Avoiding mistakes in……….. PIPs and performance dismissals
We are regularly contacted by HR managers half way through a PIP or performance dismissal process as a check in. Sometimes the process is faultless, other times there’s a need to start again because of slip ups along the way. This can be very costly and disheartening for management. In the worst case these mistakes can lead to expensive and reputationally damaging litigation.
In this article Dan Wise offers a checklist to HR Teams and Line Managers when planning a PIP or performance dismissal process:
Act fast – it’s so important for line managers to understand that responding promptly to performance issues is key. All too often managers will come to HR when it’s too late. The relationship with their direct report has broken down because performance has consistently been below par, and now the manager wants to dismiss. Whether by training or clear HR guidance it’s important that managers understand the need to act fast and address these issues early if they want to implement a fair process.
Keep momentum up – we’ve been instructed by employers in the past where a really well put together performance process has fallen over because the line manager hasn’t followed through with the process. Understandably everyone is busy and has a job to do. But if a process gets so far and then stops half way without concluding, the only thing HR can do latterly is start all over again, which can be very demoralising.
Document the process – careful planning needs to be put in place before starting a process. A key part of this is maintaining a really strong audit trail of letters, meeting notes and outcomes. Without this you’ll be relying on verbal evidence if the process gives rise to litigation. Not only will this be likely challenged in cross examination, but a judge won’t be impressed with an employer relying on a partially undocumented process. We are so often told about all the steps an organisation has taken to give performance warnings, but if it isn’t documented you can’t rely on it at trial.
Bottom out performance concerns – a key part of your process will be setting out performance concerns and putting in places future targets. Work often needs to be done with management to get to the route of performance issues. It’s not enough to challenge performance in a generalised way such as, ‘poor client communication’ or ‘sloppy work’. An employee will expect a clear explanation of what the issues are, ideally with specific examples. The same goes for a clearly defined set of goals and targets, along with time frames for what the company expects and when.
Have a close eye on your own policies – its more common than you think that employers will go through a performance dismissal process… without following their own policy. Depending on how your policy is drafted and specifically whether its contractual, there may well be scope to depart from the terms of the policy. But it is important to make this decision having reviewed the policy, and ideally having taken advice on the procedure.
Keep an eye on your end game – it may be that you want to follow the process to its conclusion, move to dismissal and simply honour the employee’s notice period obligations. Other companies will prefer offering a severance package part way through the process as a way of short cutting what feels like an inevitable outcome. Either way its sensible to keep an eye on your preferred outcome and approach strategy with this in mind.