7.5.2.3.8
Documenting Disciplinary Action
Disciplinary Documentation
Accurate documentation is a key component of any disciplinary action. The goal of effective documentation and discipline is to:
- Formally inform the employee of the problem
- Provide concrete actions that an employee can take to remedy the situation
- Allow the employee a chance to correct the problem
- Establishes an official record of the incident, potentially protecting the agency from future actions
Below are some general guidelines to follow when documenting employee discipline:
- Document only the facts. Do not add your comments, insights, or interpretations.
- Do not guess or speculate
- Include pertinent information that supports your findings
- Focus on the behavior, not the employee
- Document issues as they occur, not days or weeks later
- Rumors and innuendo are not considered facts. Document only those things you know to be factual.
Shasta Head Start disciplinary forms are the most effective means of documenting employee problems. They contain places for documenting pertinent information regarding the problem, such as:
- What policy or regulation was violated
- Where the infraction took place87
- When the infraction took place
- Employee’s comments, should they desire
- Actions needed to correct the behavior
- Follow-up
- Employee and supervisor signatures
- A reminder to the employee that if a correction is not made, the employee could face further discipline up to and including termination
Supervisor staffing notes should primarily be used by the supervisor to help them remember discussions they have had with their employees. Staffing notes should not be shared with employees, nor should an employee’s signature be requested on them. Staffing notes can, however, be used to back up a supervisor’s decision to discipline an employee.
All documentation used in a disciplinary action must be submitted to the Human Resource office to be placed in the employee’s personnel file. If it is not part of the employee’s personnel file it will not be considered part of the disciplinary action.
Follow Up
It is important to follow up with the employee. If they have corrected their behavior or performance problem, affirm them by letting them know you see improvement. Conversely, it may be necessary to take further disciplinary action if the situation has not been remedied.