Full-Service HR

Effective Disciplinary Policies

Ella Baker
Employee Discipline
Reading time 6 Mins
Published on Sep 20
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Disciplining your employees is never pleasant. Disciplinary action is a response by you, the employer, to problems with employee performance or behavior. While the form that reprimand may take can vary, the purpose is always the same – to correct undesirable behavior and document ongoing issues. From issuing a verbal or written warning to suspending or terminating an employee, most people don’t enjoy giving or receiving a reprimand, but effective discipline can help ensure the success of your company and your team.

Read on for more tips about developing your disciplinary policy and tips for how to apply reprimands when needed.

Know the law

Laws government employee discipline and termination issues can vary wildly from state to state. While US federal law doesn’t outline specific policies for workplace discipline, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), National Labor Relations Law, and laws pertaining to age discrimination and civil rights broadly cover these issues.

Employers have broad leeway when it comes to developing their approach to discipline. Still, there are some actions that can put your business at risk:

  • A disciplinary policy that doesn’t protect your right to terminate at will
  • Not ensuring that all employees are informed about unacceptable behavior
  • Managers that don’t apply discipline consistently and fairly
  • Managers who enact disciplinary action in an illegal or abusive manner
  • Not documenting employee behavior and progressive disciplinary steps

Your Sheakley PEO and HR Outsourcing partners can help you evaluate your employee handbook and disciplinary policy to ensure that you are compliant with local, state, and federal employment law.

Clear and consistent rules for employees

Developing an easily understandable employee handbook is imperative to an effective disciplinary policy. Your employee must be informed of behavior and work expectations. Among others, you’ll want to address these common issues in your employee handbook:

  • Employment at-will: At-will employment allows employers to terminate an employee for any reason with or without notice. Employees may also terminate the work relationship at any time. Since employment at-will is not a federal law, if you decide to implement it in your workplace, you need to be clear about this in writing.
  • Attire and dress codes have long been a common struggle for businesses, becoming increasingly more difficult to navigate with the increase of millennial and Gen Z employees. You will need to ensure that your dress code clearly spells out what is acceptable workplace attire without violating federal anti-discrimination laws.
  • Workplace behavior rules are used to explain expectations for how employees treat, interact with, and get along with coworkers, customers, and the appropriate use of language in the workplace. Make clear to your employees the type of behaviors that are and are not acceptable.
  • Productivity and work ethic rules lay out expectations for how an employee performs their duties, along with specific benchmarks. This section of your handbook should also address tardiness and excessive absences.
  • Typically, illegal behavior, such as theft, illegal drug use, intoxication, or violence, are considered grounds for immediate termination, whether or not you use a progressive discipline process.

Don’t leave your company open to liability. By spelling out your expectations, in writing, and having your employees sign the employee handbook that these rules are located in, you can help to reduce your exposure to litigation resulting from disciplinary action or termination.

Train managers

Your managers are on the front line of employee disciplinary action. Proper training will ensure that your managers understand the importance of disciplining all employees in the same manner to prevent legal action for unequal treatment. While management styles may vary, disciplinary policies must be standardized.

Consistency is key when it comes to disciplinary policies. To ensure that all of your managers are applying discipline fairly across the board:

  • Hold regular manager training, and make discipline policy review a prominent part.
  • Pay attention to disciplinary issues to be sure all employees are having the same experience.
  • Have a common form for all managers and departments to use when they write up an employee for a disciplinary infraction, if you use written notices as part of the process. Be sure they fill out the form in full.
  • Have a system which allows you to easily review disciplinary write-ups.
  • Pay attention during employee reviews for hints that there are issues with equal treatment of employees by different managers. Make it a point to ask about this issue.
  • Discipline your managers if they fail to uphold your policies.

Select your disciplinary methods

Disciplinary methods can vary from company to company. Some companies elect a punitive approach to discipline, while others choose rehabilitative approaches. Your program should be based on what you think will work best for your company, as well as what your management team is comfortable using.

  • Progressive discipline allows employers to escalate disciplinary strategies if an employee fails to correct an issue. Many employers find this strategy to be very effective and it can provide some protection from legal action. In some states, progressive discipline policies may pose a roadblock to immediate termination of an employee, no matter the circumstances. If you elect to use progressive discipline strategies, you will need to ensure that your employee handbook clarifies the circumstances that lead to progressive action, as well as those that will result in immediate termination.
  • Training and performance improvement plans are rehabilitative approaches that focus on preserving the employment relationship. Performance improvement plans (PIPs) may have check-in points and measurable goals.
  • Reassignments or suspensions are typically reserved for significant behavioral issues or severe conflicts. Allowing the employee to be removed from the situation without termination, reassignments and suspensions often involve retraining and other can lead to punitive measures if the desired outcome is not achieved.

Let Sheakley help you develop your policy

Accredited by Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC), Certification Institute, and backed by a $3 million Employment Practices Liability Insurance policy, Sheakley’s 120 years of combined PEO experience and expertise are unrivaled in the industry. As your company continues to grow and become subject to more stringent labor laws, Sheakley’s PEO experts can help you develop disciplinary measures that will help keep you company compliant.

Schedule your free consultation with a Sheakley PEO professional today. For more in-depth information about PEOs, download our What is a PEO e-book today. Stay up-to-date on all things Sheakley by subscribing to our blog and following us on social media. Join in the discussion by commenting below.


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