How to give a written reprimand & terminate, if necessary.
A problem employee can damage your business in many ways. He or
she can slow down production, cause other employees to become disgruntled,
be a safety hazard, or even cause legal troubles. Therefore, it
is important for you to either get a problem employee in shape
or to terminate him or her before it leads to more problems.
Having Production Slowed by a Problem Employee
You may not realize it, but a problem employee can significantly
slow down production. For example, if the problem employee is routinely
late arriving to work, production may cease altogether as the other
workers wait for the employee to arrive. Or, even if production
continues, it may slow down as a less skilled worker tries to take
over. The same is true for an employee who purposely works slowly,
who abuses break privileges, or who simply doesn’t pay attention
to his or her job and makes too many mistakes.
Causing Other Employees to Become Disgruntled Because of a Problem
Employee
If you do not take action against the problem employee, this person
can quickly and easily cause your other employees to become disgruntled.
First, your other employees may believe you are discriminating
against them when you come down on them and do not come down on
the problem employee. And, by allowing the problem employee to
get away with his or her behavior, you are setting a precedent
that tells your other employees it is OK to behave in a problematic
way. Before you know it, you will have an entire crew of problem
employees rather than just one!
Experiencing Safety Hazards Because of a Problem Employee
A problem employee can easily be a safety hazard for your other
employees as well as for him or herself. If the problem employee
is negligent, for example, he or she may not properly follow safety
procedures. Even a chronically late problem employee can cause
safety problems as other employees try to pick up the slack or
to speed up and catch up on production when the employee finally
makes it in.
Experiencing Legal Problems Because of a Problem Employee
A problem employee puts you at an increased risk of experiencing
legal problems. Other employees may file suit against you for failure
to act on the problems you are having with the employee. If the
employee is harassing other employees, for example, a court can
find you guilty of failing to discipline the employee for his or
her actions. In addition, if the problem employee is violating
safety procedures and hurts someone, a court will find you liable.
So, while it may be difficult to fire an employee, particularly
if you have formed a relationship with that person, you must consider
your business and your other employees. Do what is right and remove
the problem employee from your workforce before you are sorry you
didn’t.
The
consequences of ignoring a bad employee. Written reprimand & termination
forms.
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