There are - two sides to every story and this is a well worn phrase , thus years of my own experiences dealing with people , always tells me to always take the middle path. .
With this in mind - I had one of our temporary members of staff - Steve , who had been suspended and was going to be fined for a breech of company policy - come up to see me today .
I took on board all he was saying , but later I had a conversation with one of his workmates who I deemed to be impartial , before hearing the management side of the story in a formal setting later on in the week .
When ever I represent someone I always insist they tell me the truth , as I do not want any nasty unforeseen surprises sprung upon me in the formal hearing , and it was obvious Steve - wasn’t.
I do wish people would realise this is of course totally counterproductive , as knowing the facts alters the way I prepare the case , be it damage limitation or on the offence
.The majority of these hearings do not want your blood , so if the case is a potentially lost cause - simply admitting it and throwing yourself at their mercy usually works , but my original information from Steve , suggested otherwise.
So I had to put Steve on the spot and say…..
…… “look - I know exactly what’s going on, and I suggest you tell me ……”
So to cut a long story short , and one damage limitation exercise later , which included a verbal warning , but no fine - we emerged from the hearing - relatively happy and more importantly - Steve’s job intact .
