Employee Discipline and Terminations: Objective Disciplinary System

Developing policies for discipline and termination is a great way to prevent employee claims, especially when the policies are clearly communicated to new hires and maintained throughout the company.

The experts at Cornerstone Insurance Group have over 50 years of experience in Human Resources and compliance solutions, and have seen how the lack of a solid disciplinary policy can negatively impact an organization.

How Your Human Resources Department Can Prevent Employee Claims

In addition to communication, another preventative measure to take is to follow an objective, pre-determined disciplinary process when the need to discipline an employee arises. Work with your risk management, HR, and leadership teams to establish a mutually agreed upon process.

Typically, the first measure an employer or HR manager should take when beginning the discipline process is to investigate the incident or problem behavior. Depending on the severity of the situation, the employee may need to be suspended during this investigation to prevent any further misconduct or business interruption.

Once more information is gathered, schedule a meeting with the employee to discuss the issue at hand and hear their side of the story. This discussion with the employee will provide an opportunity for you to discuss the consequences they will face if the problematic behavior continues, as well as a time for you to provide written documentation of any disciplinary action that occurs immediately. Have the employee sign the documentation and give a copy to the employee for their records.

In two or three weeks, schedule another meeting with the employee to follow up on their progress.

This is the third in a series of blog posts on Employee Discipline and Terminations to help employers navigate the implications of employee discipline and terminations, including mitigating the risks of employee claims. Read the first article in the series, Company Policies and the Employee Handbook. Need more help with your Human Resources solutions and risk management? Contact the experts at Cornerstone Insurance Group today.