NEGOTIATING TO GET AN EMPLOYEE’S JOB BACK

You are representing an employee who has been dismissed. You have to negotiate with the manager of the company where she was working.

GETTING A MANDATE

The employee wants her job back and asks you to represent her. You have to stay in touch with this person throughout and get a new mandate if there are changes.

PREPARING AND PLANNING FOR THE NEGOTIATION

• Find out all the details about the dismissal of the employee. Find out how many warnings she received in the past, her length of service, what her job was, whether she was a member of a union, why she thinks she was dismissed, etc.
• Find out about the company, the name of the manager, whether the company has a reputation for treating its employees badly, and so on.
• Plan what you are going to say to the manager when you telephone.

MEETING OR CONTACTING THE OTHER SIDE

• You telephone the manager. You explain who you are representing, and the reasons for your telephone call. You ask for the manager’s side of the story. You explain that the employee wants her job back. The manager refuses but makes you another offer – for example, that she will be paid out for the notice period plus leave due, and will be given a positive reference. This is called a counter-offer.
• You do not have a mandate to accept this. You tell the manager that you must go back to the employee.

GOING BACK TO THE PERSON OR GROUP YOU ARE REPRESENTING

• You go back to the employee and explain what the manager has offered. (If you think it is a good settlement you can try to encourage the employee to accept it.) If the employee accepts the offer, you telephone the manager again and say that you agree to the company’s offer.

PUTTING THE SETTLEMENT INTO PRACTICE

• You immediately write a letter to the company confirming your agreement.
• If the company does not keep to its side of the agreement, you must meet again with the employee, and decide together what you are going to do.