Disciplinary policy

What is a disciplinary policy and when should you use it?

Dealing with the disciplining of an employee for misconduct or poor performance can be very difficult, for everyone involved.

It is not a pleasant topic to have to discuss at any time.

Procedure is everything when it comes to handling the disciplining of an employee.

That’s why you should have a disciplinary policy in place for your employees.

You get that wrong and you face a potential claim for unfair dismissal before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

Unfair dismissal claims make up nearly 50% of all claims before the WRC.

And as many as 80% of unfair dismissal cases are lost due to lack of fair procedures.

The purpose of your disciplinary policy is to ensure that your employees reach the required standard – both in conduct and in competence – in discharging their duties.

This policy covers your procedure when a disciplinary matter arises, usually where there is a reasonable concern or suspicion that an employee has engaged in one or more actions that can be classified as ‘misconduct’.

We recommend that you do not give this policy contractual status in any employment contract but rather that you reference it in the contract.

That’s because you want to be able to amend your procedures as and when required and if it forms part of the contract of employment this can be more difficult to do without the consent of the employee.

What else might you need?

There are a series of policies around discipline that you as an employer should look to have in place to ensure that you have adequate procedures to protect your business.

We recommend that you also consider these other templates

• • Grievance policy
  • Bullying and harassment policy
  • Absence policy
  • Performance improvement policy
  • Whistle blowing policy

There are many policies which you as an employer should be aware of.

Of course, having the policy is just the first step.

You need to ensure that once you have your policy in place that you implement it correctly.

Our step by step guide to handling disciplinary issues with employees set out a practical, easy to follow step by step action plan, including letter templates and checklists, to help you handle disciplinary issues with confidence.