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Employers can find it challenging to deal with employee underperformance. Underperformance can happen due to any number of professional and personal issues, so it's important you deal with it in the best way.
Employers can talk to their employees about underperformance, but that doesn't always result in an improvement in work quality. The next step is a formal written warning letter.
A formal written warning letter, also known as an employee general warning letter, is documentation that informs an employee of unsatisfactory performance at work.
A formal written warning letter acts as a wakeup call to an employee. The letter also serves as a record of the warning.
An employer should use a formal written warning letter in the early stages of the employee disciplinary process.
You can issue a formal written warning letter without giving a verbal warning first and you're also able to use a formal written warning letter after any number of verbal warnings.
Employers should be aware of the process that they need to take for disciplinary action against underperforming employees. The process differs by industry and type of employment contract.
Also, issuing a formal written warning letter isn't always appropriate. Make sure you need to understand the National Employment Standards, the underperforming employee's employment contract and any other industry-specific employment rules. Follow the disciplinary steps that are most favourable to the employee.
A formal written warning letter should not be used as a final warning before employment termination.
A formal written warning letter includes guidance for how an employee can improve. The letter does not include a hard deadline for improvement.
A final written warning letter is designed to be the final warning to an employee before dismissal. It includes a date by which an employee must have improved, after which the employee will be dismissed.
A formal written warning letter must include sufficient information for an underperforming employee to understand what they have done wrong and what they can do to improve.
A formal written warning letter could include any of the following.
A formal written warning letter does not automatically protect an employer in an unfair dismissal claim. See the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code to be fully informed about how to fairly terminate an employee's employment.
The Australian Fair Work Commission will consider many factors during an unfair dismissal claim, including:
As an employer, you should provide underperforming employees with multiple formal warning letters during in-person meetings with a witness. This way, you will have evidence if you ever need to prove that you treated the employee fairly.
An employer does not need a lawyer to help them write a formal written warning letter.
The Fair Work Commission will consider any evidence of an employee being given warnings, instructions to improve and reasonable opportunity to improve. This evidence does not need to be in any particular structure or use any specific language, so a legal professional isn't needed.
A formal written warning letter should include as much information about an employee's current and historical work performance as possible.
Include as much as you can from the 'What is included in a formal warning letter to an employee?' section above.
Rather than writing your own letter, consider using a formal warning letter to an employee template. We've compiled some of the best sources of formal warning letter templates below.
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