The following case studies show how the service works in practice.

Receptionist alleged the PM was 'out to get her'

One of three receptionists in a medium-sized inner city practice wrote a long letter detailing her allegations that the practice manager was 'out to get her' and that the other receptionists were treated more favourably.

The partners felt they didn't have the experience to deal with this type of grievance and sought external assistance from a consultant from Peninsula's Face2Face service.

The consultant reviewed the grievance letter and identified three specific complaints:

the other receptionists always got the holidays that they wanted and she didn't
she had been given a verbal warning for arriving to work late on three occasions but another receptionist had also been late on three occasions and had not received the same sanction
another receptionist had received a pay increase when her own request to the PM for a rise had been declined.

The consultant arranged a grievance hearing with the receptionist in order to confirm that the core of the grievance was the three points he had identified. During the meeting, he was able to clarify her story and also to understand what outcome she wanted.

He then met the PM to find out her version of events. It became clear during the conversation that there were quite simple explanations for all of the complaints, two of which included management decisions that the receptionist had not been privy to. The annual leave point arose because she had started working at the practice part-way through the leave year, after the other receptionists had already booked in their annual leave. As only one receptionist could be off work at a time, some of her holiday requests had to be declined where they had clashed.

In his written report, the consultant explained the reasons why none of the receptionist's grievances could be upheld. Once she became aware of the reasons, she accepted that she had not been treated unfavourably. In the knowledge that the PM was not 'out to get her', she approached the PM to clear the air and good relations were restored.

'When we got the grievance letter, I was really worried that it could make matters worse between her and the practice manager if it wasn't dealt with efficiently and effectively, and we didn't feel we had the expertise in house. Thankfully, the Peninsula Face2Face consultant swiftly took charge and brought the situation to a conclusion, keeping us informed along the way.'

Peninsula Face2Face – taking the HR burden off GP practices

Peninsula Face2Face – taking the HR burden off GP practices