Mother Hen!

I have a bit of a reputation.

Not just for drinking! Although it is one of my fortes.

And not for my blogging! Although I do love how many people come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed the last blog and how much it made them laugh!

I am also quite well known for my legal knowledge and experience, and the number of successes I’ve had, but sometimes that feels like a bit of a side line compared to the other two.

But if you asked people who know me personally they’d tell you how protective I can be over those I know and love, or just those I see around me who I feel are being taken advantage of.

So it’s probably no surprise that when sitting in the hospitality lounge at Wembley today, having had a few light ales, I decided to intervene in a “conversation” (!) between the lovely young man (Harry) who had been looking after us and our neighbouring tables all afternoon, and some dude in a suit and an ear piece who thought it would be fun to make himself look big and important by telling Harry off in front of us. We were not impressed. And just to be clear, this isn’t about trying to win business from any of the parties involved, but because I just don’t like bullies and you never stop being a parent, even when your kids aren’t around.

I don’t know what Harry had done wrong (if, indeed, he had done anything wrong) but whatever the situation, there are ways of doing things, and ways of not doing things. You certainly don’t chastise a junior in public, especially in front of his “clients” for the day who would no doubt be giving him a tip for a job well done. Harry may have been no match for the dude in the suit, but the dude in the suit was no match for the rest of us, who all asked him nicely to please act more professionally. We also asked the head of the floor to have a word, and to make sure that whatever Harry had done, he wasn’t going to get into any trouble for it.

So here’s the take away – if you are in an industry where you and your staff are on show constantly (such as retail and hospitality) either make sure that there are never any solicitors or mother hens in the vicinity (good luck with that) or make sure that everyone has the proper training. Mistakes happen, especially in a high pressure role like that, where there are a lot of high spirits and demanding guests. No one is going to get it right all the time, but if something does go wrong, make sure that those in authority know how to handle it. The way to avoid a claim for unfair dismissal or any kind of discrimination is not to assume it won’t happen, but to know how to handle it when it does.

Kleyman & Co Solicitors.  The full service law firm.  We’re never off duty.