Dean Hunter: It is good for businesses to be able to sack poor staff at will

Vince Cable’s efforts to persuade David Cameron to abandon his proposals to give companies powers to “fire at will” under-performing employees are totally misguided. When it comes to dealing with consistently poor performance on the part of any employee there are far too many instances in which political correctness overrides good business sense. This can have a detrimental effect not only on the business, but on the morale of other staff.

While staff do like to see compassion in their bosses, any failure to take action against under-performers won’t impress them. An individual who is not pulling his or her weight is likely to be adding to the work load of colleagues, thereby potentially increasing their stress levels and working hours.

In my experience, time wasted in prolonging the inevitable firing of an under-performer can be damaging for business efficiency and eventually profit. Some employers think staff discipline is too complicated to tackle, or are afraid to make tough decisions. Many of them misunderstand UK employment law, believing that if they say “no” to employees they will find themselves in a tribunal.

In reality, this is extremely rare. Employers do need to follow the law and should take time to make sure they understand the processes for disciplining staff, and, if necessary, terminating their employment.

Ultimately, it is a question of balance. The workplace needs to be a harmonious mixture of power between employees and managers and every employer needs to consider where to draw the line between severe and soft. This is particularly important for small businesses which are responsible for delivering more than half of Britain’s GDP. Government needs to step back and let us get on with our job of driving economic growth. Creating circumstances where employers are not able quickly and effectively to deal with under-performing employees is counter-productive and doesn’t make good business sense. The Business Secretary should concentrate on politics and let employers get on with running their businesses.

l Dean Hunter is managing director of Aberdeen-based HR and business consultancy Hunter Adams.