When you embarked on business, you probably had a few preconceptions. You may have envisioned soaring to success above all your competitors. You may also have imagined that you and your employees would become best friends. Sadly, neither of these scenarios often come true, but it’s the latter we’re going to look at here.

To think that you’ll be friends with your employees is naive. They’re not spending time with you because they like you. In fact, personal feelings don’t come into things that much. This is a working relationship. Your employees probably won’t want to drink with you on a Friday night, even if they do enjoy working under you. And, of course, struggling to get along with certain team members is one of those issues you make have to deal with. It may be that you can agree to disagree and get on regardless. Or, you may find that sour relationships lead to employees taking legal action.

This is never good. Whether an employee is suing due to discrimination or because they were injured on the job, this can make work incredibly difficult. Often, employees taking legal action will still be on your team. What’s more, any out of the ordinary treatment of the employee in question could land you in hotter legal water. It’s a situation you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemies. Still, it could happen to you at any time during your employment journey. That’s why we’ve put together some pointers to help you navigate these tricky waters without implicating yourself.

Remain professional

It’s understandable that you’ll feel some anger towards this employee. Still, passionate outbursts in the office leave you open to further accusations. Even trying to get close to the employee or lighten their workload could see you falling foul during your trial. The best thing you can do, then, is to remain as professional as you were before this whole situation arose. Keep all communications with the individual pleasant and professional. Keep their workload regular. Don’t do anything which singles them out from their fellow employees. If you’re ever uncertain about a course of action, ask yourself how it would look if it cropped up in court. If there’s any way the action could be twisted, don’t do it.

Keep witnesses around at all times

As mentioned above, you need to keep communicating with the colleague in question as you did before they filed against you. But, it is worth noting that private conversations should be off your cards for the time being. If you take them into your office, they could make all manner of claims. Instead, then, try to hold all conversations with witnesses around you. Make sure, too, to keep records of any emails or other messages which pass between the two of you during this period. It may all seem a little heavy, but you never know what’s going to come back at you later down the line. In business, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.