If you are having performance or behavior issues with your employees, you may be wondering if you need an employee discipline form, also referred to as an employee write up form. The answer is yes – you likely need an employee discipline form, and you need to document the actions you take to improve your employees’ performance and behavior issues. This is useful if there is dispute over unemployment claims or, even worse, a lawsuit over wrongful termination.
Free Employee Discipline Form Template
Below is a free template for an employee write up form. You can modify it for your small business to meet your needs. Access this template here as a Word Document and here as a PDF.
Template:
Employee Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________
The purpose of this written warning is to bring to your attention ongoing deficiencies in your conduct and/or performance [state if this is a follow up to a previous verbal warning]. The intent is to define for you the seriousness of the situation so that you may take immediate corrective action. This written warning will be placed in your personnel file.
This warning is the ______ time I have been warned on this issue.
REASON(S) FOR WARNING:
CORRECTIVE ACTION(S) REQUIRED:
The above has been discussed with me by my supervisor. I understand the contents and acknowledge and understand the corrective action required. I also acknowledge and understand the potential consequences of noncompliance.
I understand that I have ______ days to rectify this behavior.
Signatures:
Employee:______________________________ Date:_____________
Supervisor:_____________________________ Date:_____________
What Needs to be Included in an Employee Discipline Form?
There are 6 sections that need to be included in any employee discipline form:
Section 1: The Employee’s Name & Date
While it may seem obvious, don’t forget to put the employee’s name and date at the top of your form. You want to make sure that when you fill it in that the name is legible, and so is the date, so that it is crystal clear who the form is for and when they received it.
Section 2: The Purpose of the Discipline Form
A written employee write up form should not be the first time an employee has heard about an issue. Required behavior, including a statement of at will employment should already exist in the employee handbook. A verbal warning, or possibly two verbal warnings, should be given the first time an employee has an issue and prior to a written warning in most cases. The purpose of the discipline form is to escalate the severity of the employee’s issue and begin the documentation process.
A written warning is traditionally a second or third step in progressive discipline, although it can make sense as a first step if the issue is severe like bad customer service or being insubordinate to a manager.
Section 3: The Number of Warnings the Employee has Received
Discipline policies usually allow for up to 3 written warnings prior to termination for less severe issues like being tardy. For more severe issues, like punching someone else’s time clock, discipline policies often let you go straight to a final warning, which means if the issue happens again the employee will be fired.
Section 4: What the Problem Is
In this section, you need to be crystal clear on what the problem is with the employee’s behavior, performance, or both. You will want to be specific and use dates, quotes, and other important details in this section. The more specific you are, the more the employee will understand the issue and be able to correct it. In addition, the more specific you are, the more support the documentation provides in case the employee takes legal action against you.
Example 1: An Insubordinate Employee
Writing “Employee was insubordinate” is not a good statement. Instead, write, “Employee was insubordinate because he walked away from the supervisor while she was still talking and then used foul language.”
Example 2: A Tardy Employee
Instead of writing “Employee is always late,” write down, “Employee was late by 20 minutes on October 12th, 2016.”
Section 5: Explanation of How To Fix the Problem with a Deadline
Writing down what was wrong with the employee is not enough; you need to make sure you document the actions you expect the employee to take and by when in order to solve the problem. This is called corrective action, and as with describing the problem, you want to be as specific as possible with corrective action so that your employee clearly understands what is expected of them.
Example 1: An Insubordinate Employee
Using the example from the prior section of the employee being insubordinate, you might want to provide a corrective action like, “Employee will no longer use foul language and will be respectful and listen to the supervisor when she is speaking. If another incident occurs within 90 days, the employee may be subject to termination.”
Example 2: A Tardy Employee
Let’s look at the second example of the employee being late. The corrective action might read, “Employee needs to be on time within 5 minutes of shift start; if the employee is tardy again within the next 30 days, the employee will be put on a final warning.”
Section 6: Signature and Date Section
While this isn’t an official contract, having a signed employee discipline form provides a “paper trail” in case you need to take action like firing someone. It also ideally conveys the seriousness of the situation to the employee so that they can improve their performance or behavior.
Even if you dot all your “i’s” and cross all your “t’s” on an employee write up form, you’re never entirely safe from employees making a legal claim against you or your business. Even frivolous lawsuits or the threat of legal action can cost your business. A solid employment practices liability insurance policy will put your mind at ease. The Hartford makes getting the right EPLI coverage easy by offering a free, no obligation quote online.
What to Avoid Putting in an Employee Write Up Form
Just like in recruiting and in firing an employee, putting unneeded extra details into a discipline form is when you might open the door for legal issues. You will want to refrain from being snarky or using any language that could make it sound like you have a vendetta against the employee. Stick to the facts, like a police report.
Remember, you also want to remember to treat all employees the same, and not discriminate regardless of gender, race, nationality, age, and all of the other protected classes. It is a best practice to stick to the employee’s actual behavior and performance for discipline situations.
Example 1: An Insubordinate Employee
If your employee was insubordinate, you don’t want to embellish the situation. The right thing to say might be, “Employee was insubordinate because he walked away from the supervisor while she was still talking and then used foul language.” Avoid saying something like, “Employee was insubordinate because he was in a foul mood and is a bad team member.”
Example 2: A Tardy Employee
Similar to above, if the right thing to say was, “Employee was late by 20 minutes on October 12th, 2016,” you don’t need to add details like, “Employee was late by 20 minutes on October 12th, 2016 because she always has to drop her kids off.”
How To Document Employee Write Up Forms
If you don’t have them already, you will want to create personnel files for each of your employees. This should be where you house their hiring documents, identification copies, and anything related to their employment. Documenting employee discipline issues and storing them in the employee file will help you defend yourself and your business if you have to terminate the employee and any legal issues arise.
Many small business are opting for storing employee documents digitally online to cut down on paper clutter and keep sensitive personal information more secure. Zoho People is an affordable HR solution that offers a digital filing cabinet to help you sort, organize, and store documents securely online. You can offer easy access to generic documents, like policies and handbooks, and set access permissions for sensitive and confidential documents. Zoho People is free for up to 5 employees.
How Do I Know When It’s Time to Fire Someone?
When is it time to go from warning or disciplining an employee to firing that individual? As a small business owner, knowing when to fire someone usually brings up some anxiety. Perhaps you’ve known the employee a long time, or maybe your gut is just telling you this employee is a bad fit.
Thanks to at will employment, which is law in all 50 states except Montana, employers can generally terminate an employee for any reason and at any time (as long as it is not a discriminatory reason). However, when you want to fire someone, it is best to know why. This can help prevent legal issues and help you hire better in the future. Ask yourself the following:
- Is it a performance issue? If so, what are the issues? Can this person be trained or mentored to perform better?
- Is it an attitude issue? Is the employee not a team player or acting as if they do not want to be? Have you asked him about it?
- Is it a company fit issue? If so, what are the issues? Can this person be trained or mentored to fit in better?
If you feel you can honestly answer these questions above, and you have exhausted training, mentoring, and warning options, then it could be time to terminate. We walk you through how to do that here.
The Bottom Line
Employee discipline is likely the least favorite part of your job as a small business owner, but you need to do it and you need to document it. Once you get an employee write up form in place, you might want to consider creating an official progressive discipline policy, or even an employee handbook, if you don’t have one already to help resolve these issues faster and systematically.
