To Term or Not To Term?

HRQ

Employee hired 5/28/02. Promoted to Assistant Director (supervisory/administrative type position) on 1/13/03.

Written up 6/12, documented final warning 7/15, each time for making inappropriate decisions resulting in customer complaints, such as putting unqualified employee in charge of a group of children, failing to notify her supervisor that a child was left unattended (per policy). The final warning advised the employee to report all incidents to her supervisor, and when in doubt of whether or not a situation should be reported, to report it just in case.

On 7/21, a customer complained to the employee about a service/communicaton issue. The supervisor learned of it on 7/25 when the customer approached her to complain that the problem has not been resolved. When questioned, the employee said she "didn't think the complaint was that big of a deal".

Terminate? I think so since she was given a final warning and advised to report even minor issues just in case. The employee and her supervisor work in the same building and work side by side every day.

Leslie

As long as your progressive discipline policy has been followed, term...stand by your last warning.

By the way, doesn't it make you wonder what sometimes happens to a perfectly good employee when they get a promotion - it's like it goes to their head or something and all he** breaks loose.

HRQ

I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes taking a fantastic employee and promoting them to a supervisory position is the worst thing you can do to them.

Thanks for the advice!

ray a

Terminate

Whatever

Time has come to terminate.

Crout

I'm surprised you're even asking the question since by issuing a "final warning" you took away all your options. You almost have to term at this point, even if you're on the fence about it.

HR in CA

As others have said terminate. Afterall it was the final warning.

HRQ

The reason I was on the fence with this is because the supervisor is imperfect and I'm not sure she has set the best example in the past. (We have treated the supervisor similarly - documented discussions when she "failed" and she has improved since.) Both warnings to the employee did make clear what the future expectations are, however.

Reading back, termination is obvious. Guess I just needed validation.

Thanks! x:-)

mwild31

Here's just something else to consider:

I would terminate, however, when I have someone in the 'final written warning' stage, I investigate and decide to terminate or not the very same day. This is important in Washington State with Unemployment Insurance. If an employee was given this warning and you do not act promptly - i.e. the employee could say that you did not act on something else that had happened after the final warning, then they COULD be granted benefits. In addition, without acting promptly, the UI office tends to side with the employee. I learned this the hard way on one case and I'm happy to say I changed the way we do final warnings because of it.

Just some thoughts...

HRQ

I learned of the incident the day her supervisor did - Friday 7/25. I had another supervisor investigate (talk to complaining customer, etc.) and she gave me the results on Tuesday 7/29. (our locations are about 20 miles apart) Employee in question already had days off approved Wed-Fri this week and comes back Monday. Because of this, I took a little more time than usual to make my decision.

I agree decisions like this can't "sit" for a while. Your input about timeliness is helpful though! x:-)

HRQ

Sooo...

I was on vacation all last week - the term was to take place last Monday (8/4)

I just learned that the employee quit before her supervisor sat her down for "the talk". Gotta love it when that happens!

Thanks again for the advice, everyone!

Leslie

Do you think she saw it coming? Maybe she has the sixth sense - she saw discharged people. They don't know they're fired.

HRQ

I had to laugh out loud at the "sixth sense" comment. I think we HR folk actually have that sense: we see discharged people who don't yet know they've been discharged. x:7

I haven't spoken to her supervisor yet - my Payroll Assistant happened to mention the written resignation, since it came across with the personnel change form. My guess is the employee wasn't performing to standard because she knew she was leaving soon and didn't care because she was leaving.