Disciplining and dismissing

staff the right way

If your employee has broken a rule or breached your procedures, it is important to take
action to ensure it doesn't happen again. Here's how.

1
Your disciplinary procedures
When considering disciplinary action, refer

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to your disciplinary procedures to achieve
Investigation
a consistent approach and avoid breach of
It’s so important to get this right. An
contract claims. If you operate in a unionized
investigation will involve collecting information
workplace, you must follow the procedures laid
and finding facts on the alleged misconduct.
out in any collective agreement.
You will need to look in the right places, speak
to the right people, and record it all on paper.
You may need to suspend the employee in the
interim.

3
Hold a disciplinary meeting
Arrange a meeting with your employee,
explain the alleged misconduct and ask for his
explanations. In the case of serious allegations
that may led to termination, consider inviting

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the employee in writing to a hearing and
include your concerns about his/her behaviour.
Give the outcome
Decide on the appropriate outcome, which may
range from a verbal warning to termination—
depending on the severity of the conduct.
Confirm your decision in writing.

5
Termination with cause
Termination with cause (i.e. without any
notice) is usually only considered fair in the
most serious of cases, such as theft, violence
or repeated failure to follow management
instructions.

Follow any disciplinary procedures you have, especially when deciding whether to dismiss an
employee.

Call us today for HR, Employment Relations and Health & Safety Advice
1 (888) 217 570 1 | info@peninsula-ca.com
Managing
underperforming staff
Your employee is not meeting targets. She has been with you for a while, but her
performance has started to dip and you don't know why. Here's what to do.

1
Follow your policy
When considering action, refer to your policies
and procedures on managing performance.
That way, you will take a consistent approach

2
and avoid any breach of contract claims. If you
operate in a unionized workplace, you must
follow the procedures laid out in any collective
agreement.
Informal discussion
Have an informal chat with your employee to
identify the problem. Agree on ways to help
them improve and a review timetable to follow.

3
Invite to formal meeting
If the informal route did not work, invite your
employee to a capability meeting. This is
formal action, so the invitation must include

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all necessary elements. Be clear about your
concerns and how you expect them to improve.
Hold a meeting
At the meeting, discuss your concerns and
show examples of work that has been below
par. Explore ways that may help your employee
improve, tailor your assistance to their
circumstances, and set a timeframe by which
the improvements should be met.

5
Issue capability warning
Confirm the capability warning in writing and
include an outline of the assistance you will
provide to help your employee improve.

6
Review progress
Make sure you review what progress the
employee has made in meeting any targets or
objectives. Consider if any of the issues have
been addressed. If not then look at further
warnings.

Where an employee’s ability to do their job is in question, you must help encourage their
improvement. Think carefully about the measures you can enforce to do so.

Call us today for HR, Employment Relations and Health & Safety Advice
1 (888) 217 570 1 | info@peninsula-ca.com
Staying on top
of Sickness Absence
Have you noticed how one or two days off here and there start to add up for your
company? It could be that staff sickness absence levels are soaring. And that costs you
money. Here’s how to manage it.

Create a policy

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Having a sickness absence policy shows your
employees that you take it seriously. It also
means that you’ll deal with all instances of

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sickness absence consistently, helping to
prevent claims of unfair treatment. If you
operate in a unionized workplace, you must
follow the procedures laid out in any collective
agreement.
Notifying you of sickness
Make sure your employees follow your rules
on notifying their absences to you. A personal
phone call to a manager, rather than an email
or text message, helps to deter fake sickness
absence.

3
Return to Work Meetings/Discussions
Discuss every absence with employees when
they return to work and keep a written record
of the conversations. Reinforce the impact

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of their absences on the business and their Record all absences
colleagues. Keep comprehensive notes of every period of
sickness absence. Doing this in an ‘at a glance’
calendar format will help you spot patterns
that may require further investigation, e.g. an
employee who is absent on the last Friday of

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Monitor absence every month.
Referring to your sickness absence policy, keep
track of absence levels so you can act when
triggers are reached, e.g. five days of absences
in a period of six months.

6
Investigate reasons behind absences
An investigation should take place into

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the reasons for absence to determine any
Begin formal procedures
underlying issues that require support. You
When absence levels are too high, implement
may need to get your employee to provide a
your capability or disciplinary procedures as
medical report.
appropriate, ensuring a fair process is followed
each time. Ultimately, formal procedures may
result in a dismissal.

Disabilities can cause both long-term and short-term absences. The purpose of an investigation
is to help you discover any underlying conditions that lead to these and establishes whether your
employee is disabled.

Call us today for HR, Employment Relations and Health & Safety Advice
1 (888) 217 570 1 | info@peninsula-ca.com
Contracts and policies to
protect your business
Having the correct documentation in place not only helps your employees follow your
rules, but also helps to protect your brand and bottom line.
1 2
All employees should have written
contracts
Although it is not required by law, it is best
practice to ensure all new hires have a written
contract of employment that sets out the main
terms of their employment.
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Don’t make your contract too long
Create an employee handbook that delves
into any extra company information, rules and
expectations. This may include policies like
your absence notification procedures, dress
codes, use of IT equipment, data protection,
and so on.
5
Be clear and specific
Clarity is important in the language you use,
especially when considering clauses that allow
for deductions from pay. Vague contractual
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terms may not give you the grounding you
need to enforce rules. The clearer, the better.
Your staff need to see the paperwork! When you implement a policy, make sure your employees
know and have the chance to read it. If they do not know the policies and procedures, it will be
difficult to show that they broke them.
Call us today for HR, Employment Relations and Health & Safety Advice
1 (888) 217 570 1 | info@peninsula-ca.com
Choose the right contracts for your
needs
There are various contract types, from fixed
term and part time to zero hours, apprentice,
and term time only. Contractual and statutory
entitlements may differ depending on which
you use, so it is important to understand how
each one works.
Use policies for company rules on
specific topics
Implement separate policies to protect your
business, such as :
• Social networking policy – set rules on
employees identifying the workplace or
sharing any work-related information on their
social media profiles.
• Equality and diversity policy – demonstrate
zero tolerance on discrimination or
harassment by or against anyone in your
business
• Alcohol and drugs policy – outline
unacceptable behaviour and any company
testing procedures
• Disciplinary procedures
Regular reviews
Keep your contracts and policies up to date to
reflect changes in the law and in your practices.
You do not want to be called out trying to
discipline an employee by referring to an
alleged policy breach and finding your policy
doesn’t cover it.
 PLEASE NOTE THIS IS ONLY A SAMPLE OF THE POLICY

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AND

HARASSMENT POLICY
A) INTRODUCTION
The Business is committed to providing a working environment that is safe, secure, and free from threats, intimidation
and violence. We maintain a zero-tolerance approach to workplace violence. As such, the Business will not tolerate violent
behaviour and will take all reasonable and practical measures to prevent workplace violence and to protect workers from
acts of violence.

B) POLICY
This policy applies to all the Business’s workers, including full-time, temporary and contract staff, as well as to
any volunteers, students, interns and apprentices. This policy applies to every level of our organization and to every aspect
of the workplace environment, including events that occur outside of the physical workplace, such as during business trips
and staff events, and where applicable, to digital work environments.

C) Reporting Procedures for Workers

Any worker who believes that they are the victim of workplace violence should immediately report the incident to
management. Similarly, anyone who has good reason to believe that workplace violence is occurring or has occurred
should immediately report the matter to management.
D) Duties of Management and Supervisors
Managers and supervisors must act immediately if they observe or are presented with allegations of a potentially
dangerous situation, including domestic violence.

E) Investigation
All reports and incidents of workplace violence or domestic violence (including incidents that are observed but not
formally reported) will be taken seriously and will be investigated promptly and thoroughly in accordance with the
investigation procedures set out in Section 9.0 (Violence and Harassment Investigation Process).

F) Reporting to the Police

All physical assaults will be reported to the police, as will any other behaviour that requires police intervention or follow-
up, such as a situation of immediate or serious danger.

G) Intervention
The Business will intervene as appropriate if there is any indication of a violent or potentially violent situation. If a worker
is considered to be at risk of violence either from within or outside of the workplace, a plan will be developed to minimize
the risk and respond to any potential emergency situation. Should the Business become aware of a potential incident of
domestic violence, every reasonable precaution will be taken in the circumstances to protect the affected worker.

H) Corrective Action and Discipline

If the Business determines that a worker has engaged in workplace violence, appropriate corrective action will be taken, up
to and including immediate dismissal for cause. In addition, the Business may require that a worker participate in an anger
management program or other form of counselling, either voluntarily or as a condition of continued employment.

I) Incident Management
In the event of a significant incident of workplace violence, the Business will immediately assess the situation and arrange
for interventions as appropriate:

1 | ©Peninsula Employment Services Ltd

 PLEASE NOTE THIS IS ONLY A SAMPLE OF THE POLICY

SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKING

POLICY
A) INTRODUCTION
Social networks are web-based communication structures that enable easy communication and relationships building
between individuals via the Internet, many of which include additional access to further methods of interaction, such as e-
mail and instant messaging. While we at the organization consider the widespread use of social networking applications an
effective and useful method for communication in the appropriate context, the potential for misuse by workers, during and
out of work hours, is such that the following guidelines are in place.
For the purpose of this policy, the term “use” includes accessing social media by means of computer, mobile phone or by
any other device.

B) POLICY
Access to email and the Internet is provided during working hours for the purpose of effectively completing work and use
must comply with all organizational policies and procedures. The organization will not tolerate employees using social
networking sites for unofficial or inappropriate uses, specifically:
• You should not use such sites during contracted working hours for personal interest/benefit, without the authority
of an appropriate manager. Usage during your agreed breaks is permitted, subject to the rules contained in this
policy;
• You should not at any time upload photographs to your social networking sites of yourself or any other employee
taken in a work situation or in a work uniform. No defamatory comments about the organization should be made on
such sites at any time;
• You should not at any time include information that identifies any other employee/contractor/supplier/client/
customer or any other individual working in connection with us;
• You should not at any time express opinions on such sites which purport to be the opinion of the organization, nor
comments representing your own views on our organization;
• Any personal blogs should contain a disclaimer that the views expressed on it are personal views of the author only;
• You should not at any time make comments on such sites which bring the organization into disrepute;
• You should not at any time make comments on such sites which amount to bullying, harassment or any other
detriment towards other employees/ contractors/suppliers/clients/customers or any other individual working in
connection with us.
• You should not use instant messaging whether on a computer or by any other means for personal interest during
working hours.

C) MONITORING OF SOCIAL NETWORK USE

It is recommended that all employees use strict privacy settings on their social network profiles. The organization monitors
your internet usage regularly and may undertake more in depth monitoring where considered necessary. This includes
monitoring the websites you visit and any other matters referred to in this policy.

D) ENFORCEMENT
Any employee who we suspect has breached this policy will be subject to the organization’s disciplinary procedure.

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