Dear All,
Advice from a senior is required on the below case. An employee has been working for an IT software company in Bangalore for the past 4 years. The Team Leader (TL) and the HR have issued the employee a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).
Queries:
1. Can the PIP be issued to an employee for a duration of less than a month?
2. Can a PIP be issued directly without prior warnings?
3. During a PIP, what is the role of the TL? Should the TL provide training and coaching?
4. Can other team members help/coach the employee who has been issued a PIP?
5. Is there any labor law pertaining to this in Karnataka?
Awaiting your reply at mariam.neetha@gmail.com.
Regards,
Mary
From India, Bangalore
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2Advice from a senior is required on the below case. An employee has been working for an IT software company in Bangalore for the past 4 years. The Team Leader (TL) and the HR have issued the employee a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).
Queries:
1. Can the PIP be issued to an employee for a duration of less than a month?
2. Can a PIP be issued directly without prior warnings?
3. During a PIP, what is the role of the TL? Should the TL provide training and coaching?
4. Can other team members help/coach the employee who has been issued a PIP?
5. Is there any labor law pertaining to this in Karnataka?
Awaiting your reply at mariam.neetha@gmail.com.
Regards,
Mary
From India, Bangalore
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Dear Mary,
Paragraph-wise replies to your query are as below:
1. Can the PIP be issued to an employee for a duration of less than a month?
Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) follows after below normal ratings in Performance Appraisal (PA) or Performance Review (PR). Organizations do not wish to terminate employees because of poor performance; hence, PIP comes into the picture.
2. Can a PIP be issued directly without prior warnings?
Ratings in PA are the cause of PIP. In some organizations, the PA system is absolutely transparent. The assessee or appraisee comes to know immediately what the rating is and what the outcome would be for that rating.
3. During a PIP, what is the role of the TL? Should the TL provide training and coaching?
Ideally, yes, because the performance of a team member is the performance of the team. Therefore, the TL should invest his/her time in training and coaching.
4. Can other team members help/coach the employee who has been issued a PIP?
Yes, voluntarily they can do so.
5. Is there any labor law pertaining to this in Karnataka?
Labor laws have nothing to do with the internal administration of the company. Labor laws deal with broad subjects like absenteeism, discipline or indiscipline, working hours, and principles of natural justice.
Dinesh V Divekar
"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance."
From India, Bangalore
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Paragraph-wise replies to your query are as below:
1. Can the PIP be issued to an employee for a duration of less than a month?
Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) follows after below normal ratings in Performance Appraisal (PA) or Performance Review (PR). Organizations do not wish to terminate employees because of poor performance; hence, PIP comes into the picture.
2. Can a PIP be issued directly without prior warnings?
Ratings in PA are the cause of PIP. In some organizations, the PA system is absolutely transparent. The assessee or appraisee comes to know immediately what the rating is and what the outcome would be for that rating.
3. During a PIP, what is the role of the TL? Should the TL provide training and coaching?
Ideally, yes, because the performance of a team member is the performance of the team. Therefore, the TL should invest his/her time in training and coaching.
4. Can other team members help/coach the employee who has been issued a PIP?
Yes, voluntarily they can do so.
5. Is there any labor law pertaining to this in Karnataka?
Labor laws have nothing to do with the internal administration of the company. Labor laws deal with broad subjects like absenteeism, discipline or indiscipline, working hours, and principles of natural justice.
Dinesh V Divekar
"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance."
From India, Bangalore
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Thank you, Dinesh.
I have heard all my HR managers mention that we should give three chances for an employee to show his performance improvement, and this has to be documented. Documentation is important as he can file a case against the company. Is this true?
Regards,
Mary
From India, Bangalore
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I have heard all my HR managers mention that we should give three chances for an employee to show his performance improvement, and this has to be documented. Documentation is important as he can file a case against the company. Is this true?
Regards,
Mary
From India, Bangalore
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Dear Mary,
The number of chances depends on the PA or PR cycle. If it is quarterly, then three chances are okay, but if it is half-yearly, then two chances are more than sufficient. Once you put an employee under a PIP, intimation to the employee for the reasons of the PIP is important. When the employee's performance still does not improve, then give a warning letter and let the PIP continue. In the warning letter, mention what efforts the organization has taken to improve his performance, such as the number of hours invested in training or coaching, etc.
Before termination, it is highly recommended to conduct a domestic inquiry. If during the inquiry, the employee's disinclination is proved, then management may terminate the employee or take any other action like demotion, withholding increments, etc.
If the domestic inquiry is conducted and it is proved that the inquiry was not vitiated, then courts generally do not interfere because the principles of natural justice are followed.
Ok...
Dinesh V Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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The number of chances depends on the PA or PR cycle. If it is quarterly, then three chances are okay, but if it is half-yearly, then two chances are more than sufficient. Once you put an employee under a PIP, intimation to the employee for the reasons of the PIP is important. When the employee's performance still does not improve, then give a warning letter and let the PIP continue. In the warning letter, mention what efforts the organization has taken to improve his performance, such as the number of hours invested in training or coaching, etc.
Before termination, it is highly recommended to conduct a domestic inquiry. If during the inquiry, the employee's disinclination is proved, then management may terminate the employee or take any other action like demotion, withholding increments, etc.
If the domestic inquiry is conducted and it is proved that the inquiry was not vitiated, then courts generally do not interfere because the principles of natural justice are followed.
Ok...
Dinesh V Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Thank you again.
The PA is annual, and the PR is quarterly. There have been no warning letters at all.
Here's a little more detail:
The TL has been bullying the employee by publicly belittling them for minor errors, micromanaging, avoiding assigning tasks and responsibilities, and discriminating against them.
The TL has also instructed other team members to 'stay away' from the employee, not help with any doubts, keep an eye out, and report back when the employee is not around.
The employee reported the bullying to the TL's manager and HR, but no action was taken. Since then, the TL has been retaliating against the employee, especially after learning about the reports made.
The TL has shown displeasure when the manager appreciated the employee's previous work, despite the TL's own subpar performance. The TL has been overly critical of the employee for minor errors.
The employee's last performance rating was 'fully met.'
The PIP was issued on June 25th, stating a 30-day duration, but the employee was informed only two days ago that it ends on July 16th. The PIP, in a Word document without the company logo, lists 'Came late for meeting...' as an area for improvement.
My questions:
1. Can a PIP be presented in a Word document without the company logo instead of a PDF on the company letterhead?
2. Can the employee be terminated on the last day of the PIP (July 16th)?
3. Can the employee seek severance pay after working with the company for over 4 years? If yes, how is severance pay calculated?
4. What legal options does the employee have?
Apologies for the numerous questions, and thank you for your valuable answers.
From India, Bangalore
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The PA is annual, and the PR is quarterly. There have been no warning letters at all.
Here's a little more detail:
The TL has been bullying the employee by publicly belittling them for minor errors, micromanaging, avoiding assigning tasks and responsibilities, and discriminating against them.
The TL has also instructed other team members to 'stay away' from the employee, not help with any doubts, keep an eye out, and report back when the employee is not around.
The employee reported the bullying to the TL's manager and HR, but no action was taken. Since then, the TL has been retaliating against the employee, especially after learning about the reports made.
The TL has shown displeasure when the manager appreciated the employee's previous work, despite the TL's own subpar performance. The TL has been overly critical of the employee for minor errors.
The employee's last performance rating was 'fully met.'
The PIP was issued on June 25th, stating a 30-day duration, but the employee was informed only two days ago that it ends on July 16th. The PIP, in a Word document without the company logo, lists 'Came late for meeting...' as an area for improvement.
My questions:
1. Can a PIP be presented in a Word document without the company logo instead of a PDF on the company letterhead?
2. Can the employee be terminated on the last day of the PIP (July 16th)?
3. Can the employee seek severance pay after working with the company for over 4 years? If yes, how is severance pay calculated?
4. What legal options does the employee have?
Apologies for the numerous questions, and thank you for your valuable answers.
From India, Bangalore
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Dear Mary,
I do not know what type of industry you are in, but let me assume it is something like IT or BPO.
The issue with new industries is that they have moved away from traditional Personnel Management but have not fully embraced HR Management. The problems you mentioned could be resolved either with effective Personnel Management or HR Management. It seems you are in a grey area.
Responses to your questions are as follows:
Can a PIP be given in a Word document without the company logo instead of a PDF on the company letterhead?
In addition to a Word document, if the email is sent to the employee, then it is valid as per the law.
Can the employee be terminated on the last day of the PIP (July 16th)?
Terminating an employee without conducting a domestic enquiry is illegal. PIP holds no legal merit.
Can the employee seek severance pay? The employee has been with the company for over 4 years now. If yes, how is the severance pay calculated?
If the employee is terminated, they can request severance pay.
What legal options does the employee have?
Click here to read the reply to my previous post. You can also click here to read another response.
Dinesh V Divekar
From India, Bangalore
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
I do not know what type of industry you are in, but let me assume it is something like IT or BPO.
The issue with new industries is that they have moved away from traditional Personnel Management but have not fully embraced HR Management. The problems you mentioned could be resolved either with effective Personnel Management or HR Management. It seems you are in a grey area.
Responses to your questions are as follows:
Can a PIP be given in a Word document without the company logo instead of a PDF on the company letterhead?
In addition to a Word document, if the email is sent to the employee, then it is valid as per the law.
Can the employee be terminated on the last day of the PIP (July 16th)?
Terminating an employee without conducting a domestic enquiry is illegal. PIP holds no legal merit.
Can the employee seek severance pay? The employee has been with the company for over 4 years now. If yes, how is the severance pay calculated?
If the employee is terminated, they can request severance pay.
What legal options does the employee have?
Click here to read the reply to my previous post. You can also click here to read another response.
Dinesh V Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Performance Improvement Plan.doc