The situation
An employee had been in post for 18 months and had never met the standards the role required. The owner had avoided dealing with it and the rest of the team had noticed.
Why it was difficult
After 18 months of inaction, moving to exit too quickly would look unfair. But continuing to carry the role was damaging output and morale.
What Samantha did
- Established honestly whether this was a capability or a conduct issue
- Ran a fair, properly structured capability process
- Gave real support and a genuine opportunity to improve
- Prepared a clean, fair exit route when improvement did not come
The outcome
The matter was resolved with a fair exit. The process was sound, and no tribunal claim followed.
Fair exit achieved. No tribunal claim.
What this means for you
Avoiding a performance problem does not make it go away; it makes it harder to fix fairly. A proper process protects you even after months of drift.
Related support
Performance management support →Anonymised. Sector, names and identifying details have been removed or changed. Outcomes reflect the specific circumstances of each case and are not a guarantee of any particular result.