Should businesses give employees multiple chances to correct ongoing poor performance issues?

Here is the scenario: You have an employee who is not doing a great job at work. In general, he is a satisfactory employee, but is  also on the low end of productivity, makes some mistakes and does not have any opportunity for growth. He starts to arrive late to work on a consistent basis. You tell him he needs to arrive on time, but he continues with his late arrivals.

You don’t want to fire him, but how long should you allow this to continue and what are the risks?

1. Other employees have to correct the mistakes- they become resentful, morale decreases and employees leave
2. The poor performing employee engages in a protected activity for an unrelated reason, which creates exposure to the company when it terminates him

What should the company do instead?

1. Meet with the employee to discuss the policy violation and reach an agreement on a plan for improvement
2. Give the employee a deadline in which he needs to reach the goal (i.e.: on time arrival) and the discipline if the poor performance continues (write-up, termination, etc.)
3. Stick to #2 to avoid the perception of disparate treatment
4. Document the conversations and the employee’s agreement to the resolutions.

Create expectations. Communicate. Document. Repeat.

To speak to a Florida employment lawyer about updating your employment documents and employee handbook, contact The Wannos Law Firm, PA.

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