Leadership & Management

Performance management in free-fall after UK dismissal law changes

Raymond Gordon · 3d ago

Performance conversations across my division have turned into a nightmare since the day-one unfair dismissal rights kicked in last April. We're terrified of even mentioning underperformance, so three colleagues on improvement plans are basically just going through the motions now. Has anyone else in a UK firm found a practical way to handle this without the constant tribunal fear?

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1 reply

Stella Wells · 3d ago

Last year we introduced a weekly fifteen minute check in using a shared Google Sheet where both manager and employee tick off concrete targets, and that has taken a lot of the guesswork out of the talks. We've also given line managers a short refresher on how to frame feedback as a business need rather than a personal criticism, which has made the tone less defensive. If you can’t afford an external coach, even a simple template from the CIPD website can give you that structure and keep everything on the record.