Before arriving at the final decision and the offering of severance package agreement, one important step in the termination process is the issuance of corrective actions or discipline letters to an erring worker.
Discipline letters must precede termination of an employee and all the information contained in the letter must also become part of the documents in a severance package negotiations.
Reading the article, “You Also Must Document All the Corrective Actions (Discipline Letter)”, posted March 10, 2008, provides one with hints on what a discipline letter is all about.
According to the article, a discipline letter must document all the corrective actions an employer did to improve job productivity. Issuing discipline letters to erring employees help to foster respect among the workforce.
Discipline letters may be issued under the following circumstances:
- Dismal work performance
- gross misconduct
- repeated misbehavior
- excessive absenteeism and tardiness
A discipline letter will almost always provide hints on how a worker performs or how he repeatedly violates certain office policies despite several attempts to curb his bad behavior.
The letter will also act as a record of his transgression and could provide substantial information when an employer finally writes a dismissal notice to an employee.
In writing a dismissal notice, all these information must be taken into account. A dismissal letter must be written professionally and accurately.
In a discipline letter, an employer must write what he expects of the employee and what he must do to correct his mistakes or violations. If, despite all this, an employee fails to correct himself and continues with his bad behavior, then a dismissal notice may be issued.
After a dismissal notice has been given and the severance package comes under discussion, presenting all the information in the discipline letter can help an employer in the negotiations for the severance package agreement.
In all aspects, I agree with this process in as much as I believe that an employee who commits mistakes must always be given a second chance to set things straight.
But if all remedies fail, then it is within the prerogative of an employer to do the necessary thing based on the company’s labor policy and within the parameters of the law.
