Documenting behaviour

[hazmog]

I have been writing down all of the bad and also exemplary behaviour of my staff. I have found it useful having a record, and insightful into their behaviour.

However, I'm wondering what should I do if a member of my team has done something pretty bad? I have documented an event whereby a staff member has been very disruptive and I have reprimanded them verbally, but do I need send them a copy via email so that it is officially recorded should this need to be used as evidence in order to justify ceasing employment later on should things not improve? Things have settled down now and I'm reluctant to open old wounds.

 

[susanhiggscreative]

If you want it to be recorded you need to have a witness to the verbal warning.

As it stands it's your word against theirs. They are also entitled to have someone sit in on a warning with them too from my understanding.

It sounds like it was a while back so your probably best just leaving it this time and going forward making sure you have it all documented and witnessed properly from the get go...

 

[Newchodge]

I would leave it for now. There is no way you can move from an informal discussion to a ismissal, so if things continue to go wrong there will be opportunities to document each stage.

 

[mcmm]

There are also Data Protection Issues here, Do your employees know you have a (detailed) record of their behaviour? Do you have the relevant polices in place documented and read by employees to protect you and them from abuse?

Be careful around the Data Protection issues, information should only be kept for a specific purpose (i presume HR), kept no longer than necessary, should be accurate and the person also has a right to the information kept about them should they request it.

There was a Data Protection case with a builder keeping a log of tradesmen and noting down personal impressions derogatory or otherwise of them and using this information on the basis of hiring in the future. As you can imagine it did not end well.

As it stands it is your word against theirs because you may not have accurately documented what happened.

 

[hazmog]

I get your point, but how about if a member of staff is consistently late, what is the harm of writing this down?Or what if a member of staff was rude to a customer? Especially if you have a paper trail backing this up? Are you saying you should note such things down? Or that you need to cover yourself by letting everyone know there is a log of such things?

 

[DavidWH]

Get a late member of staff to complete a 'late form', detailing why they're late, by how long.

Also helps for deducting pay, or them making the time up.

 

[susanhiggscreative]

I get your point, but how about if a member of staff is consistently late, what is the harm of writing this down?Or what if a member of staff was rude to a customer? Especially if you have a paper trail backing this up? Are you saying you should note such things down? Or that you need to cover yourself by letting everyone know there is a log of such things?

It's not really about 'getting the point'
Legally if you want to fire someone you have to go through the correct procedures or they can sue you.

This involves official warnings, that are documented and witnessed.

I don't have staff myself and only know this through prosedures at companies I have worked for.

Noting down lateness etc shouldn't be a problem but you should probably inform staff that this is being recorded and should it happen regularly it will lead to an official warning and then follow the correct procedure from there.

Basically you need to make sure whatever you do you are covering your own back so it doesn't come back on you should you ever need to dismiss someone.

Not much help in this instance as mentioned it's too late to do anything about that now. For future though the gov site has a good page.

Google 'uk business warning and dismissal procedure' it's the 2nd one down (can't post links here, sorry)

Hope this helps somewhat

 

[nelioneil]

Get a late member of staff to complete a 'late form', detailing why they're late, by how long.

Also helps for deducting pay, or them making the time up.

Can only deduct pay if specified in the employment contract.

 

[mcmm]

HR blunders are one of the biggest and cost issues for SME’s who fall foul of an endless stream of legislative policies that seem to protect the employee more than the employer.

Having said that they are also there to protect you (even though it may not seem like it).

I have over 15+ years experience in a constantly evolving FOI and DP field and new problems arise all the time.

I would be cautious of using past events when the employee was unaware of the logs and the accuracy of them could be called into question. From today I would make changes in the workplace that informs employees of a regular and documented performance meetings, they can be quite simple affairs lasting no more than 30 mins.

There are specialist outsourced HR organisation that can offer simple advice or if you are larger take control of the entire HR function for you (at a cost).

Better still ring the ICO and ask to speak to a Data Protection adviser, over the years I have found them to be very helpful and informative who can give direct insight on how to meet the legislative requirements but whilst still meeting your needs as an employer (you have rights too).

If you would like to discuss this in more detail please message me your email to discuss in private.

Kind Regards

 

[Gecko001]

What the OP is doing is what used to be called keeping a little black book on staff. The fact that the Op is keeping a record of good things the employees do as well as the bad ones, is irrelevant I would have thought. I do not know the legalities of the situation, but it a bit J Edgar Hoover don't you think.