Need Help with a Show-Cause Notice Template for Employee Discipline Issues?

Hi friends,

I have to issue a show-cause notice to my employee for a lack of discipline at work. Could you please send me a template for the same?

Cheers, Rakhi Rajadhyaksha.

Hi,

Below is a format of a warning letter:

***

Subject: Absence from work without informing

Kind Attention: Mr. ABC (Project Engineer)

This has come to our notice that you have not been coming to the office since 08.02.07 without informing your Department Head or any other person. Please show cause for the reason for such prolonged absence. You are hereby requested to respond to this letter either telephonically or personally within 15 days. Failure to do so will lead to the presumption that you have nothing to say on this matter, and disciplinary actions will be taken against you as per company policy.

For (Company Name) XYZ

I have corrected the spelling and grammar errors and adjusted the paragraph formatting for better readability. Let me know if you need any more assistance.

I think that you have to do a "cause and effect" analysis which would require some investigation (interviews with supervisors and managers) as to their problems relating to productivity, efficiency, and morale resulting from a lack of discipline.

I would suspect that absenteeism and tardiness/leaving early are major problems. In such cases, supervisors have to realign the workflow so that priority work, done by the absent employee, continues and meets delivery dates as well as customer expectations. When the primary employee is absent, the supervisor must assign an employee with limited knowledge to the task, usually resulting in less than optimum quality, increased costs (time, rejection, re-work, etc.), and potential customer dissatisfaction.

Similarly, when an employee is late, the same scenario faces the supervisor - production. When the employee finally arrives, the supervisor is faced with another dilemma - allow the tardy employee back to the regular workstation, reassign to another, perhaps lower-paying task, or send the tardy employee home since all tasks have been covered.

The "cause" - absenteeism; the "effect" - lower productivity, higher costs.

Likewise, where poor performance on the job has been allowed to continue without counseling or discipline (warning, time off, and eventually termination), it has the effect of disparaging the supervisor's authority and soon becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Cause: Poor job performance; Effect: Chaos.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

PALADIN
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Dear Rakhi,

Show-cause doesn't have specific formats. It depends on a case-by-case basis. You have to draft a show cause notice based on the actual facts, reports submitted by the reporting officer, time, and the damage caused to the particular subject. The language should be as simple as possible. If issuing to workers, then you may have to translate it into their mother tongue or the language understood by them.

In case you are doing translation, you should insert this line at the top or bottom of the letter as follows: "For official purposes, the letter dated... reference no.... issued to you will be held valid for all purposes. This is a simple translation of the aforementioned letter issued to you."

It is advisable to show your show cause notice to your company labor advisors before issuing them because in many cases, the show cause notice becomes the basic document for further disciplinary action.

After issuing a show cause, you have to complete the cycle by closing the case, creating necessary records, and keeping a copy in the employee's personal file for future references. In case the employee admits guilt, then you can close the case with a stern warning.

I am enclosing a draft of a show cause and warning letter for your reference. You can use it for different subject purposes as explained above.

I hope that you will find my inputs useful for your needs.

Regards,

Ashish

Hi,

There is no prescribed format for such a show cause, but the procedures are as follows:

1. A show cause notice should be based on the basic complaint. You should obtain a complaint letter from the HOD/Supervisor/reporting person of the erring employee. The basic complaint should be very accurate and should not have any ambiguity. It should include the name of the erring employee, their work location, details of the misconduct, time/shift of the misconduct, whether anyone else is aware of the misconduct, whether this is the first instance of such behavior, and the repercussions of the misconduct.

2. After receiving the basic complaint, the show cause letter should be prepared by rephrasing the basic complaint in indirect speech. Mention under which clause of your HR Manual/Standing Orders/Service Rules the misconduct falls, and request an explanation to be submitted within a specified time frame. When issuing the show cause letter, include a copy of the basic complaint.

Thanks,

Michael Nicholas