Managing the performance and behaviour of employees comes with a range of challenges for business owners. One of those challenges may be the need to write and issue a formal warning letter to an employee for their poor performance or misconduct.
The idea of having to issue and employee with three separate warnings is a misconception in business. There is no legal minimum number of written warnings required before you can dismiss an employee. You must, however, follow a fair process and give your employee an opportunity to respond to a written warning.
What is a written warning letter?
A written warning letter is a type of formal disciplinary action given to an employee to highlight and address work performance or misconduct.
In your letter, you can define how your employee has breached company policy as stated in their employment contract and, if one was issued, their employee handbook. It’s a written reminder of workplace expectations.
It is usually the next step if a verbal warning was not effective in correcting poor behaviour or work performance.
What is the procedure for an employee written warning?
If you have concerns over an employee's performance or conduct, you must follow a fair performance management or disciplinary process. This includes when giving a written warning.
For misconduct, a disciplinary process may typically include the following:
- Investigate the misconduct and gather all relevant evidence.
- Notify the employee in writing of the disciplinary meeting, outlining the allegations, evidence, and their right to a support person or representative. Give them 24-48 hours’ notice and provide a time, date, and private location, such as an office.
- Hold the disciplinary meeting, allowing the employee to respond to the allegations and the relevant evidence you are relying on and any mitigating factors.
- Propose an outcome if the allegations are substantiated and give the employee an opportunity to comment on a proposed outcome (eg a written warning) before a final decision is made.
- Issue a written warning clearly outlining the misconduct, expected improvements, and consequences of further misconduct.
- Keep detailed records of the entire process.
The process must be fair, reasonable, proportionate, and consistent. If misconduct continues, further disciplinary action may be considered, but each step must be supported by a fair and lawful process.
The performance management process typically involves:
- Identifying the concerns and gathering relevant evidence.
- Notifying the employee of a performance concerns meeting, by providing them with 24-48 hours written notice of the meeting, the concerns to be discussed, any supporting documents, and inform them of their right to bring a support person
- Meeting with the employee to discuss the concerns, provide supporting information, and allow them to respond.
- Implementing a Performance Management Plan (PMP) with clear expectations, improvement goals, timeframes, and support measures.
- Monitoring progress through regular review meetings and feedback.
- If performance does not improve by the review period's end, invite the employee to a formal meeting, discuss the ongoing issues, propose a warning, and seek their feedback.
- Issueing a warning if required where performance does not improve, outlining the concerns, required improvements, and potential consequences.
A fair, reasonable, and consistent process is essential to ensure compliance and minimise legal risk.
How long is a written warning valid?
In New Zealand, a first written warning should specify how long it will remain in effect. Although legislation does not set an official expiry date, warnings typically remain valid for six to 12 months. Often these time periods are set out in the employee handbook. During this period, monitor the employee’s performance or behaviour for improvement.
Generally, if a written warning was issued more than 12 months ago it is usually considered invalid for any current disciplinary action.
What are the benefits of issuing a warning letter?
Issuing a warning to an employee serves several important purposes, benefiting both the employer and the employee. Here are the key benefits:
- Give employees an opportunity to correct their behaviour or performance.
- Clearly communicate workplace expectations and required standards.
- Create a formal record of the issue and steps taken to address it.
- Demonstrate the employer has acted fairly and in good faith.
- Help reduce legal risk by showing a reasonable process was followed.
- Support workplace standards and can form part of a progressive disciplinary process if issues continue.
Ultimately, warnings are designed to encourage improvement while protecting both the employee and the employer.
Outline your company expectations
A written warning letter for performance or misconduct gives you the opportunity to list what improvements your employee needs to make. It can also detail potential consequences up to and including termination if behaviour doesn’t change or performance improve.
Allow the employee a chance to respond
At a disciplinary meeting it’s important to remember your employee has a legal right of response. The meeting is your employee’s opportunity to present extenuating circumstances (if any). They may ask questions and clarify future expectations. It can also be a tense and emotional meeting so it’s important to remain calm and emphasise this is not a personal attack on your employee.
Improving poor performance
Perhaps the most notable benefit of issuing a warning letter is it could improve your employee's performance in the business. It can highlight the steps needed to comply with your professional expectations. This could be the continuation of the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) with a timeline for your employee to follow.
The PIP will enable you to monitor their progress while providing your employee with the opportunity to take corrective action to avoid further action being taken.
What is a written warning letter template?
A written warning template is used to provide structure to the disciplinary procedure by making it easier to provide the employee with an outcome. This template can then be used when creating a disciplinary outcome letter which will be given to the staff member in question.
For advice on writing and issuing a warning letter, contact Peninsula’s expert team 24/7.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.