It never happens to….people like you!

As a member of my local Chamber of Commerce (South Dublin) I attend a B2B group that meets every two weeks as a business network; something I very much enjoy and, as a sole operator get a good deal of business and psychological support from it.

Each one of us does an ‘elevator pitch’ at every meeting; a 60 second presentation on what we do, our business ambitions etc.

We kind of all know what each of us does now, and every week someone, indeed more than one injects a bit of a surprise element.

Even I’m getting a bit tired of listening to my own presentation, so I figured my colleagues too would be grateful for a bit of a change.

One of our esteemed members Breffni May, a financial advisor has coined a catch phrase that has acquired the cachet of some of the great ones (because you’re worth it!). When asked about who he would like to meet for referrals; he turns to us all and says he wants to meet..… ‘people, just like you!

So, on the day I tried a different tack, taking Breffni’s catchprase, putting it beside the tongue in my cheek and going something like this.

‘I know its pointless talking to this group about the hazard that they might be exposed to in an employment rights case, because I know it could never happen to ‘people like you’.

 The Dublin hotelier who last week got hit for €315,000 plus legal costs for sacking a pregnant employee….sure that could never happen to you or anyone you know!

Or the UK based leisure complex named after a former tennis player that paid out just under €300,000 for unfairly dismissing a manager…how could you or anyone you know get caught in a mess like that.

Because we know, it will never happen to ‘people, just like you’!

These things always happen to someone else.

And of course people like you, or people you know couldn’t possibly be among the 15,000 or so cases heard by the Rights Commissioner Service or the 4,000 other cases heard by the EAT where admittedly you are more likely to get hit with a decision (should you lose) in the range €5,000 to €50,000.

So, that’s all ok then! No need to worry because that would never happen to people like you. Like the Lottery says, it could be you, but you know it never will!

 So just tell your friends there’s a madman raving in the Chamber meetings about things that could never happen to them, or people like them and tell them not to worry.

But if your friends ARE the worrying type….

         And even though we know it will NEVER happen to them…

                   Here’s a useful contact……….just in case! 

                           pat.brady@workplacesolutions.ie

Employment law and HR advice. Because it never happens until it happens, do it now!

And for really sound financial advice for ‘PEOPLE…JUST LIKE YOU’ and your future contact my good friend Breffni May; breffnimay@eircom.net

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