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Disciplinary Action#

A support page detailing our disciplinary procedures, and approach to disciplinary action

Prior to disciplinary action taking place#

It’s very important to note that less formal actions than a disciplinary should be taken where possible and appropriate first, in order to address relevant issues.

An employee should not always expect a disciplinary action for performance or behavioural concerns, especially when a conversation with their Lead to clarify expectations and responsibilities, or proactive coaching of the employee will suffice. Generally speaking, disciplinary procedures are undertaken only when other feedback avenues have been exhausted, are thought to be ineffective, or do not match the severity of the concern.

Warning

Things for the Lead to consider before initiating formal disciplinary proceedings:

  • Is it necessary? If an employee has made a one-off mistake, it might be best to have a discreet conversation with them for example, depending on the circumstances.
  • Is it an opportunity to coach them rather than seek disciplinary action? If an employee is consistently performing poorly on a particular topic or task, or struggling with certain behavioural issues, have we taken the time to coach them? This could involve working with the employee on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), the employee undertaking some training courses, or sitting with them to work out a way to manage their time better.
  • Are they struggling and need support? Personal life, workloads, the world at large, and mental health concerns can take their toll on us. It can be useful to check in with an employee who is struggling, to see if there are any underlying issues causing any performance or behavioural concerns, before potentially doubling down with a disciplinary procedure which in some cases may be counter productive.

Coaching Before Disciplinary Action#

Where appropriate, amazee.io expect leads to coach and mentor employees, giving them a fair chance to be aware of issues, and to support improvements, prior to disciplinary action taking place. This is in the interest of both amazee.io and the employee, in maintaining a stable, ever improving, fair, and compliant work environment and team.

If you would like support on coaching, or setting up a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) for a team member, reach out to HR who will work through this with you. You can also check out our page on Coaching and Goal Setting, and our Lattice Templates aimed at PIPs.

Hint

There are some instances in which a “coaching first” approach isn’t the most appropriate action, however these are exceptions to the general rule:

  • Gross misconduct, or serious infringements of performance or behaviour e.g. bullying, harassment, discriminatory behaviour or practices, gross negligence etc.
  • When current or ongoing training for the same issue is already in place, or has been very recently, and proved ineffective Beyond the above examples, a coaching first approach is usually best for all concerned prior to undertaking formal disciplinary action.

Disciplinary Action Company Policy#

Policy brief & purpose#

Our Disciplinary Action Company Policy explains how we address issues relating to behaviour and performance. We use this policy to outline our disciplinary procedure.

amazee.io has adopted a discipline policy to identify and address employee and employment related problems. This policy applies to any employee conduct which determines that disciplinary actions should follow.

Most often, employee conduct that warrants discipline results from unacceptable behaviour, poor performance or violation of the company’s policies, practices or procedures. However, discipline may be issued for conduct that falls outside of those identified areas. Equally important, the company needs not resort to progressive discipline, but may take whatever action it deems necessary to address the issue at hand. This may mean that more or less severe discipline is imposed in a given situation.

Scope#

This policy applies to all amazee.io employees.

Policy elements#

The Company will normally adhere to the following progressive disciplinary process. Depending on the nature of the issue, these steps may not always been taken in a progressive manner.

  1. Verbal Warning
  2. Written Warning
  3. Formal Disciplinary Meeting
  4. Suspension
  5. Termination

The nature of the offence must be explained to the employee from the beginning of the procedure. The Verbal Warning may take the form of a simple oral reprimand but also a full discussion, if necessary. The employee must read and sign the Written Warning, the Disciplinary Meeting Minutes and Termination.

  • Leads or HR may choose to repeat stages of our disciplinary procedure as appropriate, and not always escalate immediately.
    • This decision depends on employees’ reaction to the disciplinary procedure, whether corrective action has been taken by the employee, and the nature of their offence. The disciplinary procedure begins when there is sufficient evidence to justify it. Leads and HR must investigate each matter first before undertaking formal disciplinary steps.
  • The disciplinary procedure is not always “progressive”.
    • Depending on the concern, the first step may not always be the verbal warning.
  • The above is a good guideline, however depending on local country’s employment laws and regulation, there can be slight variations in certain regions to the requirements of the disciplinary procedure. Always check with HR.

Scenarios#

The following scenarios can indicate where the disciplinary procedure starts depending on the violation.

Verbal Warning

An employee will be given a verbal warning when reacting to less severe concern, or as a first step towards resolving potentially ongoing issues. Verbal warnings are documented and placed in the employee’s personnel file (Disciplinary Actions folder in BambooHR). A verbal warning will be given by either the Lead or HR.

It includes but is not limited to:

  • Failure to meet performance objectives
  • Minor poor conduct, e.g. attendance issues, going awol
  • Consistent failure to meet deadlines

Written Warning

A written warning is more serious than a verbal warning. A written warning will be given when an employee engages in conduct that justifies a written warning or the employee engages in unacceptable behaviour following a related verbal warning. Written warnings are maintained in an employee’s personnel file (Disciplinary Actions folder in BambooHR). A written warning will be given by HR.

It includes but is not limited to:

  • Lack of addressing the concerns which resulted in a verbal warning
  • Professional misconduct such as rude behaviour, unintentional discrimination
  • Significant breach of roles and responsibilities

Formal Disciplinary Meeting

The Lead, the employee, and HR meet to discuss the problem. HR investigates the problem. The matter is resolved and rectified if possible, or the employee is informed that after this point further action may take place, up to, and including suspension/termination pending investigation.

It includes but is not limited to:

  • Escalation following lack of resolution to verbal or written warning
  • Lack of response to counselling and corrective actions
  • On-the-job major mistakes.
  • Security Incident (please also see Security Incident Response Process)

Suspension

An employee will be suspended when they engage in conduct that potentially justifies termination or the employee engages in unacceptable behaviour following a related written warning. Suspensions may also take place during investigations into more serious issues, especially investigations involving concerns over personal mental or physical safety.

Termination

An employee will be terminated when they engage in conduct that justifies termination or does not correct the matter that resulted in less severe steps.

It includes but is not limited to:

  • Final escalation following lack of resolution to previous disciplinary actions
  • Serious breach of employment agreement
  • Gross Misconduct e.g. illegal activity, serious breach of employment agreement, harassment/bullying, discrimination etc.

Documentation#

HR and Leads need to document each stage of the disciplinary procedure in BambooHR and store it in the respective employee’s Disciplinary Actions folder, with the employee granted access to the document. If appropriate, we should include necessary information like evidence, testimonies and employee’s progress or improvements. The resolution or outcome of any disciplinary step needs to be documented, to confirm closure of the issue.

Country specific procedures#

  • South Africa: Set procedure laid out in law
  • Italy: Some strict rules for escalation - Especially when the step goes beyond “written warning”
  • UK: Set procedure which must be followed, but no specific order required, and no time limits apply

No set procedure