Performance and wellbeing: you can care and still have standards

Managing performance can feel straightforward until someone unexpectedly confides in you that they’re struggling.

Suddenly, a conversation about missed deadlines becomes a conversation about workload, health or something difficult happening at home.

Do you carry on? Stop everything? Quietly hope it sorts itself out?

From an HR perspective, the key first step is to understand what’s happening before deciding what comes next. You can have clear expectations and care about the person meeting them.

Here’s how to handle each part without turning every check-in into a tribunal rehearsal.

Managing performance: make the expectations clear

Good performance management starts before anything goes wrong.

Explain what the role requires, what good work looks like and which priorities matter most.

“Use your initiative” is not a complete induction programme, however confidently it’s delivered. Hold regular check-ins, recognise good work and raise concerns promptly rather than saving them for an annual appraisal surprise.

• Describe the gap, not the personality. Use specific examples of the work and its impact. “The report arrived after the agreed deadline” is clearer than “You’re unreliable.”
• Ask why. Check understanding, training, systems, resources and workload. Establish whether this is about ability, behaviour or something getting in the way; don’t assume it’s a lack of effort.
• Agree a workable improvement plan. Set specific, measurable expectations, a reasonable timescale, the support you will provide and review dates. Record the employee’s response and share an accurate summary.
• Follow through. Deliver the promised training and check-ins. If improvement remains insufficient, involve HR and follow the appropriate procedure, including fair warnings and appeal rights where relevant. A plan should offer a genuine opportunity to improve, not decorate a decision already made.
• Explain what the process means. People may hear “performance improvement” and assume dismissal is inevitable. Reassure them that the aim is to clarify expectations, provide support and create a genuine opportunity to develop and succeed in the role - without making promises about the outcome.

Managing wellbeing: look at the work, not just the perks

Wellbeing isn’t something to discuss only after performance drops. Someone can hit every target and still be struggling. Make time for private conversations about workload, working hours, support and how the job is affecting them. Stay curious about the person you’re responsible for; approach with metaphorical open palms, not clenched fists. You don’t need to diagnose anything or persuade someone to share their medical history. You do, however, need to listen and act on what is within your control.

• Ask what would help at work. That might mean clearer priorities, fewer competing deadlines, protected breaks or a different way of communicating. Agree actions and a date to review them.
• Address work-related stress. HSE says employers must assess stress risks and act on the findings. If someone reports work-related stress, arrange an individual assessment rather than simply sending them the employee assistance programme number.
• Know your boundaries. Signpost to available support, such as an EAP, their GP or occupational health. Explain who needs relevant information and why; keep health information secure and avoid promising absolute secrecy.
• Keep checking in. Don’t assume one supportive conversation has resolved everything. Equally, don’t assume a health condition means someone cannot do their job. Ask, listen and review.
• Take what they tell you seriously. Your role is not to decide whether someone is “genuine” or trying their luck. Listen without judgement, clarify the impact at work and respond to the information available. Record relevant facts and agreed actions; if something does not add up or affects a formal decision, seek HR advice rather than testing their credibility yourself.

Please note, a webinar on wellbeing won’t fix a workload that needs three people and a small miracle.

When performance and wellbeing overlap: reassess before escalating

If health or wellbeing concerns emerge during a performance discussion, acknowledge them and explore how they affect the work. Don’t dismiss the information because it arrived after concerns were raised. Equally, a disclosure doesn’t automatically mean all performance conversations must stop indefinitely.

The next step is to review the approach with HR, taking account of the person’s circumstances and whether they can participate fairly. There may be a process you didn’t know needed following, or resources that would help you with your discussions. HR can help make sure you’ve dotted the I's and crossed the T's.

1. Understand the connection. Ask which tasks are affected, how and what might help. With appropriate consent, occupational health advice can help explain work-related effects and possible adjustments; it does not replace the employer’s responsibility to decide fairly.
2. Review support and adjustments. Consider changes to workload, instructions, working arrangements, targets or review timescales. Where the legal disability tests and knowledge requirements are met, reasonable adjustments are a duty, not a favour. Support can still be appropriate where there is no disability.
3. Make the plan reflect reality. Record the support, any revised expectations and when you will review effectiveness. Give agreed changes a fair opportunity to work. If necessary, pause or adapt a formal stage while obtaining advice; don’t continue unchanged simply because the meeting was already booked.
4. Review both sides. Ask whether performance is improving and whether the support is helping. If concerns remain, seek HR advice before formal decisions. Consider the relevant medical evidence, reasonable adjustments and alternatives. Dismissal should be a last resort, not the automatic next box on a form.

What the Employment Rights Act changes mean for managers

From 1 January 2027, the Employment Rights Act 2025 reduces the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection in England, Scotland and Wales from two years to six months. Employees who already have six months’ qualifying service on that date will be covered. The compensatory award cap for unfair dismissal will also be removed. For dismissals with an effective termination date before then, the usual two-year qualifying period remains, subject to existing exceptions.

This does not mean employees have no rights before six months.  Nor does it mean that addressing poor performance or problematic behaviour becomes impossible after 1 January 2027. Employers can still manage concerns and, where appropriate, dismiss fairly; the change makes clear expectations, evidence and a reasonable process important from an earlier stage.

Discrimination protections and many automatically unfair dismissal protections do not require that qualifying service. Extending probation does not postpone statutory protection. For managers, the message is to improve induction, give feedback early and hold meaningful probation reviews, not to introduce a five-month panic meeting.

Take HR advice on notice and service calculations before any dismissal decision, particularly close to the threshold.

Key phrases and conversation openers

• Opening a performance conversation: “I’d like to talk about these missed deadlines, understand what’s getting in the way and agree what would help.”
• Checking your expectations: “Have I been clear about the priorities and the standard we need? Is there anything you need from me?”
• Opening a wellbeing conversation: “How are you finding things at work at the moment? Is there anything about the workload or way we’re working that we should look at?”
• Responding to a disclosure: “Thank you for telling me. You don’t need to share every personal detail. What would help me understand the impact at work?”
• When the two overlap: “We need to address the work concerns, and we also need to make sure the expectations and support are appropriate. Let’s review both before agreeing the next steps.”
• Closing with something concrete: “I’ll arrange the support we’ve discussed, and I’ll send a summary so you can check I’ve understood. Let’s meet again on the agreed date to see what’s working.”

Two case-law lessons worth knowing

City of York Council v Grosset [2018] EWCA Civ 1105:

The Court of Appeal upheld a finding of discrimination arising from disability following a dismissal for misconduct. The employer did not have to know that the conduct arose from the disability for that discrimination claim to succeed; knowledge of the disability is a separate issue. The ordinary unfair dismissal claim had failed, illustrating that the legal tests differ.

The management lesson: investigate possible health-related connections and obtain advice before deciding on sanctions. A fair procedure alone does not settle the discrimination question; justification and proportionality also matter.

Griffiths v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2015] EWCA Civ 1265:

This concerned attendance management, rather than a performance improvement plan. The Court of Appeal confirmed that applying the same absence policy to everyone can still trigger the reasonable-adjustments duty where disability creates a substantial disadvantage. However, the employee’s appeal failed because the tribunal was entitled to find the particular adjustments requested were not reasonable.

The management lesson: “We treat everyone exactly the same” is not a complete answer. Consider adjustments individually, without assuming every requested change must be accepted or all disability-related absence ignored.

The bottom line: be clear about the work, curious about the cause and reliable with the support. You don’t have to choose between managing performance and supporting wellbeing. You do have to avoid pretending they never affect each other.

Legal position checked on 20 October 2026. General management guidance for Great Britain, not advice on an individual case. Case outcomes depend on their facts; seek HR or legal advice before formal action.

Reference list and further reading

• Department for Business and Trade. Unfair dismissal rights. Government guidance on the six-month qualifying period, implementation date, compensation and notice. Read the employer guidance.
• GOV.UK. Unfair dismissal factsheet. Summary of the Employment Rights Act 2025 provisions. Read the factsheet.
• Acas. Problems with an employee’s performance. Capability, conduct and supporting improvement. Read the performance guidance.
• Acas. Reviews and appraisals. Regular feedback, written records and clear objectives. Read the appraisal guidance.
• Acas. Talking about mental health. Supportive conversations and workplace support. Read the conversation guidance.
• Acas. What reasonable adjustments are and Mental health adjustments. Duties, individual circumstances and practical examples. Read about the adjustments duty; read the mental health examples.
• Health and Safety Executive. Work-related stress: risk assessment. Assessing risks and acting on findings. Read the HSE guidance.
• City of York Council v Grosset [2018] EWCA Civ 1105, Court of Appeal, 15 May 2018. Case report and judgment text published by Employment Cases Update. Read the Grosset case.
• Griffiths v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2015] EWCA Civ 1265, Court of Appeal, 10 December 2015. Case report and judgment text published by Employment Cases Update. Read the Griffiths case.