What is a verbal warning?

• The use of improper or bad language

• The use of language that offends others in a workplace

• Behaviors deemed unsuitable or unsavory for a workplace

Extreme scenarios where verbal warnings might be issued include:

• Sexual harassment in any form

• Discrimination in any form

• Bullying of a coworker or subordinate

• Racism in any form

• Sexism in any form

• Corruption in any form

• Fraud on a mass scale or fraud on one professional

• The attempt to cover up any crimes related to the industry of a particular business

Disciplinary actions are methods that organizations use to stop an employee from breaking company policies or rules or continuing to persist in unwanted and unprofessional behavior in the workplace. Here are the most common forms of disciplinary actions in a workplace, starting with a verbal warning:

• Verbal warning. This disciplinary action involves a manager, supervisor, or other company official holding a one-on-one meeting with the offending employee. Here they issue a formal verbal warning by telling the employee to change their behavior or actions.

  This is also normally documented in written form and submitted to human resources (HR).

• Write-up. If an employee continues the bad behavior or actions, the next disciplinary action is to write the employee up. Writing up an employee consists of outlining the incident or incidents involving the employee. Here are the important points:

  • The description of the employee's actions or behavior

  • The time and date of the incident or the times and dates of each incident

  • The number of formal warnings, written or verbal, the employee received before the write-up

  It is important to make this section clear and easy to understand. It should not be ambiguous in any way.

• Suspension or termination. Suppose an employee persists in the unwanted behavior or action. In that case, the two remaining options for disciplinary action are suspension, where the employee goes on unpaid leave for some time, and termination, the employee is dismissed from their position.