This means that your employees have legal rights that allow them to challenge the way they are treated in relation to performance issues.
We have developed a clear program that supports you to:
- Understand the legal risks involved in managing under performance
- Develop a legally effective performance management process; and
- Put other relevant policies and procedures in place to minimise your legal risk when managing underperforming employees
Step One:
To effectively and legally manage an employees performance, you must be able to understand whether you are dealing with underperformance or misconduct.
Examples;
- Failure to meet sales targets
- Inability to properly communicate to customers or employees
- Failure to meet deadlines
- Failure to perform required tasks to an acceptable standard, eg writing letters poorly with spelling mistakes when letter writing is a large part of the job; and
- failure to complete required paperwork.
Misconduct usually involves deliberate or intentional behaviour in contravention of a particular standard of conduct or behaviour in the workplace.
For example;
- sexual harassment;
- issuing false medical certificates;
- consistent absenteeism; and
- working in an intoxicated state.
Managing under performance incorrectly can result in legal action being taken against you. Employees have four key statutory protections available to them;
- Unfair dismissal
- general protections
- anti-discrimination laws
- the Fair Work Act anti-bullying scheme
Flowchart on whether your employee can make an unfair dismissal claim