Running an organisation is a lonely endeavour. Especially when you’re making staffing decisions.
In a golf club, the loneliness is even worse.
Especially when the ‘staffing decisions’ involve your board of directors or committee deciding that you are the problem, and that your employment is in the balance.
In my experience, it’s rarely to do with experience, and almost always to do with how the committee get on with you on a personal basis.
Which is unfair. Not to mention usually illegal.
The good news is that if you ever find yourself in that situation, you’re not alone – we can help.
We’ve been running the GCMA Employment Law advice line since January 2019, giving all members unlimited advice on their employment situation.
We’ve helped managers deal with a committee bluntly requesting they need to move on…
We’ve helped managers whose committees have made up disciplinary offences so they can remove them for “gross misconduct”…
The list goes on, and the sad truth is that no one is secure in their club.
We’ve helped managers who were young, old, male, female, suffering from a disability and perfectly healthy.
The only one common denominator?
The committee, or more precisely, one person on the committee (Captain or Chairman usually) has their own agenda for wanting the club manager out.
They pretty much NEVER do this the correct legal way, and as a result, we’re there to assist all GCMA members with empathy and legal advice.
Our first port of call is usually reinstatement. But – I’ll level with you – usually there’s little chance of that happening by the time we’ve been contacted.
In that instance, we’re laser focused on making sure managers get the maximum financial settlement that we can for them.
If mistakes have been made, we also help GCMA members who have been invited for a genuine disciplinary, and make sure the club follow ACAS procedure, so that managers have a fair and reasonable process, just as their staff would.
All I would ask is that if there are rumblings from the committee, that you call us at the first instance; not when it has got so bad that you are signed off sick, unable to sleep and on anti-depressants.
Call us on 01491 598 789 when it starts – you are not alone, and we can help take some of the pressure off your shoulders.
