How Should We Handle an Employee's Denial of Misconduct After a Client Incident?

Hi,

One of our employees has misbehaved at our client's office after drinking. We have given him a letter mentioning that 15 days' salary will not be paid to him as his penalty. Now, this person has given an explanation that he is innocent and has not committed any such misconduct. But it is not true.

Now, how can we implement this action against him? Please advise.

Thanks & regards,
Shraboni

Hi Ghosh,

There are many cases where employees behave unprofessionally at clients' places and also within the company. If such a situation occurs, employers should discuss it with the employee to understand what exactly happened. Company policy should be applied in deciding whether to terminate the employee or to first meet with the client's manager and then take further steps.

Thanks,
Kuwar

Dear Shraboni,

I am sorry to say that as per the Principles of Natural Justice, you cannot take any action against any employee unless you give the accused a proper hearing to defend himself from the allegations made against him. As there is no law guiding employment terms and conditions for Management Cadre, companies often misuse the power that lies with them. Your action is one such example. The whole action is both unethical and unlawful. It is like hanging a person for murder without going through any courtroom trials.

The right procedure will be to issue a letter (Show Cause Letter) to him asking him to give an explanation. In case of an unsatisfactory reply, you can proceed with Disciplinary Actions. One last thing, arbitrary deduction of salary is seen as a process of accumulating illegal funds in doing business and can be treated as a criminal offense.

Regards, SC

Hi,

I agree with SC. I think we should first issue a memo with the date, venue, and time of the hearing, which should include a panel of people not involved in the incident and listen to their comments. If there are instances that show the employee misbehaved, then he can be given a show cause asking for an explanation. If the explanation is not satisfactory, we can proceed with further action by conveying the findings of the hearing to the employee.

Hi,

There is a process for initiating disciplinary action against erring employees. It starts with issuing a Show Cause Notice, deliberating on the response of the employee to the show cause notice, appointing an Arbitrator, holding an enquiry, deliberating on the findings of the enquiry, deciding on action for the employee, and intimating the employee of such action. As the Supreme Court said - following the principles of natural justice.

I'm just curious, did the complaint come from the client? I would find out a little more about the client as part of the investigation.

Hope this is helpful.

Regards,
Ryan

Shraboni,

Please check your code of conduct; there might be something regarding the punishment for employee misconduct mentioned. I hope that Shraboni wishes to address this issue outside of legal proceedings. In that case, simply begin by issuing a memo and requesting a written explanation, which can serve as proof in the future.

However, drinking and coming to the work environment is crossing the line, so it's better to terminate that individual. The most important task for every HR professional is to establish a code of conduct and distribute it to all employees so that they are aware of the consequences.

Siva Prasad Manager HR.

Dear all,

In my organization, I issue a memo by requesting an explanation with a specific date, venue, and time for a hearing. The panel for the hearing should consist of individuals both uninvolved and involved to listen, observe, and provide comments.

If the explanation provided is unsatisfactory (must be so), the individual should be asked to write a letter acknowledging the issue and committing to not repeating it in the future. If the situation does not allow for this, we will follow the code of conduct clause as per our policy.

It is true that there is no permanent solution for every case. The outcome depends on the nature of the misbehavior, the culture of the country, the policies of the company, the tolerance of the HR head, and last but not least, the head of the organization.

Anju

You cannot take any action against any employee before holding an inquiry. During the inquiry, you can place the employee on suspension, and during the suspension period, he is entitled to receive 50% of his wages. Do everything in writing so that tomorrow he doesn't back off. Issue a show cause notice, seek an explanation, and issue a letter stating you are not satisfied with his explanation. As such, management has decided to deduct 15 days' salary as a first-time excuse, and if the act is repeated, he may result in losing his job.