HR: there to prevent employment tribunals, not support workers

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As it says!

AIBU to think that most HR functions provide more support to those causing problems than those on the recording end? I’m talking everything from poor-performance to bullying. Mostly it seems to be aimed at avoiding employment tribunals and unfair dismissal claims!

Who pays the HR employees OP? Come on, it’s obvious.

Same. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to kick managers under the table or furiously send them a teams message during a call because they're going totally off piste.

employees moaning about their specific annoyances

I have at length explained that I was effectively being fired for being pregnant (not rehired on a recurring contract) which is sex discrimination...and you summarise this as a "specific annoyance". Oh, hun... you are not doing a good job of flag bearing for HR.

If the commenters purporting to be HR on this thread are representative of the profession as a whole, then... yeah. Irony is off the charts.

However at my main employer, HR are fantastic. It varies like in any other profession - you get bad midwives as well as good ones and so on.

But I wouldn't say that the profession on the whole specifically supports women like those other female dominated professions do (midwives, childminders). Somewhat the reverse if comments on this thread are representative

But why would HR specifically support women? The role of HR is to make work a better place for all employees, not one particular group.

It's certainly not a comparable profession to midwifery or early years care.

My original response was to a comment saying something like "sure, let's all slate a female dominated profession" and my argument was I'll save my praise for women who support women. Not women who... don't.

Unfortunately a lot of HR departments play the long game. Not fully understanding impacts of certain employees behaviours. Usually because they are appeasing some people or have no clue about the work environment. Err on the side of caution and it’s the bad pennies that get away with it.

I was responding to the 'what your role is' comment. I haven't gone through and read your comments and I can't advise on your situation. I work somewhere with a supportive culture, I don't need to flag bear for anyone 🤷

HR are not going to advise the manager within earshot of the employee! Is that what you expected?

Great thread! I've worked in HR for over 30 years & am nodding sagely at some of the comments from HR colleagues. I hear you!

This!

our HR department are pretty honest about this too.

I think you've misunderstood- it wasn't just one rogue manager, it was the whole organisation telling me I was "choosing" to skip a season and they'd hire a replacement for me.

It's sorted now. But yes, I'd expect HR not to nod along to sex discrimination in a joint meeting.

I asked them if they had a maternity leave policy and they said they'd never needed one (I was only the second woman in the decades-long history of the department and the first had been over 60.) This is a household name company, albeit small department within it.

Look, I was there. I do know what happened and what should have happened (and eventually did). HR was initially woefully inadequate. And I'm not the only pregnant woman this has ever happened to.