Discipline
and fire with peace of mind. Includes employee warning form.
An employee warning form is an excellent resource that every
small business owner and Human Resources manager should consider
using. It is an important tool when disciplining employees. Employee
warning forms allow companies to keep track of difficult employees.
They help show a pattern of problems for a quarterly review,
or in the worst case scenario to support firing an employee.
These forms will get rid of the "he said, she said" rebuttal
that an employee might have. They will also back up the company
if the employee tries to come back with legal counsel claiming
unlawful termination.
How Do You Use An Employee Warning Form?
No matter what format you come up with for a warning form, whether
it is company made or generic, your basic form should have the
same result. Information written on the form should include the
employee's name and identification information, the date and
time of the violation, and what the violation is. It is also
important to take note of the number of past violations the employee
has and what further steps the manger must take if the behavior
continues.
If this is the employee's first warning, it is important to
set out a timeline of how many warnings they can receive before
more serious action takes place. The manager must write out this
more serious action as well. Will the company suspend the employee,
will it dock pay, or will it terminate the worker?
If this isn't the employee's first warning, then you need to
state on the warning form, what warning it is and what the proper
action will be if they continue to cause difficulties at the
company.
For those Human Resources offices dealing with several problem
employees, they should create preset guidelines for certain actions.
This way they do not have to come up with the number of warnings
an employee can receive on a case-by-case basis. This will also
keep employees from claiming unfair treatment.
Remember that when using the employee warning form, you must
allow the employee to make written comments on their actions,
whether it is a rebuttal or an agreement. As well, there should
be a place on the form for the employee to sign that they agreed
to the warning and to future actions that will be taken.
Where Do I Get An Employee Warning Form?
You can get generic warning forms at your local office supply
store. Unfortunately these will only provide basic information
such as employee identification information, the action that
required a warning, the time and date, and room for statement
by the employer and employee.
Your company may want to add other information to the employee
warning form. For example, management may want a section to discuss
employee work objectives or for specific guidelines regarding
further actions. If this is the case, then you should involve
the entire Human Resources or Management team in making your
own company based warning form.
What Issues You Can't Solve With An Employee Warning Form
Every company should have set ground rules and guidelines. Also
every employee should have a hard copy of these rules that discusses
offenses that may result in immediate suspension or termination.
These should include violations like arriving to work drunk,
using drugs or alcohol at work, physically fighting with another
co-worker, theft, threats of violence to the boss or other co-workers,
or misrepresentation of themselves.
Overall employee warning forms are an important tool in the
disciplining employees. They give a standard format for open
communication between employers and their workers.
Are
you aware of these common mistakes that employers make when
disciplining?
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