Is honesty always the best policy?

Possibly not, as you may know to your cost if you’ve ever been asked “does my bum look big in this?” and said that it does, but the truth is always better than a lie.  So if you can’t tell the truth, then it’s probably best not to say anything.

This is particularly important when dealing with your staff.  Either tell them the truth or don’t say anything.  Being consistent (such as having a policy and sticking to it) is also a good strategy.

Whilst this may be good advice, it’s probably a bit late for the folks at The Brightside Group, who fired a member of staff for poor performance, but they didn’t want to demoralize the employee by giving the real reason, and so fabricated something.  Unfortunately, their deceit came out, and although their reasons were accepted by a Tribunal, it still cost them more than it would have done if they’d just been honest.

Even better would have been to take legal advice before doing anything at all.  You can be completely honest with your advisers, and they can tell you what you can say, and what you should keep quiet about.

Kleyman & Co Solicitors.  The full service law firm.  Good at keeping secrets!