STAFF MANAGEMENT - 22.01.2009

Dealing with a bad attitude

Having a grumble

All employees will, at some point, have the odd moan, but occasionally you may get one (or more) who take their complaints to the extreme. Such behaviour can be both frustrating and time-consuming to deal with. And if it’s not managed properly, it can have a detrimental effect on other employees: damaging team spirit and, in more serious cases, productivity. So how can you limit these effects, and can extreme behaviour ever justify dismissal?

Spell it out

If you have an employee who has a regular moan, don’t assume that you can’t do anything about it. Poor attitude is a management issue and your long-suffering staff won’t thank you for failing to act. So the next time they start, call them in for an informal chat. Explain the negative effect that their behaviour is having on everyone and make it clear that it must stop. Unless they can provide a good explanation, e.g. domestic problems, tell them that further occurrences will be dealt with as misconduct and will be subject to your disciplinary procedures.

Tip. At this stage don’t go any further, as you’ll risk turning an informal chat into a disciplinary hearing with all the attendant procedures.

But there’s no improvement

At this point, most serial whingers will buck up their ideas. However, if this employee fails to take the hint and it continues, don’t waste time. Instead, take the following steps:

Step 1. Invoke your disciplinary procedure. At the hearing, give examples of their behaviour and link it to any adverse effect that it’s having on your business and other members of staff.

Step 2. Next, decide on the outcome and any sanctions that will be imposed on the employee. A first written warning may be appropriate as they’ve already had a chance to improve their behaviour following the informal chat.

Step 3. Set out the improvements you want to see and details as to the level of behaviour you expect in future. Give timescales for this to be made by.

Step 4. If there’s no sustained improvement, progress through the disciplinary process as normal. Make it clear that dismissal could be a future option.

Any reason for it? At every stage of the process ask the employee if there’s any mitigation that they think you should consider. This may sound like overkill, but it will make it harder for them to succeed in a subsequent claim against you.

Tweak your procedures

Unless the behaviour is extreme, the idea of a “poor” or “negative” attitude can be very subjective. So investigate thoroughly in order to provide examples of its detrimental impact on other staff.

For a free sample poor attitude clause to insert in your employment contracts, visit http://personnel.indicator.co.uk (PS 11.02.06).