Handling Employee

Misconduct and
Disciplinary Procedures
MBA 5110 - Human Resource Management
Week 08

Dharshani Thennakoon
PhD, MBA, FHEA, BBA, CTHE, CIMA

CRICOS No. 00213J

Dept of Human Resources Management
Faculty of Management and Finance
University of Colombo
[email protected] R
a university for the real world
2 Learning outcomes

EXPLAIN THE CONCEPTS RELATED ANALYZE THE NEED FOR DESCRIBE TOOLS AND
TO DISCIPLINE AND HANDLING DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES TECHNIQUES AROUND DISCIPLINE
DISCIPLINE RELATED ISSUES WITHIN ORGANISATIONS
3
Role of HR

 Important transactional role of HR

 Handling people problems directly
 Advising line managers
 Involves dealing with,
 Absenteeism
 Poor timekeeping
 Negative behavior
 Underperformance
 Employee
4
Misconduct
  An act that is,
 Inconsistent with the fulfillment of
express conditions and terms of
employment
5 Definition  Has a significant negative impact
on the smooth and efficient
functioning of the organization
  Insubordination
 Refusal to obey a direct order
 Abusive behaviour
 Unprotected union activity
 Disrespect for supervisors
 Refusal to accept transfer
6
Categories of
Misconduct  Unsatisfactory Performance
 Negligence
 Quality problems
 High wastage
 Substance Abuse
 Intoxication and alcoholism
 Drug abuse
  Other
 Safety rule violations
 Absenteeism without approval
 Late attendance
 Damaging company property
 Dishonesty
 Theft
7
Categories of
 Fights
Misconduct…
 Gambling
 Discourtesy
 Horseplay (boisterous)
 Off-duty misconduct
 Sleeping and loafing while on duty
 Strike-related activity
 Sexual harassment
 The more  Absenteeism
 Poor timekeeping
8
Common  Negative behavior
People  Underperformance
Problems
  Forms
 Recurrent short-term (one or two
days) absence
 Longer-term sickness absence
 Recurrent short-term absence
 Hard to determine when
occasional absence becomes a
problem or whether it is justifiable,
9 Absenteeism perhaps on medical grounds
 Guidelines to managers
 Analyses of the incidence of short-
term absence
 Level at which it is regarded as
acceptable
 If guidelines not available HR
specialists should be available to
provide advice
  Recurrent short-term absence…
 Necessary to decide when
something needs to be done and
then what to do about it
 There may be a medical or other
10 Absenteeism… acceptable explanation
 Information
 Return-to-work interviews
 Persistent cases of absenteeism -
absence review meeting
  Recurrent short-term absence…
 Aim is to get the employee to
discuss as openly as possible any
factors affecting his or her
attendance and to agree any
constructive steps
11 Absenteeism…  indicated that absence levels
should improve over a defined
timescale (an improvement
period)
 If this does not happen, the
individual can expect more formal
disciplinary action.
  Long-term absence
 Aim should be to facilitate the
employee’s return to work at the
earliest reasonable point
 Recognizing that in extreme cases
the person may not be able to
come back
12 Absenteeism…  Can fairly be dismissed for lack of
capability as long as:
 The employee has been consulted
at all stages
 Contact has been maintained with
the employee – this is something
you can usefully do as long as you
do not appear to be pressing him
or her to return to work before he or
she is ready
  Long-term absence...
 Can fairly be dismissed for lack of
capability as long as:…
 Appropriate medical advice has
been sought from the employee’s
own doctor, but the employee’s
consent is needed and employees
have the right to see the report – it
13 Absenteeism… may be desirable to obtain a
second opinion
 All reasonable options for
alternative employment have been
reviewed as well any other means
of facilitating a return to work
  Persistent lateness
 When informal warnings to the
individual concerned seem to
have little effect
Handling  Recorded oral warning, a written
warning and a final written
14 poor warning, disciplinary action
timekeeping  Careful - some people cannot
sustain efforts to get to work on
time for long, and deterioration
often occurs
  Lack of interest in the work
 Unwillingness to cooperate with
team leaders or other members of
the team
 Making unjustified complaints
about the work or working
15
Negative conditions

Behaviour  Grumbling at being asked to carry

out a perfectly reasonable task
 Objecting strongly to being asked
to do something extra (or even
refusing to do it) –
 Insolence (rude and disrespectful
behaviour)
  May be quietly resentful rather
than openly disruptive
 Usually angry about something
 Easy way of expressing their anger

16
Negative  Causes of negative behavior;
Behaviour…  A real or imagined slight from their
manager or a colleague
 A feeling of being put upon
  Causes of negative behavior
 A belief that the contribution they
make is neither appreciated nor
rewarded properly in terms of pay
or promotion

Negative  Resentment at what was

17 perceived to be unfair criticism
Behaviour…  Anger directed at the company or
their manager because what was
considered to be a reasonable
request (such as for leave or a
transfer) was turned down
 An unfair accusation
  Dealing with the problem
 If the problem is one of general
attitude rather than specific
actions it is more difficult to cope
with
 Best to deal with this sort of
problem informally
18
Negative  Discussing the problem
Behaviour…  Identifying the causes and
remedies.
 Individuals may not recognize that
they are behaving negatively or will
not be prepared to admit it
 If it continues - spell out where it is
believed they have gone wrong in
a positive way
  Dealing with the problem…
 Establishing causes
 The individual has to be persuaded
to spell out as precisely as possible
 The manager/ HR practitioner
should listen, not judge
19
Negative  Family troubles or worries about
Behaviour… health or finance - sympathetic
approach involving suggesting
remedies in the form of counselling
or practical advice from within or
outside the organization
 Perceived problem is the manager,
colleagues or the organization -
remedial action
  Dealing with the problem…
 Taking remedial action
 Get them to recognize for

20
Negative themselves that corrective action is
necessary and what they need to
Behaviour… do about it – with help as
necessary
 Might suggest counselling or a
source of advice
  Reasons:
 Fault of the individual
 Could not do it – ability
 Did not know how to do it – skill
 Would not do it – attitude
 Did not fully understand what was
21 Underperformance expected of him or her.
 Poor leadership
 Manager’s responsibility to specify
the results expected/levels of skill
and competence required
 Problems in the system of work
 Badly planned and organized/
does not function well
  Problems of dealing with harassment
 Difficult to make a clear cut case
 Hard to prove unless there are witnesses
 Carry it out on a one-to-one basis – one
person’s word against another’s
 Defenses:
 That it did not take place (all in the

22
Sexual victim’s mind)
 It was provoked by the behaviour of the

Harassment victim

 Victims are often unwilling to take

action
 Actual/ perceived difficulty of proving
the case
 Think they will not get a fair hearing
 Worried about the effect making such
accusations will have on how they will
be treated
  Problems of dealing with harassment…
 Sexual harassment may be a part of
the organizational culture

23
Sexual  A norm

Harassment…  Practiced at all levels

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7
xeKopVti1M
  A form of harassment
 Hard to prove
 Policy stating that it is unacceptable

24 Bullying  Discuss with HR/ trained Counsellor

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g
W_0a5cLVYg
  A milder form of negative workplace
behaviour
 Disrespect for and isolation of others
 Differing levels of intensity and frequency
 Indirect intention to harm individuals and
organizations in violation of organizational
norms and mutual trust (Andersson & Pearson
1999)

Incivility  Wijesingha, D. & Thennakoon, D. (2021,

September). The role of perceived
organizational cultural values and moral
disengagement on workplace incivility:
Empirical evidence from the BPM industry.
Paper presented at the 35th British Academy
of Management Conference, United
Kingdom.
 Perceived organizational cultural values
(clan, market, adhocracy, and
hierarchical)/ moral disengagement and
workplace incivility?
  Can be dismissed – Not capable
of work, misconduct
26
Disciplinary
 Disciplinary procedure including
Issues staged warnings OR instant
dismissal for gross misconduct
  Dismissal was not reasonable in the
circumstances
 A constructive dismissal has taken

27
Unfair place
 There has been a breach of a
Dismissal customary or agreed redundancy
procedure and there are no valid
reasons for departing from that
procedure.
  Employee should be informed of
the nature of the complaint
 Employee should be given the
chance to explain
Principles  Employee should be given the
28 of natural opportunity to improve, except in
cases of particularly gross
justice incapability or misconduct
 Employee should be warned of
the consequences in the shape of
dismissal if specified improvements
do not take place
  Employer’s decision to dismiss
should be based on sufficient
evidence
Principles  Employer should take any
mitigating circumstances into
29 of natural account
justice…  Dismissal should only take place if
the offence or misbehaviour
deserves it rather than some lesser
penalty
  Sets out the stages through which
any disciplinary action should
proceed
 Managers should be aware
30
Disciplinary
 Unpleasant duty of dismissing the
procedure employee
 Should be as guided by HR and it is
advisable that an HR specialist is
involved in the dismissal meeting
31 Planning and conducting a
disciplinary meeting - Steps

GET ALL THE FACTS IN INVITE THE EMPLOYEE TO ENSURE THAT THE PLAN HOW TO
ADVANCE, INCLUDING THE MEETING IN WRITING, EMPLOYEE HAS CONDUCT THE MEETING
STATEMENTS FROM THE EXPLAINING WHY IT IS REASONABLE NOTICE
PEOPLE INVOLVED BEING HELD AND THAT (IDEALLY AT LEAST TWO
HE OR SHE HAS THE DAYS)
RIGHT TO HAVE
SOMEONE PRESENT AT
THE MEETING ON HIS OR
HER BEHALF
  Line up another member of
management to attend the
meeting to take notes (they can
Planning be important if there is an appeal),
generally provide support and
and witness the proceedings.

conducting  Start the interview by stating the

complaint to the employee and
32 a referring to the evidence

disciplinary  Give the employee plenty of time

to respond and state his or her
meeting - case

Steps…  Take a break as required to

consider the points raised and to
relieve any pressure in the meeting
  Consider what action is
appropriate, if any. Actions should
Planning be staged, starting with a
recorded warning followed, if the
and problem continues, by a first
conducting written warning, then a final
written warning and lastly, if the
33 a earlier stages have been
disciplinary exhausted, disciplinary action,
which would be dismissal in serious
meeting - cases
Steps…  Deliver the decision, explaining
why it has been taken and confirm
it in writing
  If possible, meet when everything is quiet,
preferably on a Friday
 Keep the meeting formal and organized
 Write down what is going to be said in
advance, giving the reason and getting
Other tips your facts, dates and figures right
 Be polite but firm – read out what has been
on written down and make it clear that it is not
open for discussion
34 conducting  Ensure that the employee clears his or her
desk and has no opportunity to take away
a dismissal confidential material or use his or her
computer
meeting  See the employee off the premises – some
companies use security guards as escorts;
this might be rather heavy-handed,
although it could be useful to have
someone on call in case of difficulties
 35 References
 Armstrong, M. (2012). Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource
Management Practice(12th ed.). London: Kogan Page.
 Wijesingha, D. & Thennakoon, D. (2021, September). The role of
perceived organizational cultural values and moral disengagement
on workplace incivility: Empirical evidence from the BPM industry.
Paper presented at the 35th British Academy of Management
Conference, United Kingdom.