How to Handle a Senior Developer's Rejection of a Warning Letter in a Small IT Firm?

Hello, I am currently facing a challenge. I work in an IT firm as the HR Manager. The issue I'm having is one of the "senior" developers has been performing poorly for some time, but the management has been making excuses for him and keeping him on board for sentimental reasons as he is one of the longest-serving staff.

New Managing Director's Perspective

Recently, we got a new Managing Director who feels his performance has been unsatisfactory over time due to complaints from the Project Manager and Line Manager.

Warning Letter and Employee's Response

The staff in question was given a warning letter about his unsatisfactory performance. Not only did he refuse to acknowledge the letter, he kept on arguing that his work is top-notch and he was being witch-hunted. The letter is currently with me as he did not sign it, and my line manager (the Managing Director) has traveled out of the country. Please, what should I do next?

My company is a small company with a staff strength of 22.

Thank you

In the Indian context, if I were to provide a response, I would mention the Standing Orders Act. Actions taken under the provisions of standing orders are always legally valid. Do you have a similar law in your country?

There are a few things you have not mentioned in your post. Firstly, do you have a policy on employee discipline? If so, have you defined "misconduct"? Not accepting official communication is considered "misconduct" in itself, and this type of misconduct also warrants separate action.

Secondly, regarding the wording or draft of the warning letter, have you included under-performance in measurable terms? Additionally, have you communicated to the employee what performance was expected within a specific timeframe? How was this communicated, and was it accepted by the employee? Did you issue the warning letter with reference to this communication, or was the warning letter based on assumptions?

Please provide further clarification on your post. Better suggestions can be offered once more details are shared.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Thank you for the response. We do not have a Standing Orders Act here, and what we have in the company is the 'Disciplinary Process' itself, not a policy per se. His poor performance has been communicated verbally to him on several occasions by his Line Manager and the Managing Director, but after speaking with him today, he said nobody has brought anything about his performance to his notice. No warning letter has been issued to date, and it was based on things that were identified and things he could do to improve. I'm thinking there may be a need to have a meeting with him, his line manager, and the project manager.

Cheers

A warning letter informing an employee of poor performance is a communication from management about their performance. It is not related to indiscipline or misconduct. However, refusing to accept a written communication, duly signed by a competent authority of management, is an act of indiscipline. You have the following alternatives.

1. Call the employee to your cabin. Invite two more colleagues into your cabin. Offer the communication to the concerned employee and ask them to acknowledge it by signing a copy of the letter. If they refuse, make an endorsement on the copy and obtain the signatures of two colleagues as witnesses. This can be filed in their personal file.

2. Take two additional copies of the communication: one copy can be sent to their last known address as well as their permanent address by Registered Post Acknowledgment Due, and one copy to be sent under Certificate of Posting. Endorsement by postal authorities for UPC and receipt for sending the letter by RPAD should be filed in the original in their personal file.

3. Display on Notice Board

Simultaneously, a copy of the above letter can also be displayed on the Notice Board of the company.

By adopting the above method, even if they refuse to accept the communication from you, it is deemed to have been accepted by them.

Thus, build up their case for future action.

Thanks

Regards,
R K Nair

Absolutely correct. I am adding a slight modification to the process:

If the employee refuses to accept the warning letter (which is not a punishment in any case), endorse it, get it signed by two other employees, and display it on the Notice Board. This will be considered as serving the employee.

The copy should be sent to the local and permanent address as declared in the personal files of the company.

OR

The company can charge-sheet the employee as per the certified SO/DO and serve him in the above two ways if he still disagrees to be served.

Thanks & Regards

Please ensure that you document all instances of non-performance or poor performance by employees in writing. You can do this by requesting their reporting manager to provide an email detailing the issues.

Once you have accumulated at least three emails over a period of, for example, two months (or any suitable timeframe that is both convenient and fair), proceed to issue a formal letter signed by HR. In this letter, you should highlight the previous instances of poor performance. Alternatively, you can opt to speak with the employee privately to explain verbally the seriousness of the issue. Make it clear that without improvement, further action will be taken.

Additionally, make sure to follow the steps outlined by R. Nair, and seek appropriate legal guidance when drafting the letter.

Regards,

He may be communicated with regarding his performance over a period in clear, measurable terms and asked for his reply regarding his own assessment. Then, a review discussion on his performance may be held with the line manager and project manager. If he does not improve, a penalty as per your laid-down policy may be imposed.

Steps to Handle Unacknowledged Warning Letters

1. Ask him to acknowledge by signing the copy of the letter with two more employees as witnesses with equal or higher cadre. If he refuses, make an endorsement on the copy and obtain the signatures of two colleagues as witnesses. You can then file this in his personal record.

Otherwise, send a letter to his postal address with the acknowledgment and keep a copy in his personal file. Additionally, display a copy of the letter on the Notice Board of the company.

As soon as possible, establish standing orders or HR policies for your organization.

Handling Employee Misconduct: Refusal to Acknowledge Communication

As an employee, he must accept the letter, change sheet, or any other communication issued to him. Refusing to accept it constitutes misconduct that is detrimental to discipline.

You can prevent him from entering duty at security and ask him to accept the letter. If he accepts it, allow him to proceed with his duties. Otherwise, ask him to leave.

If he behaves in an undisciplined manner, you will need to handle the situation accordingly.

I have a small suggestion and am not sure about the legality of the same. Whatever seniors have told you is correct, but before proceeding with all of those steps, try this simple one. Send an official warning or show cause email from your email address, addressing the mentioned employee, and cc your top management (including the MD). Make sure to set a delivery report as well as a read receipt. Hopefully, this may work out.

Regards,
Deepak

Adding to all the comments already given above, with respect to issuing a letter documenting objectively the criteria of non-performance, you can also send it to his email (both company ID and personal ID). There is an option in Outlook to notify when the mail was delivered, opened/read. The mail server will keep a log of all actions of the recipient like forward, read, delete, etc. This will be additional proof of the interaction and will be faster.

Handling Employee Issues in Nigeria

Please don't just answer the thread without reading the original question. The issue relates to an employee in Nigeria, Lagos. The work culture and labor laws differ significantly.

To Chinni, you need to first check your contract with the employee and take action. If the employee is a native, exercise double caution in dealing with them. Do so with a lot of care. You know what I mean. Here is a link for your help: http://www.proshareng.com/articles/2...ployment-Law--

Good luck.

Regards,
Ukmitra

Issuing a warning letter for poor performance of an employee is not the right thing. If I were in your place, I would send a letter stating his poor performances with specific instances and evidence. If he denies accepting, send it to his postal address by speed post with AD.

Understanding the Role of HR in Performance Management

The role of an HR professional is to understand and analyze the reasons for his poor performance. The reasons may stem from the organization or from his personal side. The best approach is to talk with him in a friendly manner, understand the reasons, and his response. Then, you both can take corrective measures together. He should be given a fair chance to improve his performance.

Sometimes, HR needs to think and act out of the box as well.

Regards.

In my view, you can send him a registered AD post letter which mentions everything, including the steps you are going to take and, of course, the reasons. If he does not reply after that, you can send another 2-3 warning letters. The final letter should also mention the final steps.

Thanks,
Darshak Mehta