Dealing with Employee Discipline and Performance Issues

1. Dealing with Employee Discipline and Performance Issues Manon Lamontagne,MBA CRHA, CAPA MLRB Consulting Services

2. Learning Objectives

3. Learning Objectives

4. Discipline • Discipline is a process that occurs over a reasonable period of time • Last resort after all reasonable steps have failed • In accordance with employment laws • All steps documented on file • Respects Due Process

5. The Purpose of Employee Discipline Disciplinary Process - A step-by-step method of dealing with performance problems in employees Neglecting discipline has negative effect on productivity and morale and makes it more difficult to enforce standards

6. The Purpose of Employee Discipline • Employee Discipline • Tool used by managers to improve poor performance and enforce appropriate behavior to ensure a productive and safe workplace. • Should be used for the purpose of helping the employee to correct behavioral or performance problems that have a negative impact on the workplace. • A disciplinary policy and procedure should be in place that includes a policy statement, the purpose for the policy, and a step-by-step procedure (with specific timelines) for the process.

7. Discipline and the Law • Consistency and fairness • Retaliation • Wrongful discharge

8. Competing concerns

9. Employee Rights • Employment standard acts, human rights legislation, employment equity laws and health and safety legislation guarantee some form of employee rights. • These are guarantees of fair treatment from their employer. • This includes the right to due process in case of dismissal

10. Employee Handbook • Informs employees of policy • Advises that the policy will be enforced • Allows some flexibility

11. Challenges

12. Discipline Policy • Provides legal protection • Reassures “good” employees • Puts potential offenders on notice • Protects employees from inappropriate actions of co-workers • Gives violators the opportunity to improve

13. Organizational Policy and Procedure

14. Progressive Discipline • A series of steps that ensure an employee’s right to due process and right to be heard • Ensures that employees understand the required performance and behavioural standards and consequences for poor performance • Step 1) Verbal Notice • Step 2) Written Notice • Step 3) Suspensions

15. Why Progressive Discipline?

16. Progressive Discipline – Components • Progressive Discipline - A disciplinary process characterized by the use of more drastic penalties for each repeated instance of poor performance. • Procedure - usually has a minimum of 4 steps: • Verbal warning • Written warning • Suspension • dismissal

17. The Disciplinary Process • Verbal Warning • If employee is unaware of a policy they are violating, they should be coached instead of disciplined • Prior to a verbal warning, manager must become aware of the problem and verify it exists • The first step in employee discipline, which includes identification of the problem and information sharing between the manager and the employee. • Manager: • Meets with employee • States problem that has been identified • Listens to employee's perspective • Discusses potential solutions with employee • Ends on a positive, hopeful note

18. The Disciplinary Process • Written Warning • The second, more formal, step in employee discipline, which includes stating the problem and noting repetition over time. • Includes: • Meeting similar to verbal warning • Placement of formal document in the employee's file

19. The Disciplinary Process • Suspension • The third step in the employee disciplinary process, in which the employee is given time off, usually without pay, to demonstrate the seriousness of the problem. • Manager meets with employee as before, and review formal documentation of suspension.

20. The Disciplinary Process • Dismissal • The final action in the employee disciplinary process, which leads to the end of employment and that results after repeated failure of the employee to correct the problem.

21. Consistency • Discipline all similar offenses in the same way • Make discipline appropriate to the offense • Give the employee an opportunity to correct the problem

22. Consistency • Always follow the organization's discipline policy • Respond to all rule violations immediately • Use discipline only for genuine violations

23. Investigations • Make sure you have all the facts • Document findings • Give workers the chance to explain • Interview witnesses

24. Documentation • Documentation • A written record, in this case of the disciplinary actions taken. • Anecdotal Information • Optional informal notes that are sometimes kept by a manager as a reminder of things that have occurred.

25. Documentation • Official documentation • Documents dealing with progressive discipline should include: • Possible consequences if this behavioral or performance problem is not corrected • Duration of the warning • Signature of the manager • Signature of the employee, with a disclaimer regarding agreement • ex: written warning for a diet clerk...

26. Documentation • Guidelines for anecdotal information: • System should be applied uniformly to all employees • Notes should be factual and non-judgmental • Notes are more useful if dated • Notes may be discarded when no longer needed, or when important information is transferred to official documents

27. Documentation • Official documentation • Documents dealing with progressive discipline should include: • Behavioral or performance problem for which the action is being taken • Description of events and discussions preceding this action • Description of the specific events leading to this action • The employee’s identifying information • The manager’s identifying information

28. Dismissal • Use only as a last resort or for very serious violations • Consult with HR and investigate carefully • Follow required dismissal procedures • Meet with the employee • Document the meeting in a signed report

29. Dismissal Meeting • Provide employee with letter of dismissal that: • Clearly state reasons for the decision • Recaps the disciplinary steps taken • Informs the employee regarding: • Last day of employment • What they can expect in terms of outstanding pay & benefits • Respect the advance notice guidelines required by employment legislation

30. Special circumstances • Certain events may result in dismissal without progressive discipline • Before immediate dismissal, manager should consider: • Magnitude of problem behavior • Prior record of employee • Substance use or Addiction

31. Alternatives to Discipline

32. Impact of Historic Trauma • Individual Relations • Tendency to direct our rage, fear, indignation, frustration, and powerlessness at those closest to us • Group Effort • Tendency to criticize, invalidate and dump negative attitudes on each other when we come together as a group. • Leadership • Distress patterns cause us to attack, criticize, or have unrealistic expectations of anyone who has the courage to step forward and take on leadership responsibilities. • Mistrusting Our Thinking • Various forms of institutionalization have given rise to patterns that cause us to mistrust our own thinking. We carry around doubts about our own thoughts and tend to doubt the thoughts of others in our community • Learning and Long-Range Goals • Internalized racism and deep feelings of powerlessness combine to make it very difficult for us to commit ourselves to flexible thinking all the time, to take correct action toward long-range goals and objectives, or to initiate efforts with delayed rewards.

33. Trauma Informed Approach Trauma Informed Approach

34. Trauma Informed Principles

35. Self-Care Awareness of the need to take care of oneself through:

36. 0 Employee Assistance Programs • Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) - Plans that provide employees with support in dealing with personal crises (such as substance abuse, stress, or grief) that could negatively impact work performance.

37. Employee Assistance Programs • Benefits: • Enables the employee to be productive again • Avoidance of time/energy needed for progressive discipline • Cost savings (legal fees, new employee need not be hired/trained) • Employee is assisted in dealing with a potentially devastating personal crisis

38. Disabilities: duty to accommodate

39. Steps for Accommodation

40. Accommodation measures Time-off to get treatment Change in working conditions Other measures Employers are not required to: • Pay for time-off to pursue treatment • Compromise the safety of the workplace or keep employee in job in which they do not perform • Enforce treatment plan

41. Employee’s obligations

42. Key Points to Remember • Steps in progressive discipline: verbal warning, written warning, suspension, and dismissal • Be consistent and follow the organization’s HR policy • Help employees correct discipline problems • Protect yourself and the organization by documenting disciplinary actions • Think about using alternatives to discipline

43. Questions

44. Manon Lamontagne, President MLRB Consulting Services Inc. 28 rue Watt Chateauguay, Quebec J6J 1P5 (514) 831-7453 mlamont@videotron.ca