Development of Employee Disciplinary Policies
Discipline is best defined as the observation of principles, rules or any other laid
down procedures, practices, written or otherwise in the organization by the employees
or group of employees, to whom these apply, for smooth and effective functioning of
the organization.
Since, disciplinary measures have serious implications for employees; they often are
based on the principles of being fair, just and acceptable to employees and, where
applicable, the union as well. It cannot be enforced or imposed on employees, as
history has proved, it never benefits anyone. So one of the most significant
transformations that has impacted the workplace in the past few years is the
‘reinstatement’ of discipline in a positive and employee-supported environment. The
way it is practiced in today’s organizations is extremely well communicated and
adopts a discretionary approach.
The principal ingredients of a sound disciplinary system in organizations are:
1. Location of responsibility: The responsibility for generating awareness
regarding discipline is entrusted with every individual in the organization.
Particularly it resides with the senior leadership of the company and will all
managers who serve as the ambassadors of discipline. In the traditional brickand-mortar organizations it is the Personnel Officer who is entrusted with the
responsibility of offering advice and assistance. In case of employee indiscipline, the line manager issue only verbal and written warnings. In serious
cases, which warrant discharge or suspension, the Industrial Relations Officer
and other independent legal consultants need to be consulted.
2. Proper formulation and communication of rules: The employees are
expected to conform to rules and regulations and behave in a responsible
manner; it is essential that these rules and regulations are properly and
carefully formulated and communicated to them. It would be preferable if a
copy of these regulations is included in their handbook; at any rate, they
should be put up on notice boards and bulletin boards. Every organization has
a Policy and Guidelines document, either as hardcopy in the form of the
Company’s “Policy Handbook” or as soft copy on the Company’s intranet site.
This document elaborates the specific acceptable personal code of conduct.
All new employees are required to read it and acknowledge that they have
read it by signing once they have read it all. In many organizations the
employees need to read it and sign it once every year. This acts as a effective
preventive mechanism to ensure that employees are aware of it and have
committed to abide by it.
3. Rules and regulations should be reasonable: Today’s organizations pay a
lot of attention, and rightly so, towards formulating equitable polices that
protect employee as well as the organizations values and rights. Often
organizations involve employee representatives in formulating these policies
and guidelines. Not only is the formulation of the policy important but also its
communication. Organizations often hold road-shows and workshops that
communicate policies and the reason why these policies are required. In order
to make these workshops interesting and have employees attend it, the
communication is often done using innovative means such as role-play, videocases of workplace incidents and even build case studies around how to
behave in particular situations.
4. Equal treatment: All defaulters of the acknowledged code of conduct should
be treated equitably, depending of course on the nature of the offence.
Identical punishment should be awarded for identical offences, irrespective of
the position or seniority of the employee.
5. Disciplinary action should be taken in private: While the policies’
governing the acceptable code of conduct is communicated publicly, the
reprimand for non-compliance needs to be done in private. This is to ensure
that a wrong behaviour is corrected and not that the wrong-doer be punished,
or ridiculed. At all times the organization needs to be watchful of remaining
respectful of its employee and carry out any action in a respectful and in a
confidential manner.
6. Importance of promptness in taking disciplinary action: As goes the
popular saying….justice delayed is justice denied. If the action for review and
reprimand is taken long after a violation of a policy/rule has happened, it loses
its positive and corrective influence. The employees loose trust in the system
and assume that the organization lacks commitment to it. It might even lead to
resentment, which may not have developed if the corrective action had been
imposed in time. Also the action taken needs to be compliant with the policy
and fair. Most breach of the rules and policies might lead to employee
termination, in such cases appropriate approval of the senior management
should be taken and it should be implemented soon.
7. Innocence is presumed: Again as per the fundamental rights of a human
being, an individual is presumed to be innocent until he is proven to be guilty.
It is the organization’s responsibility and therefore the HR team’s
responsibility to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that a violation or an
offence has been committed before any punishment is awarded. The employee
or employees need to be given the first opportunity to explain
himself/herself/themselves. The kind of proof that would be needed for this
purpose would depend on the gravity of the offence that has been committed.
8. Get the facts: Before taking any disciplinary action, it is important to ensure
that records of the offense and any previous warnings are reviewed closely. It
may often be discovered that there were mitigating circumstances, or that
he/she/they were not aware of the rules; or that the person had conflicting
orders or even permission to break the rule for some reason. Getting facts right
is the most credible part of this entire activity.
9. Action should be taken in non-threatening atmosphere: The action should
be taken by multiple people to ensure that is fair and the best course of action.
It then needs to be endorsed by a representative sample of the senior/top
management team. Also it is important to be consistent with earlier decisions
taken as therefore a rational and sensible judgment. It ought to be in-step with
the conditions of natural justice. The management must act without bias and
without vindictiveness. Justice and fair play must prevail. Wherever possible
and within the framework of the policy, employee must be given the
opportunity to reform himself/herself. And not only reprimanded.
10. After a disciplinary action has been taken by the manager, he should treat
his team member in a normal manner: The employee has paid the penalty
for the violation of a rule. He should, therefore, be treated as he would have
been, had there been no violation and no action. Remaining respectful and fair
is important, and this could be difficult. Therefore the manager might need to
be reminded to be watchful of it. HR can also play a effective rule here by
continuing to remain in touch with the employee and hear out his grievance if
any.
11. Negative motivation should be handled in a positive manner: Often any
such confrontation with a erring employees results in a immediate drop in
motivation. Employee needs to be sensitized that a negative approach does not
pay. Manager might often try to ‘protect’ their employees. As far as possible,
disciplinary action should deal with specific rule in question, rather than with
the employee in general. Managing the employee needs manager training,
without doubt. The role of HR is critical. HR and the manager spend
significant time role-playing the reactions of the employee and how the
manager needs to respond and manage the employee back at work. The fruit of
the pudding is in the preparation.
Credit: Human Resource Management Concepts-MGU MBA