Whose Side Is HR On?

One question has puzzled Unichef for years:

What is HR actually there to do?

Today it may be called Human Resources, People & Culture or simply the People Team, but the basic position has not changed.

HR works for the employer.

That is the starting point every employee should understand.

HR is not independent of the company. It is paid by the company, reports into the company and exists to protect the organisation’s interests.

That means HR is not the employee’s representative.

Your union representative represents you.
Your solicitor represents you.

HR does not.

But that does not mean HR should automatically become the enemy of the employee.

HR's real job is to protect the employer

And sometimes the best way to protect an employer is to stop managers making bad decisions.

If a manager wants to dismiss someone without a proper investigation, good HR should intervene.

If an employee raises a complaint of bullying, harassment or discrimination, HR should ensure it is properly investigated.

If a disabled employee needs reasonable adjustments, HR should make sure those requests are properly considered.

If a manager wants to punish an employee simply because they have raised a grievance, HR should advise against it.

In each case, HR is still protecting the employer.

It is protecting the employer from bad management, unfair procedures, grievances, tribunal claims and unnecessary disputes.

That is an important distinction.

HR is not independent — but it should be fair

Employees sometimes believe that because HR sits in a disciplinary or grievance meeting, HR is acting as an independent referee.

Usually it is not.

But HR should still ensure that the process is fair.

It should ask:

What actually happened?

It should not simply ask:

How do we defend the manager?

A proper HR function should listen to both sides, examine the evidence and make sure decisions are based on facts rather than assumptions.

The moment HR stops asking questions and simply starts defending management, confidence in the process quickly disappears.

HR should sometimes tell management “No”

One of the most important functions of professional HR is being prepared to challenge management.

Sometimes HR should say:

“You cannot do that.”

Or:

“You have not investigated this properly.”

Or:

“You need to hear the employee’s side.”

Or simply:

“That would not be fair.”

That is not HR betraying the company.

That is HR doing its job.

So whose side is HR on?

The employer’s.

Employees should be under no illusion about that.

But good HR should understand that protecting the employer does not mean automatically opposing the employee.

Sometimes protecting the employer means supporting management.

Sometimes it means challenging an employee.

And sometimes it means stopping management from making a serious mistake.

That is where professional HR earns its place.

Changing the name from Human Resources to People Team changes nothing unless the behaviour changes with it.

Because ultimately:

HR is there to protect the employer — but good HR protects the employer by helping it behave properly.

Unichef – The National Chefs Union

Your union represents you.
HR represents the employer.
Never confuse the two.