We have a Senior Manager who was disciplined in February. She was also put on a Capability process at this time. She has had various personal problems since March and in recognition of this we have provided her with various elements of support and have not as yet moved on to the formal stages of the process. She went off with Stress in April/May for 5 weeks citing personal problems but has now said that the Stress is being caused by her line manager not ‘connecting with her on an emotional level/providing her with personal support’. In essence the inference is that the Capability process is causing her stress as she has indicated several times that she wishes it to be suspended in the light of her stress.
We have put various support mechanisms in place to meet our obligations which have included counselling, Occupational health (result fit for work), mediation between her and her line manager, offering her a temporary move out of her current role (and hence the capability) to ‘recover’, and a reduced workload. These last 2 she has not taken up.
However we have been quite clear that we will not suspend the capability whilst she is in her current role.
At our most recent meeting she indicated that she cannot do the job as her strengths are not aligned to the JD and has requested that we look to redeploy her to another senior role.
We have considered it but have nothing else to offer and feel now that the position has become untenable as the only option is to take her through a capability when she has already admitted that she can’t do the job and the result is inevitable. Her dept is also becoming increasingly dysfunctional as she is drawing various subordinates in support. It is also extremely difficult ethically as she is finding the whole process so painful.
In the light of the above, we have considered offering her a compromise agreement and a financial package to move her out of the organisation but knowing what we know of her we don’t think she will accept.
Does anyone have any advice? A complex one I know – good old HR Zone!
Heidi Charlesworth
