The founders of DefendThis are practising barristers with a combined thirty-five years at the Bar. They built Jesmond on the back of their accumulated employment law experience, attacking and defending grievances, both winning and losing.

Jesmond’s design reflects what the founders learned in those claims. First, many cases that reach a Tribunal could have been resolved with a better grievance process or outcome. Secondly, many employees are aggrieved at least as much by a poorly handled grievance, and the focus of any future litigation is often on failings (real or perceived) in process.

Jesmond is the tool the founders wish their clients had all along.

For more about DefendThis, visit defendthis.co.uk.

There are (nearly) as many grievance policies and procedures as there are employers. Some are simple. Some are highly developed. Your local corner shop has a different process to your local large supermarket.

When you sign up to Jesmond, the system moulds itself to your organisation’s policies and processes. Before you start a single grievance, Jesmond will be configured with your in-house way of doing things: the procedure, the equality and diversity framework, the bullying and harassment definitions, and the protected disclosure process.

Your instance of Jesmond is then unique to your organisation, configured just for you. When you hear your first grievance, it does not guide you through Jesmond’s process. It guides you through your processes, using your definitions, your procedures, and your rules.

As part of the configuration, Jesmond trains on a corpus of past grievance materials, including anonymised decisions, so the drafting will match yours. The tone, voice and register will be the same, by design.

Once Jesmond is set up, it becomes an indispensable part of your team.

To start a conversation about a setup, write to gus@defendthis.co.uk.

There are (nearly) as many disciplinary policies and procedures as there are employers. Some are simple. Some are highly developed. Your local corner shop has a different process to your local large supermarket.

When you sign up to Jesmond, the system moulds itself to your organisation’s policies and processes. Before you start a single disciplinary, Jesmond will be configured with your in-house way of doing things: the procedure, the equality and diversity framework, the bullying and harassment definitions, your list of acts that may amount to gross misconduct, and the sanctions available at each stage of your warning structure.

Your instance of Jesmond is then unique to your organisation, configured just for you. When you open your first disciplinary, it does not guide you through Jesmond’s process. It guides you through your processes, using your definitions, your procedures, and your rules.

As part of the configuration, Jesmond trains on a corpus of past disciplinary materials, including anonymised decisions, so the drafting will match yours. The tone, voice and register will be the same, by design.

Once Jesmond is set up, it becomes an indispensable part of your team.

To start a conversation about a setup, write to gus@defendthis.co.uk.

There are (nearly) as many appeal policies and procedures as there are employers. Some are simple. Some are highly developed. Your local corner shop has a different appeal process to your local large supermarket.

When you sign up to Jesmond, the system moulds itself to your organisation’s policies and processes. Before you hear a single appeal, Jesmond will be configured with your in-house way of doing things: the appeal procedure, the rules on who can hear an appeal, the equality and diversity framework, and whether your appeals are conducted by way of rehearing or review.

Your instance of Jesmond is then unique to your organisation, configured just for you. When you open your first appeal, it does not guide you through Jesmond’s process. It guides you through your processes, using your definitions, your procedures, and your rules.

As part of the configuration, Jesmond trains on a corpus of past appeal materials, including anonymised decisions, so the drafting will match yours. The tone, voice and register will be the same, by design.

Once Jesmond is set up, it becomes an indispensable part of your team.

To start a conversation about a setup, write to gus@defendthis.co.uk.

Employers must have grievance procedures for hearing and deciding worker complaints. The Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures sets the framework, and tribunals can adjust compensation by up to 25% for unreasonable failure to follow it.

Grievances are as varied as workers and their working lives. Some are trivial or simple, some are serious and complex. All of them, however, ultimately turn on facts. The aggrieved employee says what they are complaining about, and the employer has to investigate.

Investigating facts takes time: speaking to witnesses, reading meeting minutes, extracting emails, sifting data.

This is where Jesmond comes in. Jesmond does not replace the human decision maker. It assists the decision maker by systematically identifying, seeking and processing factual material.

Quicker.

Instead of hours scrolling through archives and documents, Jesmond knows where to look and finds what is needed.

Fairer.

Grievances often fail when the process becomes too hard to manage and mistakes are made. Jesmond is more systematic at the process and admin than a human being, freeing the grievance manager for the human task of exercising judgment.

More consistent.

When facts are found more systematically, employees and employers can be assured that the process will happen the same way, time after time.

Employers must have a disciplinary procedure for handling allegations of misconduct, concerns about capability, and serious performance issues. The Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures sets the framework, and tribunals can adjust compensation by up to 25% for unreasonable failure to follow it.

Disciplinaries are as varied as workers and their working lives. Some are simple, some are serious and complex. All of them, however, ultimately turn on facts. The employer sets out the allegation, and has to investigate it.

Investigating facts takes time. Speaking to witnesses, reading meeting minutes, extracting emails, sifting data.

This is where Jesmond comes in. Jesmond does not replace the human decision maker. It assists the decision maker by systematically identifying, seeking and processing factual material.

Quicker.

Instead of hours scrolling through archives and documents, Jesmond knows where to look and finds what is needed.

Fairer.

Disciplinary cases often fail at tribunal because the process became too hard to manage and mistakes were made. Jesmond is more systematic at the process and admin than a human being, freeing the disciplinary manager for the human task of exercising judgment.

More consistent.

When facts are found more systematically, employees and employers can be assured that the process will happen the same way, time after time.

Every grievance and every disciplinary procedure must include a right of appeal. The Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures requires it, and tribunals can adjust compensation by up to 25% for unreasonable failure to follow it.

Appeals are as varied as the decisions they challenge. Some appeals are narrow and turn on a single procedural point. Others reopen the facts entirely. Some are pure points of process, others are challenges to the underlying merits.

The appeal manager must be more senior than the original decision maker, and must not have been involved in the original decision. The appeal will be either a review of the original decision or a rehearing of it.

All appeals, however, ultimately turn on engagement with what came before. The employee says what they are appealing and why. The employer has to engage with each ground, set against the original record.

This is where Jesmond comes in. Jesmond does not replace the human decision maker. It assists the appeal manager by systematically reading the original file, identifying each ground of appeal, and processing the factual and procedural material relevant to each.

Quicker.

Instead of hours re-reading the file and cross-referencing it against the grounds of appeal, Jesmond knows where to look and surfaces what is needed.

Fairer.

Appeals often fail at tribunal because the appeal manager did not engage with every ground. Jesmond is more systematic than a human being at tracking grounds against evidence, freeing the appeal manager for the human task of exercising judgment.

More consistent.

When grounds are engaged with systematically, employees and employers can be assured that the appeal will happen the same way, time after time.

Grievances do not only have to be fair. They have to be seen to be fair. The test of a good grievance is whether it withstands scrutiny in the Employment Tribunal.

Jesmond is built by employment barristers who litigate grievances week on week. The founders have used their experience of attacking and defending grievance processes and decisions to produce a system that withstands scrutiny.

When a grievance is completed, Jesmond produces on request a complete report on all of the materials considered, the questions asked of each witness and decision maker, and the answers given.

The “show your working” approach means complete transparency if a grievance is ever challenged. The client can show clearly not only what decision was reached, but how it got there.

Disciplinary outcomes do not only have to be fair. They have to be seen to be fair. The test of a good disciplinary is whether it withstands scrutiny in the Employment Tribunal, on an unfair dismissal claim or a discrimination claim arising from the process.

Jesmond is built by employment barristers who litigate disciplinary cases week on week. The founders have used their experience of attacking and defending disciplinary processes and decisions to produce a system that withstands scrutiny.

When a disciplinary is completed, Jesmond produces on request a complete report on all of the materials considered, the questions asked of each witness and decision maker, and the answers given.

The “show your working” approach means complete transparency if a dismissal or sanction is ever challenged. The client can show clearly not only what decision was reached, but how it got there.

Appeals do not only have to be fair. They have to be seen to be fair. The test of a good appeal is whether it withstands scrutiny in the Employment Tribunal, where the appeal will often be the focus of the procedural attack.

Jesmond is built by employment barristers who litigate appeal outcomes week on week. The founders have used their experience of attacking and defending appeal decisions to produce a system that withstands scrutiny.

When an appeal is completed, Jesmond produces on request a complete report on the materials considered on appeal, the grounds engaged with, the questions asked of the appeal manager, and the answers given.

The “show your working” approach means complete transparency if the appeal outcome is ever challenged. The client can show clearly not only what decision was reached, but how it got there, ground by ground.