Assignment 4- Writing The Disciplinary Letter

Assignment 4- Writing The Disciplinary Letter
Assignment 4 – Documenting Performance Appraisal Actions – Disciplinary Actions Resolving employee performance problems are based on the presentation of an effective case, often through a disciplinary letter. Take this opportunity to review the sample disciplinary letter from U.C. Davis regarding an employee with a performance problem. Now see if you can organize and write a disciplinar y letter in the appropriate format. You will note a specific approach in the organization of the ideas and paragraphs in the letter: -A definition of the problem, ideally referring to a violation of an employee conduct standard, and additional information about the Company ’s policies or guidelines that prohibit the conduct. – A statement of the effects of the problem relative to people, processes, time, cost, and the diminishment of employer productivity and employee morale. -Furthe r evidence of instances of the problem showing dates and details that are part of the patterned behavior. -Specific steps and actions that the employee must take to correct the problem and how the supervisor will check on progress. -What will h appen if the employee does not solve the problem, up to and including employee termination. References to copies of the disciplinary letter being distributed to the employee, supervisor/manager, and personnel file, and if the employee may appeal the action and through what process. Approving signatures and dat es attesting to the understanding of the problem and the corrective actions to be taken. Identify a workplace problem involving a fictitious employee. Use the sample format from UC Davis in defining the issues and creating a viable action plan and timeline for resolution.
Assignment 4- Writing The Disciplinary Letter
Page 1 of 3 LETTER OF WARNING – SAMPLE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS UPTE RX Article 7 – Corrective Action/Discipline and Dismissal SCOPE: Research Support Professionals Summary A Letter of Warning normally consists of five (5) sections: 1. Description of the action being taken and the performance deficiency or misconduct; 2. Statement of what the employee must (or must not) do to correct the performance or misconduct; 3. State the action that may be taken if the correction is not made; 4. Information about appeal rights; 5. A concluding section that lists the documents considered in the decision to issue the Letter of Warning. A Proof of Service shall also be attached ; You must consult Employee & Labor Relations on proposed corrective actio ns. Page 2 of 3 [Date] [Employee’s Name] RE: Letter of Warning (Example) Section 1: Describe the action being taken and the misconduct or performance deficiency. Cite specific examples. Describe behavior, not “attitude.” (See RX Article 7) Keep in mind that your objective is to lay out a clear and factual foundation of all information that led to your decision to take this action. Remember that in addition to communicating to the employee, this letter may al so be read by an employee representative or an independent reviewer in order to assess whether the action you took was well founded and reasonable. I am issuing this letter of warning because of your excessive absenteeism and your failure to follow our department’s attendance standards. On Monday, November 6, 200 3, you did not report to work or notify me of you r absence. General attendance rules req uire an employee to phone her /his supervisor prior to, or at the beginning of, their shift if s/he will be absent or unexpectedly late for work. When I did not hear from y ou by 9 AM on Monday, I called and left a message on your answering machine asking y ou to return my call, which you failed to do. This morning , when I asked you what happened, y ou said you were sick, had forgotten to call, and did not know I had left a message because yo u had turned off the telephone ringer. You and I have had previous discuss ions about your attendance. When you joined our department I reviewed with you my expectations regarding attendance. We talked about this issue again on January 20, 200 3, when I expressed concern over your frequen t absences. Bet ween January and June, you had seven more incidents of absence or tardiness, total ing 62 hours. On June 1, 200 3, we discuss ed your performance evaluation, which assessed you as “needs improvement” due to your poor attendance. Since your June performance evaluation , you have been absent or late to work 10 separate times, for a total of 75 hours missed. This is unacceptable. When you are not at work, other staff members must assume your workload, and some tasks are left undone. Section 2: Clarify your expectations. Y ou may want to use specific examples in order to ensure that the employee understands what you want done. State when you want the correction made. For most types of performance deficiencies or misconduct, you will want correction “on an immediate and sus tained basis.” I expect you to improve your attendance to an acceptable level on an immediate and sustained basis. You must submit a verification of illne ss from your physician for all absence s due to personal or family illness. In a few instances, such as failure to perform timely work, it may be appropriate to add deadlines, but be careful. Do not convey to the employee that s/he has three months to begin to correct the problem or to perform at a level s/he can already achieve. Instructions are in Boldface Type Page 3 of 3 I expect you to comple te your work on time on an immediate and sustained basis. As for the current backlog, I expect you to finish archiving the MRI exams by November 15, and complete your research report by November 20. Section 3: State the probable action to be taken if th e offense is repeated or deficiency persists. Failure to meet my expectations may result in further corrective action up to and including dismissal. Section 4: State the employee’s right to appeal. State your availability for questions. You have the right to request review of this action pursuant to the provisions of the UC/ UPTE – RX Agreement, Article 10 — Grievance Procedure . If you wish to request review of this action, you must do so in writing, using the appropriate form. Your written request for review must be received in the campus Employee and Labo r Relations Office no later than thirty ( 30 ) calendar days from the date of this letter. Section 5: All materials that were relied upon in considering this action must be listed as att achments and attached to the letter. Examples include attendance records, time cards, memos, employee development worksheets, performance evaluations, schedules, departmental or university policies, etc. If there are many documents, you should number the m sequentially. A Proof of service must be attached. The copies specified below should also be listed. [Signature of Supervisor] [Supervisor’s Title] Attachments: Department’s Attendance Standards (1) June 1, 200 3 Performance Evaluation (2) Attendance Record – June thr ough November 200 3 (3) Proof of Service cc: [Department Head] [Department File] [Employee & Labor Relations Consultant] [Personnel File (via Employee & Labor Relations