Valid Reasons to Write Up An Employee

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11 Valid Reasons to Write Up An Employee

Writing up an employee is nothing to look forward to, and many supervisors and managers avoid it when possible. However, if you let things go without discipline, an employee may not care about the actions they take and think everything is okay.

As a manager or supervisor, you want to ensure you write up your employees when necessary and only when necessary. You don’t want to write them up for every little issue because in that case, your write-ups will lose their significance.

With clear policies in place, you want to ensure your reasons for discipline are valid. If the reasons are weak or invalid, and you terminate an employee, they may seek legal counsel.

It’s a good business practice to be fair and to give your employees a chance to explain themselves and correct any issue. It’s also good practice to coach them. Most importantly, when disciplinary action is warranted, you want to ensure that the book does everything.

Some valid reasons to write up an employee include:

Insubordination – This is when you tell an employee to perform a valid work-related duty that is part of their job, and they refuse to do it.

Attendance – If you have an attendance policy and an employee who has exceeded the number of call-in days allowed, you should investigate the cause before writing them up.

The employee could be going through a rough stage in their life, they might be sick, a family member might need care, etc, in which case you may be able to accommodate them until things improve.

Work Performance – If an employee’s work performance is suffering, you need to address the situation. It may be a training issue person may not know how to work effectively- or the person might not be right for that job and would be a better fit elsewhere. Getting to the root of the problem is best before you discipline.

Rude behavior – This is another issue where you need to investigate the root cause. Is the employee being treated unfairly and responding by being rude? Or is it something else?

Unexcused Tardiness – If you have an employee who is constantly late, you need to figure out why it’s happening and look into their history. Is it something recent, or is it a common occurrence?

No Call/No Show – This is a problem because when a supervisor or manager has an employee that didn’t come into work and didn’t call, the first thing that comes to mind is, “What happened? Are they okay?” This is especially true when the employee doesn’t normally behave like this. Another problem with this situation is that management is not able to make plans to cover the absent employee.

Safety – If an employee is working in an unsafe manner, they may be putting themselves in danger as well as the coworkers around them. Another issue to keep in mind is that a company with a lot of injury claims must pay higher insurance costs. When you see an employee working in an unsafe manner, it is your duty to deal with the situation as you see fit.

Carelessness – This violation can affect safety and profitability. It is important that your employees are doing their job without being careless.

Housekeeping – An employee must be neat and tidy in the workplace. Housekeeping violations can lead to employees getting hurt — for example, they may trip and fall. Poor housekeeping can also contribute to lost productivity.

Violence – Any type of violence is a valid reason for a write-up. In many cases, this calls for immediate dismissal. No type of violence should be tolerated. The only exception is if someone is acting in self-defense.

Harassment – Harassment, like violence, is something that no employer should tolerate. Acts of harassment are a valid reason to write up an employee and, in many cases, depending on the severity, can lead to instant termination.

I would suggest that you make sure you have the facts about the whole story before issuing a write-up. I would also suggest you understand the labor laws in your location so that you are abiding by the law; otherwise, you can easily get into trouble if a complaint is filed outside the company.

Resources:

Next in this post are the resources that will allow you to further look into the reasons for disciplinary actions. I’m sure you want to be accurate and follow the rules as well as make sure you are fair in your management policies.

In the sections below, you’ll find samples for issues such as poor performance, tardiness, bad attitude, insubordination, etc. Take some time to go through the resources for tips and ideas for preparing your disciplinary actions appropriately.

Valid Reasons to Write Up An Employee

The Top 5 Reasons to Terminate an Employee

5 Common Reasons for Writing an Employee Warning Letter | Free & Premium Templates

20 Good Reasons to Fire an Employee

How To Write up An Employee

How to Write Up an Employee

Insubordination

How to Write Up an Employee for Insubordination | Career Trend

Behavior

Employee Write Up for Unprofessional Behavior | Formal Word Templates

Employee Behavior Warning Letter

Tardiness

How to Word a Write-Up for Being Tardy at Your Workplace | Chron.com

13+ Late Warning Letter Examples – Free Word, PDF Format Download | Free & Premium Templates

Lying

Q&A: When lying at work can result in dismissal – FTAdviser.com

Managing: I caught my employee in a lie. Now what? – The Business Journals

Misconduct

How a Write a Warning Letter for Employee Conduct | Inc.com

Misconduct warning letters: what to include – Personnel Today

SAMPLE – Written Warning for Misconduct and/or Performance

Write-up Forms

Employee Write Up Forms – Here’s What You Need To Know | A Touch of Business

Courses

Courses on Lynda.com Related to Employee Management

Courses on Udemy.com Related to Employee Management

Books

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In this section, you’ll be able to stay up to date on the latest related to employee write-ups, including the latest news, and Google searches.

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