While it can often be tempting to refer to a business in the same manner that we refer to a person, and in some ways, it feels like a similar entity, we can often forget just how the rolling development of a business compares to that of a machine. A machine, to a certain degree, automates itself unless you flip the kill switch. A machine needs maintenance and care. And sometimes, things can go wrong, very wrong.
This means that it is not extremely uncommon for certain business leaders to find themselves engaging in accidental misconduct or ignorant misconduct. Of course, for the most part, these practices will always come to the light of day. It might be that you haven’t vetted a supplier and where they source their materials from, or a range of other issues that could threaten to tank your firm both in its public opinion and in front of a criminal law court.
Protecting your business from accidental misconduct isn’t at all helped by learning better methods of cooking the books, hiding your misdeeds or brushing them under the rug. Instead, this can only be fixed, and prevented in the future, by dedicating yourself anew to transparency and understanding the true depth of your obligations.
With that in mind, let us explore the following advice for avoiding accidental work mishaps:
Insure Yourself Appropriately
Not only does excellent insurance help you stay covered should an accident happens, but it can also help you with your operational guidelines. Insurers often have a list of criteria that you must abide by to effectively render that insurance valid, and if you fall out of line with this, it can easily be taken from you.
To this end, insuring yourself appropriately is perhaps one of the most important and legal decisions you can make to begin with. It can also signify someone willing to cover appropriately, someone committed to the best practice.
Transparency
When you are transparent, and everything is recorded as it should be, then it can be quite easy to prove your conduct. For example, it might be that your budgets are starting to come up short, and the board of your firm is considering the potential for financial misappropriation. This can be proved by showing your tax records, your withdrawal procedures and how or when claims might prove to be false. Dedication to transparency can go a long, long way, and often sets the standard for all the others in your firm to follow. You may be truly surprised as to how effective this can be. Sunlight is usually the best disinfectant when it comes to company improprieties.
Disciplinary Proceedings
Now and then, you might find yourself with an employee who seemingly makes everything more difficult for you, however, they’re hitting targets. Simply terminating them at a drop of a hat isn’t exactly something you can do without blowback. While you’re free to terminate them for whatever reason you like, a severance package is a legal requirement when dismissal of this sort is considered.
However, if you terminate without advantages due to a disciplinary problem, the onus is on you to prove that. Disciplinary proceedings identified clearly can ensure that you follow the correct route of warnings, and evidence gathering to ensure that dismissal is justified and that no blame is placed on your shoulders by an ex-employee fond of litigation.
Saving Funding
All businesses have allocated budgets to work with, and that can lead to cost-cutting or being overly draconian with essential spending during a quarter or year.
It might be that you feel it necessary to cut the safety gear availability for a job with a potential hazard risk, or cut staff training down. It might be that instead of paying for and ensuring all of your food staff have health and safety qualifications, you simply asked them to complete their own online and never followed up on it.
Plenty of mistakes, either small or large can culminate as a result of needing to cut costs, but make sure they cannot come back to hurt you as evidenced here. A serious breach of health and safety rules, asking employees to commit dangerous activity to complete a task, or trying to downplay their grievances is all rife for a valid lawsuit against you and your firm, so be sure to follow your employment law to the letter.
Harassment & Bullying
We like to think that bullying is only something that occurs in the school playground, and as such we can have control over it and reduce it. Unfortunately, in adult life it can be a commonplace issue. It might be that your teasing of someone in the office have gone on for too long, and despite the somewhat tepid response, you are having a true effect. It might be that your arguments with a co-worker over a personal issue you both share could be translated to a harassment charge should you let your emotions get the better of you.
Always refining your conduct and ensuring that your emotions and behaviour is in check at work, and ideally out of it, can ensure that you are never blamed for misconduct, but you also know how to claim this if you’re being targeted.
Legal Help
It is essential to know how you can better yourself through a liaison with an effective attorney. It might be that you’re looking to communicate with slip and fall attorneys or those with criminal defense experience to prove that your staff member was the cause of their injury, especially after viewing misconduct on CCTV.
It might be that you wish to prove the faultiness of a safety product, or perhaps you wish to clear your name when accused of providing inadequate safety equipment for the task.
There are many results you could come to as a consequence of these inquiries, but one thing is for certain, without professional help fighting your corner, it can be easy to lose yourself to circumstantial evidence.
Also, if you can trust legal counsel to help you with issues such as these, you might trust them with referrals to other lawyers or other services they might hold.
With these tips, you’re sure to protect your business from accidental misconduct.
