Underperforming staff
The top 3 employer tips you need to know this week:
How do I manage my underperforming employee?
First, it’s important to determine whether your employee’s underperformance is due to capability (can’t do the job) or conduct (won’t do it).
You can deal with the issue informally by asking if anything’s causing their poor work. But if there’s no improvement, hold a formal meeting and put in place a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).
This plan identifies support or training for your employee, outlines the improvements you expect within a certain time, and how you’ll monitor it.
Can I dismiss an employee who’s on long-term sick?
You don’t have to keep a job open forever, but you need to follow a fair procedure to dismiss someone for a long-term sickness absence.
Keep in regular contact with your employee, seek medical evidence on whether they’ll be fit to work in future, and explore all other options. If there are none, and a return to work is unlikely, then you can achieve a fair dismissal.
For sickness caused by disability, to avoid discrimination you have a duty to adjust your normal medical absence procedure.
Can I ask my staff for proof of their medical appointments?
You should have an absence or leave policy that explains what notice your employees should give you when asking for leave or time off for medical appointments.
Where your policy says that your employee should provide proof of medical appointments, you can ask for evidence. If you don’t get any, you can turn down the request.
But if your policy doesn’t require proof, and no one has ever asked for proof previously, then your employee could claim unfair treatment at your new request.