Employment tribunal
An employment tribunal may be beneficial to an employee because the business will be more likely to take their claim seriously as now a court has become involved.
The disadvantage of an employment tribunal is that members are made up of employees at Alton Towers and trade unions. Therefore, they could be bias towards either party as both sides can have an influence on members of the tribunal. For example: employees may be more likely to take their employer’s, Alton Towers, side and people from the trade union will be more likely to take their member’s side because that is their job. Therefore, the outcomes of this could be unfair as members of the tribunal will have clouded judgement and support the person that they associate with and not the person who is actually right.
ACAS
The advantage of involving this organisation is that it is independent and therefore, will not be biased towards either side as they do not know them personally. And this is beneficial because they are likely to make the right decision as they concentrate on resolving the issue fairly.
The disadvantage of this is that ACAS is an external organisation and so others may be aware of the grievance and this will tarnish Alton Towers’ reputation and thus it may be harder for them to recruit employees in future.
In addition to this, it could be a disadvantage to the employee because Alton Towers may be upset that a third party has to get involved and so when the grievance is resolved they may not want the employee to have their job back.
I think the best method of resolving a dispute is to keep it within the business by either telling the line manger or a more senior manger. This is because the grievance will be sorted out at a very early stage and this will prevent it from escalating and causing more problems. For example: if a manager sorts the problem out immediately there will be no need to involve external organisations that can be costly for both Alton Towers and its employees. Also, by resolving the dispute within the business, Alton Towers will not risk damaging their reputation and so their customers will be likely to remain loyal and they will continue to be able to attract new employees. Furthermore, their employees will remain motivated and wanting to work at Alton Towers as they will know their problems will be dealt with immediately.
Examples of Disputes that may happen at Alton Towers
A dispute may occur between ride operators at Alton Towers and their employers over wages. The ride operators may decide they should be paid more but employers do not agree. If this happens the employees may decide to take action against the business and get their trade union involved. The union will negotiate with employers at Alton Towers over the pay rise but if they refuse to listen they may decide to take further action. For example: the trade union may advise its members (the ride operators at Alton Towers) to go slow. i.e they should not work as efficiently as they possibly can. Instead of getting a many people as possible onto the rides they should work slowly and take their time so customers get fed up and complain. This will show employers that the ride operators are needed so customers can have a good time and remain loyal to Alton Towers. Due to this, employers may consider the pay increase because if employees are not motivated they will not provide excellent customer service and so Alton Towers will lose profit as they will lose customer loyalty.
If employees do not want to go slow because they think the business is still going to benefit slightly as some customers will still be happy with the service as they may get to go on the ride, then the employees may decide to take another action.
For example: they may decide to have a sit-in i.e. they will go to Alton Towers but not do any work. This will be bad for Alton Towers because their main business activity is the theme park so if customers are unable to go on the rides they may demand their money back and not return to Alton Towers and this will cause them to lose business. Also, if employees decide to do this, the public will know there is a problem between employees and employers at Alton Towers and the media may get involved and this may cause more people to lose faith in Alton Towers and visit other theme parks instead. This is because the media will expand the issue and cause it to be blown out of proportion which will be very damaging to Alton Towers’ reputation.
On the other hand, if employees decide they do not want the dispute to be made public because Alton Towers may decide to sack these people for giving them a negative reputation, they may choose an alternative action; banning overtime. This will mean if Alton Towers are short of an employee and need someone to cover their shift, existing ride operators will refuse. This will show employers that the ride operators should be listened too because if they do not work overtime then Alton Towers will not be able to run as efficiently as possible.
In addition to this, the trade union may encourage employees to work to rule. This would mean that employees would take their breaks at their set times and not wait till it is more convenient for Alton Towers. i.e. if 1pm is a very busy time for certain rides e.g. ‘Rita’ as everyone is back from lunch, then many employees are needed, but some of their lunch breaks are at this time, they would usually take their breaks later when the queues quieten down. However, during work to rule, they will still take their breaks no matter how busy it is.
Furthermore, if the ride operators needs are ignored and the dispute is not resolved, they may decide to strike (this is usually done in extreme cases i.e. a last resort). This would mean that employees will not go to Alton Towers and do their job. This will make employees see how much they are needed because if there are no ride operators to operate the rides then Alton Towers will lose out on profit as thousands of people will not go to the park whilst employees are on strike.
Moreover, if there is a strike of large scale the media will surely be involved and Alton Towers will gain a negative reputation.
How disputes affect Alton Towers
Disputes can affect Alton Towers in a number of ways. They will have negative effects on the business. For example: if employees decide to strike and/ or have a sit in then there will be no one to work at Alton Towers and so they will not be able to do their business activity and this will cause them to lose customers. Also, this will make the media aware of the problem and cast a negative image of Alton towers nationally, so they will lose many potential visitors which will cause them to lose profits as their production costs will be more then their income.
Also, some employees may decide to leave Alton Tower so they will be short on staff and unable to run as efficiently as possible. Also, if they are unable to find immediate replacement for these employees then they may lose further customers as customers will have to wait longer in queues and so may decide not to return to Alton Towers in future.
In addition to this, if others hear of the reasons why employee left e.g. through media coverage or former employees, then it will be harder for Alton Towers to recruit new employees. This is because people will not be willing to work there as they may think Alton Towers do not listen to their employees and the working conditions will not be in the interest of the workers.
Moreover, if employees have disputes with the employer it can cause tension between them and this may result in them being less motivated and slacking.
Three examples of grievances
A grievance may occur between an employee and their employer at Alton Towers when certain laws are not followed. For example: if Alton Towers break ‘The Equal Pay Act’ by paying one employee more than another than this can cause problems. For example: if there are two supervisors for the same restaurant at Alton Towers, and they both work the same number of hours and do the same work, but one is a male and the other is a female, and the female gets paid less than the male. Then, the female supervisor will decide to take action against Alton Towers. This is because both supervisors should be treated equally under the law and so legal action can be taken against Alton Towers as they will be in breech of ‘The Equal Pay Act.’
If this occurs the female supervisor will report the grievance to her line manager. The department manger may not be able to resolve the dispute because he/she is not in charge of employees’ salaries and does not have the authority to change them. Therefore, the grievance will be passed on to the next stage (taken to the senior mangers). These mangers will have the power to increase the female supervisor’s salary and resolve the dispute. However, should they decide they do not want to pay her as much as the male supervisor, then it will become an even more serious issue. This is because Alton Towers will be seen as discriminative against females and so the grievance will be taken further (to a party outside the business) e.g. ACAS. This organisation will discuss the issue and come to a mutual agreement.
Another grievance may occur when there is a chance of promotion within a business. For example: if there is a position available for ride supervisor at Alton Towers and two employees applied; one was black and the other was white and the white employee got the job although the black employee was the most suitable; he had more experience and relative skills, then this could cause a conflict between the black employee and employers at Alton Towers. This is because the black person may feel they were discriminated against; the only reason they didn’t get the job was because of their skin colour. If this is proved then Alton Towers would be breaking ‘The Race Relations Act 1976.’ Under this law all employees regardless of race, colour etc should be given equal opportunity but in this case the employee has felt that they have not been treated equally and given the same opportunity as the white employee so Alton Towers have broken this law.
The ride operator will take the matter to his line manger and the manger fails to overcome the employees concerns and show that he was not discriminated against the ride supervisor may decide to complain to a more senior manger. If this manager fails to give valid reasons for not promoting the black employee then he may take the matter to an external organisation. A trade union will support the employee if he decides to take legal action against Alton Towers and The European Court of Justice will decide if he was discriminated against.
Furthermore, a grievance may occur when an employee is unfairly dismissed. For example: if a shop assistant is sacked because the manager has a personal problem with them; dislikes them due to a past encounter, then under ‘The Employment Act 1975’ they are not allowed to sack them for this reason. If the shop assistant complains and explains the reason they were dismissed then it would come to light that the manger has breeched The Employment Act.’
In this case, the employee is unable to take the problem to his line manger because they have a grievance with them therefore, they will take their grievance to a more senior manager. If this manager decides the employee should not have been sacked then they will re-hire the employee. However, if the senior manager is a personal friend of the shop manager, and therefore, ignores the allegations against the manager, then the grievance will be taken to the next stage and an external organisation will be involved, for example: The European Court of Justice. Here, they will listen to the claims and see if there was valid reasons for the employee to be dismissed. If not, then they will decide what actions should be taken against Alton towers.
Discipline procedure
A discipline procedure is used when employers have a problem or complaint with an employee.
There are three stages of a discipline procedure:
- Stage 1- Verbal warning. This is for a minor offence such as being late to work two times in a week
- Stage 2-Written warning to employee. This is for a more serious offence (ignoring the verbal warning) i.e. being late several times in a fortnight.
- Stage 3- Final written warning for a repeated serious offence e.g. being late everyday in the third week.
Now the business is permitted to sacking the employee as they were given warnings and still continued being late.
Three examples of disputes
A dispute may occur between employers and employees at Alton Towers when an employee is racially abusing another member of staff. For example: a ride operator may have said a racist comment to a shop assistant at Alton Towers. When the shop assistant complained to the ride operator’s manager they may have given them a verbal warning as this was the first time the matter had occurred.
However, the same employee said a racist remark to another member of staff and they complained about the ride operator then the employee will get a written warning to show the employee it is becoming a serious issue. If the ride operator fails to see the seriousness of the issue and continued to be racist towards other employees and another complaint was made against them, then they will get a final written warning which will then lead to them being sacked.
The employer will have the right to sack the offender because they will be breaking the race relations Act 1976
Another dispute that may occur is when a shop assistant at Alton Towers steals money from the till. This is an extremely serious offence and so Alton Towers will have just reasons to sack this employee without giving them several warnings in advance. However, if this is the first time the employee has ever been in any trouble the manager may be willing to give the employee a written warning and only sack them if they repeat the offence.
A dispute may also happen if an employee continually slacks when doing their work. For example: if a waitress in a restaurant at Alton Towers does not give good customer service by ignoring many customers and only serving a few, then she will be given a verbal warning. If she ignores the warning and the next day doesn’t do all the jobs she was told to do by the supervisor then she will be given a written warning. If the employee still slacks and takes breaks when she is supposed to be serving then she will get a final written warning before she is sacked.
Three conflicts that may occur at Alton Towers
A conflict may occur between employers at Alton Towers and an employee if they break The Employment Act 1975. For example: if a female ride operator returns from maternity leave to find her job is no longer available this will cause a conflict. The first thing she may do is complain to the mangers and if they allow her to have her job back then the matter will go no further .
On the other hand, if they have hired another employee permanently and do not give her another job within the business, then she may decide to take the matter further and get ACAS or The European Court of Justice involved. This conflict may lead to Alton Towers having to pay compensation to the employee.
Additionally, if the conflict gets this far their reputation may be damaged and when they are looking to recruit in future it may be harder for them to find new employees.
A conflict may occur when a ride operator is not paid according to their contract. For example: if their contacted had stated they would be paid £6.00 an hour, however, they were not paid the right amount then a problem would occur. This is because employees will be expected to be paid the full amount because they have met their employer’s expectations by doing their job i.e. operating the ride. If Alton Towers do not pay this employee the full amount then they may decide to leave Alton Towers and this will make them look inefficient as they may not be able to operate the ride as smoothly as they will be short of an employee and this may result in them losing future customers.
Additionally, if Alton Towers does not pay him the correct amount for the hours he has worked he may decide to take legal action against them and this will result in them gaining a bad reputation. This negative image will discourage people to apply for jobs at Alton Towers as they may think they will also not be paid the correct amount.
However, if the manger has noticed his error and pays the employee the amount he should have been paid then the conflict may be resolved immediately without involvement from external organisations.
In addition to this, a conflict between employees and employers at Alton Towers may occur if employees are not given training programmes. For example: If a new ride is introduced at Alton Towers and a previous ride operator now has to operate this new ride but isn’t given training sessions in order to help them do this, then problems may occur because the employee may not know how to operate the ride correctly and therefore will not be motivated when doing their job. Also, this may cause other problems because it may be dangerous if the ride operator makes a mistake. For example: if the employee was not given a training programme on Health and Safety whilst operating the ride and in result of this injures themselves or others. Then, they will decide to take legal action against Alton Towers. This conflict may be resolved by Alton Towers paying compensation to the inured employee and ensuring they give training programmes to all employees.
by
alevel121 (student)
