Dealing with minor misconduct!

 

The first step of a disciplinary procedure. 

A lot of cases that end up in front of a Rights Commissioner or the Unfair Appeals Tribunal have a number of similarities.  One of the common themes is where an employee’s work standards or attendance etc have slipped and, instead of dealing with it at an early stage, an employer waits until the situation has got out of hand and ends up dismissing or trying to discipline the employee that results in an allegation of constructive dismissal.  However, where an employer deals with issues as and when they arise there is a strong likelihood that the behaviour will improve and if not, that the any subsequent dismissal will be deemed to be fair.

What is the purpose of the disciplinary procedure? 

It is worth remembering that the objective of a disciplinary procedure is to allow the employee to improve their performance and conduct and is not a form of punishment. You should avoid invoking a disciplinary process with the sole purpose of dismissing an employee.  Unfortunately a lot of employers wait until a situation has got so bad that they see dismissal as the only outcome but if a problem is dealt with early and correctly it can often be resolved.  Furthermore an employer should always exhaust all efforts to allow the situation improve before resorting to a dismissal and all of the inherent risks associated with that decision.

“Prevention is better than cure” 

By taking the appropriate action early you are increasing the likelihood of resolving the problem and avoiding unnecessary confrontation.  This is even more relevant where you don’t follow you written policy in place as if the situation escalates or where there is a lack of “procedural fairness” it is almost a certainty that a tribunal or court would find against you as an employer for unfair dismissal. 

Where you have an issue with an employee and it is the first problem the first step should be an informal discussion.  Basically, it would just be a meeting between you and the employee in question (or with her manager if there is a manager) where you could just point out that there has been one or two situations that have arisen where the employees work and punctuality has not been up to the level you require and re-iterate what you expect of her in their role and how they should improve.  You might find out that there is something outside of the workplace that is causing the problems that might explain the change of behaviour.

This meeting should be held in private and you should make sure you have sufficient time to deal with the issues.  Reduce any chance of interruptions by either meeting out of the office or at a time when you are not too busy. 

Early intervention should pay off 

You should point out that this is merely a preliminary step but if the situation continues to deteriorate you will have no option but to take a more formal approach next time.  Of course the employee should be given an opportunity to put forward her own views or an explanation.  Ultimately you should agree the steps required to improve the situation including a timeframe for the situation to be monitored that should be reasonable and allow for an improvement to take place. 

Once you have agreed the steps required you should confirm your discussion in writing and ask the employee to agree so there is no ambiguity and agree to meet in say 2 weeks time to see if there have been improvements.  Hopefully, as in the majority of cases where early intervention is taken the problem usually resolves itself.

Remember: 

• Confront the situation as early as practicable-don’t wait until it gets so bad that you see no alternative but to fire the employee.
• Keep in mind the disciplinary process is intended to improve the behaviour not act as a punishment.
• Make sure the employee is given an opportunity to give an explanation-ask her if she feels she is happy with her performance.
• Try and agree the steps required and a suitable time frame for the employee’s behaviour to improve.
• Make sure you follow up on the agreed steps and meet to review the situation again within the agreed time frame.