How to Write Up an Employee: 11 Common Situations

As a manager or leader in your organization, you want all employees to display kind, respectful, and responsible behavior at all times. However, you also know this doesn’t always happen. Disciplinary action is no leader’s favorite part of the job, but it’s necessary to provide a safe workplace and uphold your company's values.

If you’ve yet to write up an employee it may seem daunting. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be. It’s possible to write up an employee and preserve their dignity, promoting a safe and productive culture for all.

When the time comes, you can use this guide to help you think clearly and enact discipline in a fair and organized way.

11 Common Reasons to Write Up an Employee

The reasons employees get written up in your company will depend on your cultural norms, values, and policies. These are some common behaviors that many HR managers deem unacceptable and worthy of a write-up.

Absenteeism and Tardiness

An employee being late to work once a year is likely no big deal to you. However, when employees are repeatedly late or aren’t showing up for work regularly, absenteeism can impact the team’s productivity and may warrant further action.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a serious issue. It harms your employees, erodes your values, and can be a huge compliance risk. It’s illegal for employers to allow sexual harassment to go unaddressed, so it’s crucial that you take care of these kinds of situations right away.

Insubordination

While employees are autonomous beings, it's important that they follow instructions from managers and adhere to the rules and codes established in the workplace.

When employees are insubordinate, it can jeopardize progress toward the end goal or overall mission. If you don’t deal with insubordination promptly, it may signal to other employees that management’s word doesn’t need to be respected.

Poor Behavior

When an employee is rude to a coworker, shows signs of hostility, bullies others, or refuses to take responsibility for mistakes, it must be addressed. Respond to this behavior right away to protect all employees and avoid bringing down morale.

Productivity or Work Quality

Sometimes, it’s not an employee’s behavior that’s creating an issue. They simply aren’t producing enough work, or the work they’re doing isn’t up to your quality standards. Knowing how to write up an employee for poor performance the right way communicates that quality and productivity are important to you and to the company as a whole.

Dress Code

Whether working in person or remotely, employees should not dress in a way that’s unprofessional or distracts others. Addressing this issue ensures everyone on your team maintains a professional appearance in accordance with your company’s specific codes and policies.

Acceptable Use Violations

Employees need to know that what they do on their work devices matters. Visiting inappropriate websites, using the network for personal business, surfing social media, and engaging in illicit activity on the web can all impact productivity and overall network safety.

Substance Use

Your employees should know that alcohol and drug use at work is unacceptable. In some professions, it’s also prohibited on an employee’s personal time, and a positive screening may be grounds for disciplinary action.

Safety Violations

As an employer, you care about the safety of your employees. Safety violations not only put your staff in danger but can also be costly for the business. It’s critical that employees commit to following all safety standards to keep themselves and others out of harm’s way.

Threats and Violence

Making threats or acting violently toward other employees should never be tolerated in the workplace. All employees deserve to be free of danger when they come to work, and letting employees know that you take these behaviors seriously will ensure that is the case.

Discrimination

Discrimination is not only unfair to victims but also illegal in the workplace. Make sure you comply with anti-discrimination labor laws by promptly responding to any claims that discrimination may be happening in your workplace.

How to Write Up an Employee

Employee write-ups aren’t a fun part of your role as a manager or supervisor, so it’s helpful to have a plan in place that helps you through the process. Knowing what information to include, what to leave out, and how to organize all of it will make your job easier and allow you to focus on preserving your employees’ dignity.

What to Include in an Employee Write-Up

Creating thorough employee write-ups is vital. When documenting unacceptable work or behavior, make sure to include all pertinent information:

• Basic information about the employee, such as their name, title, and employee number
• The name of the supervisor reporting the information
• The type of infraction incurred (e.g., insubordination, violence, or substance abuse)
• Specific details of the incident, including time, location, and witnesses
• Eyewitness statements
• A copy of the official workplace policy that was violated
• A detailed plan of action for how the employee should course correct. This should include specific actions to be taken and dates for follow-up
• An explanation of consequences if behavior or work quality does not change
• Signatures from the employee, supervisor, and HR manager

Having this information present ensures clear communication with the employee and helps you stay fair and organized throughout the process.

What to Avoid in an Employee Write-up

A write-up is serious for any employee. Often, it will become a permanent part of their record while they work for your company. Depending on the offense, it may become part of a larger investigation. To avoid jeopardizing the disciplinary process, keep the following in mind:

• Don’t write up an employee when emotions are running high, as this can cloud your judgment.
• The employee shouldn’t be notified of a disciplinary action for the first time over the phone, by email, or in a written notice.
• Always include documentation of written policy to make expectations clear.
• Set clear expectations and a plan of action for improvement and follow-up.
• Include next steps or consequences if the behavior doesn’t improve.
• Allow the employee to tell their side of the story.
• Provide the employee with the support they need to correct the behavior, especially if it’s a result of a disability and accommodations are needed.
• Always keep a paper copy for yourself in the employee’s file or provide them with one.
• Follow up on the expected date to indicate whether the changes made were satisfactory.

Above all, remember that the ultimate goal is to help the employee correct the behavior and get back on track for the team’s sake. These guidelines can help you remain fair and objective when disciplining any employee.

Creating a Form to Write Up an Employee

A form for employee write-ups can help you stay organized and ensure complete recordkeeping. Every organization’s official form will be different.

Having a form to write up an employee allows you to make a written record of the offense. This provides formal notice for the employee and allows you to have a record of the disciplinary action in case the company needs to defend itself from a wrongful termination lawsuit. A formalized write-up process can also protect employees from unequal treatment.

Using a Write-Up to Improve Employee Performance

In a perfect world, all employees would maintain strict adherence to policy. However, that isn’t always the case.

When employee behavior violates policies or negatively impacts others and the work environment, it’s important to address it right away. Sometimes, a formal write-up serves as motivation to a struggling employee to re-engage appropriately in the workplace. At the very least, it can help start a conversation about what’s going on and how you can help them get back on track.

When you do have to write up an employee, ensure that you stay objective. Furthermore, you should always focus on the main goal, which is to ensure employees do the right thing and to help underperforming employees succeed. When your employees do well and display appropriate behavior, your entire organization thrives as well.