Disciplinary Action In The Workplace

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Hiring people can be an expensive and lengthy process. Most companies want to keep employees once they’ve found them, but sometimes problems arise. If an employee is behaving in a way that goes against company policies and procedures, it might be time for disciplinary action.

Key Takeaways:

• Workplace Disciplinary Action policies are designed to protect the employer from discrimination lawsuits, guide management in how to proceed in disciplinary situations, and inform the employee of what’s expected of them.

• Documenting all disciplinary actions is a key part of the process and can help avoid any confusion and future legal action.

• Not all disciplinary action is designed to end in termination. Strengthening a team, improving performance, ensuring safety, and supporting a healthy work environment can all be outcomes of disciplinary action.

What Is a Disciplinary Action?

Disciplinary action is taken by an employer or workplace to stop an employee from doing something, correct their actions, or as a reprimand. In effect, it’s a warning or a notice that something the employee is doing or isn’t doing doesn’t fit within company guidelines or policies.

Disciplinary action can be verbal or written, and it can convey a variety of different information. In most situations, keeping a record of the disciplinary action is critical because it can play into future steps the company takes.

In an ideal situation, disciplinary action informs the employee of a problem and sets up a procedure to correct the problem. The employee complies, and everyone moves ahead smoothly.

Sometimes things don’t work out ideally, and an employee doesn’t comply. This may cause production problems and safety issues, and it might compromise other employees. If this is the situation, then it’s time to take additional steps to rectify the problem, which might include firing that employee. If this is the case, you’ll want to have all disciplinary action steps documented in case there is a lawsuit.

Why Pursue Disciplinary Action?

Disciplinary actions can be a good thing, they can help identify issues and remedy them, so everyone is happier, more productive, or even safer in their place of employment. They can help employees who aren’t up to speed get the help they need to succeed.

They can also reinforce company policies and procedures, improve performance or behavior, make a work environment safer and happier for other employees, and encourage everyone to meet organizational expectations.

It’s also a good way to keep current employees while apprising them of problems with their performance or behavior and giving them a way to correct those problems.

What Is a Disciplinary Action Policy?

A disciplinary action policy is designed to clearly inform the employee of the issue and explain what is expected. It will outline the steps that will follow notification, both the steps to be taken if the results are positive or the steps that will follow if the employee doesn’t comply. This policy should be consistent for all employees to avoid discrimination.

A disciplinary action policy should include the following:

• Company expectations. Explains what the company expects from its employees; this includes overall behavior and performance and individual job expectations.

• Disciplinary steps. Lists what the pre-defined steps of disciplinary action are. Typically, the policy lists all of the steps until termination, but it’s expected that most people will comply at some point, and the disciplinary action will cease rather than move toward termination. This also needs to be detailed in the policy.

• Categorization of offenses. Some offenses are slight and require a simple verbal warning; others are more severe and need to escalate quickly. Some are so severe they may require immediate termination. Your policy should list where each infraction begins on the disciplinary steps.

• Documentation process. Listing what is considered appropriate documentation and how that information will be saved and collected is part of the policy. This lets everyone know what type of data will be collected and reviewed to determine if there was an offense and what’s being done about it.

• Employee protection or appeal. If an employee believes they’re being called out unfairly or they disagree with the infraction, they need a way to appeal this. Their rights to appeal and defend themselves need to be spelled out in the disciplinary action policy.

• Legal protection for the company. The company needs to have language in the policy that protects them from legal action. This can include a company’s right to terminate at-will employees at any time.

  Clear language about what is considered unacceptable behavior by employees, discipline guidelines, documentation collection, and steps for employees to follow for compliance or to take for an appeal.

Why Have a Disciplinary Action Policy?

It’s best to have a pre-defined disciplinary action policy, so there is no question about how to discipline an employee and what steps are required. Once again, if you don’t have a policy in place, an employee who was fired can sue for discrimination, especially if they can prove that others weren’t treated in the same manner.

A disciplinary action policy is also a good way to protect other employees. If there is harassment or errors at work, having a policy in place that lets the offender know of the issue will eventually help resolve the problem, in one way or another. A good policy can go into detail on how other employees can file complaints or grievances against others.

Having a policy in place makes it easier for management to follow the steps without question. This ensures compliance and that thorough assistance and equal opportunities are provided to all.

When to Begin Disciplinary Action?

Starting a disciplinary action depends on the situation and the severity of an offense. It can even depend on what is considered an offense. These are some actions that might warrant disciplinary action in the workplace.

• Poor job performance

• Failure to follow procedure

• Misconduct

• Harassment or violence

• Illegal behavior

• Dress code violations

• Inappropriate behavior with coworkers and customers

• Poor attendance or tardiness

• Discrimination

Types of Disciplinary Action

Usually, an employer has three different tracts they can go down when pursuing disciplinary action; progressive discipline, performance improvement, and reassignment or suspension.

• Progressive Discipline

  This is a fairly common form of workplace discipline, and it’s something many people are familiar with. It often begins with a verbal warning, a written warning is next, and the following warning happens, and then the employee is suspended, put on probation, or terminated. It sort of follows three strikes, and you’re out path, but not always.

• Performance Improvement

  Improving employee performance can also be the goal of disciplinary action. In this situation, you’re not really disciplining the employee; you’re seeking to help them be better at their job and possibly change the way they’re doing their work.

  These actions should all be designed to help the employee get the guidance and support they need to do their job correctly. They often feature check-ins, measurable goals, and reviews to determine the employee’s progress. In the best situation, performance improves, and everyone is happy. In the worst case, things don’t improve, and the employee is terminated.

• Reassignment/Suspension

  If there is a serious behavioral issue or conflict in the workplace, it might be time for reassignment or suspension. This often happens when coworkers cannot work together. One will be reassigned to another area and may continue their employment with the company. Or sometimes, a suspension is enforced as a cooling-off period.

  If there continue to be problems with either of the employees, termination may be the end result.

Tips for Disciplinary Action

Establishing a disciplinary action policy can simplify and streamline the process, but the first step should be consulting with human resources and an attorney. All of the steps in the policy need to be done legally to protect the company and other employees. This requires some specific legal knowledge about employment laws in your location.

Secondly, having everything in writing helps. Even verbal warnings need to be noted somewhere, so it’s clear that each step in the procedure was taken appropriately. Having the employee sign off on each step can be an important part of the process because it proves acknowledgement.

Finally, it’s key that your disciplinary actions are consistent. Each employee must be treated in a similar fashion to avoid claims of discrimination. Let the policy stand, and the employee’s individual actions dictate which path you follow.

Disciplinary Action FAQ

1. Does your company need a disciplinary action policy?

   Yes, every company should have a disciplinary action policy. In the long run, going through the effort of creating this process will help protect the employer from discrimination suits. It also provides a detailed procedure for managers, human resources, and employees. This way, there is no question about what is expected and what will happen in the next stages.

2. Does disciplinary action mean the employee will be fired?

   No, starting disciplinary steps doesn’t automatically mean the employee is going to be fired. Some employees benefit greatly from learning where they’re failing at their job and how to remedy the situation. Other people simply don’t understand work policies and need a reminder before they comply.

   That said, in some situations, employees will not comply or will continue offending, and they will be fired. It could also be that the offense committed by the employee is so grievous that there is no solution but to terminate their employment as the first step of a disciplinary action plan.

3. What if the employee doesn’t agree to disciplinary action?

   If the employee doesn’t agree to disciplinary action, it’s time to consider why they’re disagreeing. If they feel they’re unjustly being disciplined, then there needs to be a procedure so they can appeal the process.

   If the employee is refusing to comply with disciplinary action and is clearly guilty of an offense, it is probably time to take the action to the next level or jump to termination.

4. Does an attorney need to be involved in a workplace disciplinary action?

   No, an attorney does not need to be involved in every workplace disciplinary action. It is a good idea to have a lawyer review your policy for disciplinary actions when it’s established to make sure you’re following legal rules and guidelines and protecting the company and all employees.

   While some situations can easily be handled without attorney involvement, there are times when it is a good idea to bring in an attorney at the beginning of disciplinary action. These situations can include harassment, threats or violence, theft, or other illegal activity. Generally, these are offenses that will lead to termination, which is why having an attorney present is a good idea.

Author

Kristin Kizer

Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.