341. Why Your HR Policies Won't Save You in Court, with Employment Solicitor Roy Magara

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. In this episode, we are joined by employment solicitor advocate Roy Magara, founder of Magara Law, to uncover what every founder, manager, and HR leader needs to know about avoiding costly employment tribunals, building proper HR architecture, and handling workplace grievances before they blow up. 🔥 Topics covered in this episode Prevention over cure: Why an employee handbook sitting on SharePoint is useless if nobody actually follows it when something goes wrong. Contracts, policies and handbooks: Where founders should start when setting up their legal architecture as the team grows. The first hour of a problem: Roy’s three-step framework (Preserve, Assess, Plan) to protect the business and safeguard documentation when a grievance is raised. The drama of fabricated evidence: A wild real-life tribunal case where fake disciplinary minutes were exposed by a secret recording. In-house resolution vs. calling in the lawyers: When you can resolve issues internally and the exact moment you need to pick up the phone to an employment lawyer. Emerging employment risks: The rise of neurodiversity-related discrimination claims, upcoming legislative threshold changes, and AI interview tools gone wrong. Tribunal vs. mediation vs. conciliation: The differences between these processes and why early workplace mediation can save you tens of thousands of pounds. Guest Links Roy Magara (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/roymagara/ Magara Law: https://www.magaralaw.co.uk/ 📬 Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines https://findahelpline.com