Disciplinary Action Form Template

Disciplinary Action Form FAQs

1) What is the goal of disciplinary action?

Contrary to what many may believe, the goal of disciplinary action isn’t to terminate an unproductive or unruly employee. Rather, the goal is to help the employee make adjustments to meet company standards. While disciplinary action occasionally leads to termination, a simple verbal warning can often help motivate employees to correct their behavior.

2) What are the most common forms of disciplinary action?

Verbal warning: A manager or supervisor speaks to an employee regarding an offense or a failure to meet company standards.
Written warning: The employer provides a formal document stating the employee’s offense or failure to meet company standards and explaining potential repercussions.
Loss of privileges: The employee loses out on perks like parking spaces, events, and programs due to an offense or poor performance.
Fines: An employer imposes a monetary penalty because an employee committed an offense.
Suspension with pay: An employer prohibits an employee from working for one or more days with pay. Organizations typically use this approach to further investigate an offense.
Suspension without pay: An employer prohibits an employee from working for one or more days without pay. Companies using this approach often seek legal advice to ensure they respect employee rights.
Withholding of raises: An employer withholds planned annual raises or bonuses because of offenses or poor performance.
Demotion: An employer reassigns an employee to a lower-level position. This action is often a result of an employee not fulfilling their job requirements, such as being unable to manage others or meet quotas.
Termination: An employer dismisses an employee.

3) What are the four stages of disciplinary action?

Verbal warning: A manager or supervisor gives a verbal warning by speaking to an employee about how they’ve failed to comply with company rules or how they aren’t meeting the expectations for their role. A verbal warning typically precedes any more serious disciplinary action. Depending on the offense, it may be necessary to document the verbal warning, possibly even with a second person acting as a witness.
Written warning: A written warning often follows a verbal notice when the employee fails to remedy the situation. This warning is considered more serious since there’s a written record, which then goes in the employee’s file. When taking more severe action, an employer can use this documentation as proof of the measures taken to inform the employee of their offense and the length of time they gave the employee to remedy the situation.
Suspension: Companies may implement suspension with or without pay. However, suppose the employer chooses to suspend an employee without pay. In that case, it’s wise to seek legal advice to ensure the employer isn’t violating the employee’s rights. Often, employers use suspension with pay as a way to investigate further while protecting the company from further harm. It’s essential to communicate decisions in writing at this stage to ensure the organization treats the employee fairly and allows them to appeal decisions.
Termination: Termination is the final stage of disciplinary action. It occurs when an employer can’t remedy the situation. Organizations typically only resort to termination if the employee has committed a serious offense or if there have been repeated offenses and prior disciplinary actions haven’t worked. In the rare case where the employee can no longer perform their job, it’s best to seek legal advice.

4) What is a disciplinary action form?

A disciplinary action form provides employees with formal documentation of how they broke company rules or failed to meet performance expectations. Employers usually keep these forms in the employee’s file and can refer to them when situations warrant further action. Keeping a written record of disciplinary action helps managers prove their statements in future conversations, provides clarity for employees, and protects the company.

5) How do you write a disciplinary action form?

An effective disciplinary action form should be accurate, have at least one witness, and include proof of receipt from the employee. While you may need to tailor your document to your business or the type of incident (i.e., safety violations that cause damage), typical information found on a disciplinary action form includes the following:

Employee details: These details include the employee’s full name, position, department, and possibly department number.
Type of infraction: Employers should include a brief sentence that describes the type of infraction that took place.
Date of the infraction: Employers should include a notation of when the incident occurred.
Description of the infraction: In addition to describing the type of infraction, employers will also want a summary of what happened. This description may include information on previous warnings or similar infractions, if relevant.
Potential remedies for the situation: Here the employer can clarify what they expect from the employee in the future. This section provides an employee with a path forward and a basis for measurement should more action be necessary.
Potential disciplinary action if the employee doesn’t remedy the situation: Again, the employer should be clear about what consequences the employee may incur if the same type of infraction happens in the future or if they don’t remedy the current situation.
Signatures: It’s a good idea to get signatures from the manager, HR rep, and employee. Signatures will prove that the employer made the employee aware of the infraction and that the employee accepted their responsibility to improve the situation. Additionally, it creates a paper trail if a different manager dealing with the same infraction needs to consult with those dealing with the case.

6) What are some situations that may require disciplinary action?

Disregarding company policies: Company policies help enforce the well-being and the smooth operation of an organization. Disciplinary action allows employers to manage employees who disregard these policies.
Employee conflict: When organizations don’t manage employee conflict correctly, it can affect employee safety, morale, and productivity. Employers may use disciplinary action to resolve conflict at work.
Illegal activities: Illegal activities can place employees and the company at risk. Disciplinary action allows employers to handle these sensitive issues quickly and legally.
Poor performance: Employers expect their employees to do their jobs. Disciplinary action allows employers to penalize poor performance and protect their organization.