled, they may also have exposed themselves to a disability discrimination claim. Discrimination claims are uncapped. That’s not a risk worth taking.

Alan: the new hire who walked out in a week

Alan’s first day was spent battling IT just to get a login. No structured training. No induction. No one showing him the ropes.

Someone told him: “You’ve done this before, so you can just get on with it.”

He quit within a week.

All that recruitment time, all that effort to get him through the door, gone. Because no one thought to make him feel supported, welcomed, or set up to succeed.

This is more common than you’d think. And it’s entirely preventable.

So what does a good probation process actually look like?

It’s not complicated, but it does require intention. Here’s what I recommend to every client:

1. A proper induction – not just a handbook and a login.

Think structured, planned, and human. Someone should be responsible for making that new hire feel like they belong.

2. Regular check-ins throughout – not just at the end.

If someone is struggling, you want to know about it at week two, not week eleven. Regular one-to-ones give you the chance to spot problems early and address them properly.

Want to nail 1-2-1s? Download my free PEERS Feedback cheatsheet here

3. Ask what people need to do their best work.

Not just “do you need any reasonable adjustments?” – that question shuts people down. Try: “what do you need to work well?” You’ll get very different, very useful answers.

4. Train your managers to actually manage.

Your probation process is only as good as the people running it. If your line managers don’t know how to have difficult conversations, spot early warning signs, or give constructive feedback – the process falls apart. This is where training pays for itself, many times over.

5. Document everything.

If you do need to end employment, you need a clear paper trail. Notes from one-to-ones, records of concerns raised, evidence of support offered. Without this, you’re exposed.

Why this matters even more right now

The Employment Rights Act is coming, and one of the most significant changes is to unfair dismissal rights. Under the new legislation, employees will be able to bring an unfair dismissal claim after just six months which for most businesses aligns with the end of probation.

That means your probation process is about to become your first line of legal defence.

If it’s a bit woolly right now, think no proper structure, no regular check-ins, no documentation, you need to sort that before the changes land.

The businesses that get ahead of this will be far better placed than those who wait until something goes wrong.

Prevention beats panic every time!

Most probation failures aren’t down to hiring the wrong person. They’re down to not giving the right person the right start.

Jane could have thrived with a dictaphone and a bit of curiosity from her manager. Alan could have stayed if someone had taken an hour on day one to properly show him the ropes.

Small changes. Big difference.

If you’re not sure whether your probation process is up to scratch, or you’d like to get your managers trained up before the Employment Rights Act changes kick in, I’d love to have a conversation.

Drop me an email at sarah@maydayhr.com. No hard sell, just a straightforward chat about where you’re at and what might help.

You might know employment law inside out. You might do everything by the book. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: your managers are your biggest risk area.

They’re the ones making day-to-day decisions, having crucial conversations, and setting the tone for your entire workplace culture. And if they’re not equipped with the right skills? Well, that’s where things can go very wrong, very quickly.

Whether it’s basic management skills or knowing how to tackle things like probations (more so now than ever with the Employment Rights Act coming into law in 2027), you’re playing a dangerous game if you fail to train them.

So let’s talk about why training your managers isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s absolutely essential for both creating a thriving culture and protecting your business.

5 reasons why you should train your managers

1. Consistency and fairness

Trained managers apply policies and procedures fairly, which builds trust and reduces the risk of grievances. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen managers either ignore processes or simply not know what they should be doing.

The problem? Inconsistency causes mistrust. When different managers handle similar situations differently, it creates perceptions of favouritism and leaves employees feeling unsafe and unheard.

Getting all your managers singing from the same hymn sheet means everyone knows what to expect – and that’s when trust starts to build.

2. Early problem solving

Equipping managers to spot issues early, whether that’s performance, conduct, or wellbeing concerns, means they can address them before they escalate into something much bigger and more expensive.

When workplace conflict costs UK employers £28.5 billion annually – that’s over £1,000 for every single employee – the risk of missing early problem solving is costly.

I recently worked on a case where two employees had been in conflict for two years. During mediation, one revealed she’d been going through fertility treatment, which had affected her wellbeing and work. Her manager told me: “I knew something was wrong. I wanted to ask, but didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything at all.”

The result? The employee felt her manager didn’t care, the situation festered, and what could have been resolved with a simple “Are you alright? You don’t seem yourself” conversation became a formal grievance.

Course-correcting early beats crisis management every time.

3. Confident conversations

When managers know how to give feedback, handle difficult conversations, and set clear expectations, both culture and performance improve dramatically.

It’s the difference between “You’ve been late twice this week, let’s talk about what’s going on” and waiting until someone’s been late every day for three months before addressing it. By then, resentment has built up on both sides, and you’re looking at formal disciplinary action rather than a supportive conversation.

Want to stay ahead of the latest HR insights and avoid costly mistakes? Sign up for my newsletter and get practical HR tips delivered straight to your inbox twice a month – no fluff, just actionable advice that actually helps.

4. Legal and reputational protection

Even if you as a business owner know the law inside out, your managers are the ones interacting with employees daily. And untrained managers can inadvertently create serious legal risks.

I’ve seen managers say things like: “I’m not sending you on that training course because you’re pregnant and about to go on maternity leave, so you don’t need it.” They think they’re being practical, but legally, it’s discrimination.

Or they might dismiss sexual harassment with: “What do you mean? It was just a pat on the bum, it’s no big deal.” They don’t realise that their opinion doesn’t matter; if someone found it unwanted and offensive, it needs to be addressed properly.

Your managers need to understand not just what to do, but what not to say.

Speaking of legal protection, the Employment Rights Act 2025 is bringing significant changes to unfair dismissal rights, reducing the qualifying period from two years to just six months. This makes having well-trained managers who can handle probationary periods and performance issues properly even more critical.

5. Positive employee experience

Good management behaviours – listening, being supportive, recognising effort, rewarding good work – create a motivated, loyal workforce.

When employees feel safe and supported, they stay. That means lower recruitment costs, less time dealing with performance issues or dismissals, and ultimately, happier customers.

Most employees don’t mind following processes, as long as they know what those processes are and feel they’re being applied fairly. It’s uncertainty and inconsistency that erodes trust.

Bonus – Employment Rights Act readiness!

Don’t sleepwalk into the biggest employment law change in over 50 years! The Employment Rights Act is coming and changing everything from probationary periods (making it much harder to dismiss bad hires), parental leave, sick leave, and more.

Training your managers prevents problems like wrongful dismissal, sexual harassment, and more. And don’t be fooled – just because you don’t think it will happen to your business, it doesn’t mean it won’t.

5 things that happen when you don’t train your managers

1. Inconsistent decision making

Different rules for different people lead to perceptions of unfairness and favouritism. Worse, inconsistency creates dangerous precedents. If you don’t dismiss someone for a particular issue, you’ll struggle to dismiss someone else for the same thing later.

Consistency isn’t just about fairness, it’s about legal protection.

2. Escalating issues

I honestly cannot tell you how many times I’ve dealt with conflicts that could have been resolved early but instead spiralled into formal grievances, disciplinaries, or resignations.

A mediation might cost £1,700+, but if managers could handle things early through proper conversations, that cost, and all the stress and lost productivity and team members that comes with it, could be avoided entirely.

3. Damaged culture

When managers are incompetent, employees feel undervalued, mistreated, and unsafe. Remember: perception is reality.

I once investigated a grievance where kitchen staff complained about a dangerous damaged floor, claiming management didn’t care about their health and safety. When I spoke to the manager, they explained they’d had a contractor let them down at the last minute, had been trying to get quotes, and the repair was scheduled for January.

“Have you told the chefs this?” I asked.

“No, I haven’t.”

A simple communication could have prevented the whole grievance. In the employees’ minds, the situation had escalated because no one had bothered to explain what was actually happening.

4. Increased risk

Untrained managers make mistakes that expose your business to claims, fines, tribunals, and reputational damage. Just look at the allegations around sexual harassment at companies like McDonald’s and Brew Dog; the reputational impact is enormous and long-lasting.

5. High turnover and poor performance

Good people leave. Productivity drops. Recruitment costs spiral. Instead of focusing on growing your business, you’re constantly firefighting HR issues and replacing staff.

Research shows that employees spend an average of 2 hours per week dealing with conflict – that’s equivalent to 2.5 weeks of lost productivity per year, per employee.

Your managers are either your greatest asset or your biggest liability. The difference comes down to training.

Prevention beats panic every time. Investing in proper management training isn’t just about avoiding problems – it’s about creating the kind of workplace where people want to stay, perform well, and help your business thrive.

Getting started

Ready to strengthen your foundation? Before investing in manager training, make sure you’ve got the basics sorted. Download my free contract checklist and hiring guides to ensure your documentation and recruitment processes are watertight.

Ready to equip your managers with the skills they need? I offer tailored training programs covering everything from difficult conversations to preventing discrimination and harassment. Get in touch to discuss what your team needs.