For the Frontline Manager
Discipline: 4 steps to take before finalizing a termination
Terminating an employee is a disciplinary measure that should not be taken without adequate consideration and documentation. Termination should generally not come as a surprise to an employee. It's important to know the following steps to take before finalizing a termination.
4 steps a supervisor should take before finalizing a termination
Before deciding to finalize a termination, a supervisor should consider the following:
- Make sure your documentation shows justification. If an employee is being fired for poor performance, but all performance reviews are positive, the company will need some other documentation as evidence of the poor performance.
- Investigate thoroughly and look at past disciplinary situations. Don’t look only at how this employee was treated but consider how other employees were treated in similar situations. Treating employees differently for similar infractions is often a weak point in an employer’s case.
- Provide evidence the employee received adequate notice that termination was a potential consequence and was given reasonable time to improve. Of course, this will not apply if a single act of misconduct, such as workplace violence, warrants termination.
- Check with Human Resources (HR) before terminating an employee. They may be aware of reasons why a termination carries higher risk. For example, if the employee just filed a complaint about safety violations, a termination might look like unlawful retaliation. Similarly, if an employee recently informed HR of a pregnancy and inquired about leave benefits, terminating may look like pregnancy discrimination. Although termination may still be an option, the documented justification will be more critical.
Discipline: The incident report: Write it right
Writing up the description of what happened after a workplace incident is challenging, but a task that is important to get right to avoid claims of wrongful discipline or termination. This article provides tips for writing a thorough incident description.
The incident description: write it right
One of the most important parts of any disciplinary report is the incident description. It contains the facts that led to a disciplinary action and can make or break a case against a company, should the offending employee sue for wrongful discipline or termination. The incident description, however, can be a challenge to complete.
Tips for better write-ups
The 5 Ws (and an H)
Like a news reporter, the writer of a disciplinary report should start with the “who, what, where, when, why, and how” method to describe what happened. Who did what? Who saw the offender do what? Where and when did it happen? When asked why or how the incident came about, what was the offender’s explanation? How did the incident unfold?
Include the date and approximate time the incident occurred. Note what was said to the employee and any responses. List any victims or witnesses and what they said. Specify what policy was violated or why the behavior was unacceptable.
Add details like sight, hearing, and other senses
Good descriptions will include details of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. For example, “I saw the employee roll her eyes then shake her head,” “I heard the employee sigh deeply then say ‘whatever,’” or “I smelled cigarette smoke in the locker room.” These facts provide images that help to support a decision to discipline an employee. The senses of witnesses should also be included. For example, “Witness A told me that she saw the offending employee arrive at 8:25 a.m.” Witness observations can be credible evidence.
Obtain written statements from all witnesses before taking any disciplinary action. That way, there is proof of the observation, even if the offender later pressures a witness to back out of their testimony in court, should the case ever reach a trial.
Explanations, denials, and conversations
Responses to questions asked immediately after an incident occurs about what happened, if the offender did it, and why and how it happened may:
- Show (through their own words) the offender’s state of mind,
- Show that the offender admits to or denies the offense,
- Provide the offender’s initial explanation, and/or
- Prevent the offender from changing their story.
If the offender denies the offense and is later proved to have committed the offense, the offender may be disciplined not only for committing the offense but also lying about it. In addition, adding the offender’s responses to an incident description shows that the offender’s side of the story was taken into consideration.
Similarly, other conversations that are related to the incident should be covered in the incident description to give the complete picture.
Just the facts
When describing observations, use objective facts about the behavior, rather than general subjective conclusions.
Instead of saying the employee dressed inappropriately, say the employee, “came to work in flip-flops and blue jeans with several ragged cuts in both knees.” Or instead of saying, “The employee was drunk,” say, “The employee had slurred speech and his breath smelled like beer. John Smith reported that the employee came within one foot of hitting John Smith with a forklift.”
Avoid assumptions about the offender’s intentions. Do not use terms like intentionally, knowingly, and purposely.
Effect of incident
All measurable, negative effects on the company and its employees and customers resulting from an incident should be noted in the incident description. This includes any direct or indirect costs, statistics, missed opportunities, negative publicity, employee turnover, customer loss, property damage, disruptions, etc. Attach any documents, photographs, and/or videotapes that show these negative effects.
Keep in mind, however, that disciplinary reports may someday appear in open court records. Stating that an offender’s behavior, in fact, had a certain effect on the company could pose a liability. Instead, consider stating that the behavior could have had an effect.
Attachments
Other documents that support the facts of the incident description should also be attached to the disciplinary report. These might include:
- Accident reports;
- Police reports;
- Written or tape-recorded statements of witnesses;
- Photos, videotapes, or drawings of the incident scene;
- Computer records ;
- Time sheets;
- Security access records;
- Production records;
- Illness or injury records;
- Maintenance records;
- Inspection records;
- Previous warnings;
- Training records;
- Counseling records;
- Performance improvement objectives and follow-up records;
- Other records and reports.
Writing incident descriptions will never be a simple task, but armed with the tips above, it may be a bit easier.