HR: there to prevent employment tribunals, not support workers

I take it lile car sales people and agents if you are selling and they get you more than you expect you want them as your bff of you are buying and they dont do what you demand they are greedy shady bustards so it depends

Those who demand 'i have rights and i want them now' and dont get what they want hr is called one thing if they get you what you are entitled too people are happy

I work in HR. I got into HR because, like most people with jobs, I needed to pay my bills. I like my colleagues and get on well with the vast majority of them, but am sick of being blamed for either things a manager has done of their own volition, company-level policies set without any input from HR, or an employee's total inability to e.g. read their own contract.

Any HR threads on MN inevitably go the same way of 'my DH calls HR human remains!!! hahahaha!!!! they're useless OP they're not your friend lots of snakes out there xoxo'

Yes, part of HR’s responsibility is to protect the organisation from risk.

Just the same as Health & Safety, Finance, Internal Audit, Corporate Governance, IT, Legal.

Why does anyone hold a belief that HR should be employees’ friend / support, when that’s not expected of any other corporate team? Is it because HR is a largely female profession?

If you’re looking for support as an employee, do as was suggested up-thread and join a union.

@Shoecamp @devildeepbluesea Agree with what you've said. I also see HR as being a behind the scenes functions, coaching and directing managers to do things the right way to treat employees fairly. I'm becoming increasingly frustrating with the "why can't I speak to HR", "why didn't HR call me", "I'm going to HR about you". Managers run the business, managers make the decisions!! Am I alone?

I got into HR because I want to make a difference. I hate it when I hear employees being treated badly. It it is my job to help the business do better. However, it can be thankless and at times a struggle to get managers to see sense.

I also see some tribunals that have absolutely no merit and because they are free to raise the employee has nothing to lose. I'm afraid the culture of wanting a pay off is alive and well.

The department and people that are the first not to trust in an organisation is HR, or whatever warm and fuzzy title they give them these days, usually something like “The People Team”.

You are correct,of course,who would think otherwise

As PPs say, HR works for the company.

Remember that both HR staff and managers are just people with their own biases and limitations. HR and management must follow legal processes and company policies. This means investigations, evidence-based decisions (not hearsay), and a focus on performance management and training before dismissal.

Document issues with evidence and in writing to your manager, focusing on your personal impact. For example - Don't just say "Fred's slacking"; specify "Fred's missed X, causing me to do Y, resulting in Z." Don't take on others' battles either; Paul can file his own grievance.

If management fails to act (especially if favoritism is involved), present your evidence to HR, again highlighting your personal impact. If HR also fails, escalate to a union or external body.

The function of HR is to protect the company, not the employees. I am surprised if this is news to anyone who has ever had a job.

@DonaldTrumpsTwitterFeed then in that case the problem lies with the capability of your HR staff, not HR per se. Get yourself in a union (of which I am a big fan) and call them out.

In today's increasingly litigious world, some employees will bring a claim against the organisation regardless of whether the organisation has behaved appropriately. The organisation needs to ensure that if that does happen, they can evidence no wrongdoing on their part to successfully defend the claim.

I wouldn't say it's a fear of a claim. It's taking sensible steps to ensure a claim can be defended if needed.

If you are losing employment tribunals, fair enough, However, if you have someone who is not doing their job adequately or is guilty of misconduct, why fear a tribunal?

I've experienced some awful HR professionals, including the woman who told me she thought legal entitlements for maternity had gone too far, grilled me about pregnancy as soon as I got married and questioned the family planning of a female candidate (who I chose to hire because she was bloody excellent).

I'm candid about this with my current HR, because we discuss the privacy implications of their EDI policies and the experiences people will have had with their previous HR.

Culture, policy and wellbeing should prevent things getting to tribunal.

I couldn't agree more. Too many layers of management and too many of them that have been over promoted into roles above their level of ability.

I agree with this but it's worth bearing in mind that one of the best ways to protect the company is to make sure employees are well supported and treated properly. No HR professional wants to stand in front of a tribunal when the claimant has not been.

There are way too many managers, in organisations, who don't deserve their positions. I've seen plenty of promotions, where advertising internally only, is just a way of getting their mates in posts. It's all wrong.

That's an organisation issue rather than an HR issue. Believe me, I know who the problem managers are in my organisation. Can I do anything about it? No. All I can do is escalate my concerns to their manager and advise performance management or disciplinary action depending on what I'm concerned about. Their manager and the organisation has to have the appetite to then do something about them.

There's so much that goes on behind the scenes in HR that supports employees. But ultimately we're very rarely the decision maker and managers love to use the phrase "HR have told me I've got to..." because they're too weak to own their decision.

Thanks for your honesty, and for proving my mistrust wasn't misplaced! I'm so glad I took early retirement, to be out of all that shit.

Yanbu to think that. Yabu if you ever thought otherwise.

If someone resigns as a reaction to a situation/ in haste it's best practice to send a cooling off letter. Most of the time we are praying you'll continue with your resignation, as it will take more time to deap with a grievance. Really it's just an ass covering move.

Exactly this! I work in HR and I get tired of hearing things like the op. Of course, the best way to avoid tribunals is to treat staff fairly, so the two things are one and the same.

The way to protect an organisation from ETs is by ensuring employees are supported.

If you as an employee want direct support or representation, join a union.

And no, HR isn't your "friend", but neither is any other business function. I don't know why it's expected that HR would be. That being said, I can assure you I've spent far more time in my career ensuring employees are treated properly by their managers than I have cooking up ways to upset or get rid of them. Contrary to popular belief it seems.

Twice, when I had said I wasn't happy in a role and had considered resigning, HR were quick to email me to talk me out of it. Both times, it was due to SLT being bullies. All they wanted was a paper trail that they had protected my interests, when it was only their own, they cared about.