How Should We Address Past Misconduct by a Vice President in Our Company?

Dear Experts,

I have joined a new company (Pvt. Ltd. Co.) that was started by nine Founder Directors. Currently, only four Founder Directors visit the factory regularly. Until 2008, a Consultant guided the Directors and Senior Management Staff. Subsequently, a Core Team was formed by the Founder Directors.

Issues with Mr. VP, Vice President

One of the Founder Directors wants the Board/HR to initiate action against Mr. VP, a Vice President of the company, on the following issues:

a. Falsification of Attendance Register (2006-07)
Mr. VP did not attend the office on a particular day but subsequently signed the Attendance Register as present. There is no memo or notice issued to this effect in Mr. VP's personal file.

b. Share Trading During Office Hours (2010-11)
The Founder Director reports that Mr. VP has been using the office internet facility for share trading during office hours, with proof provided by the System Admin.

c. Arrogance During Discussion (2015)
During one of the discussions in 2015, Mr. VP reportedly replied arrogantly.

d. Working in an Inebriated Condition (2015-16)
Employees, including Mr. VP, worked continuously for more than 16 hours per day for a week to complete a task. On the last day, they planned to have drinks after the customer left. However, the customer returned unexpectedly, and the employees, including Mr. VP, had consumed alcohol before returning to the factory.

e. Lack of Cordial Relationships Leading to a Suicidal Attempt
It is reported that an employee under Mr. VP attempted suicide, writing a note against a few Managers. The Founder Director intervened at the hospital to prevent police harassment of the Managers. There are no HR records on this issue.

f. Lack of Motivation for Employees
The Founder Directors report that 60% of the employees under Mr. VP are unhappy with him.

The Founder Director believes that Mr. VP's actions are unethical and unacceptable by any standards. He feels this behavior is counterproductive and suggests a lack of checks and balances in the company.

Company Overview and Mr. VP's Career Growth

The company has over 200 employees, with 85 reporting to Mr. VP. His career progression is as follows:

- 8th December 2003: Joined as Manager
- June 2008: Promoted to Senior Manager
- May 2010: Promoted to Deputy General Manager
- June 2011: Promoted to Vice President

Expert guidance is sought on the above issues.

Regards,

I am a little surprised at your post. Notwithstanding misconducts, why was action not initiated immediately? What was the hold-up? Nevertheless, paragraph-wise replies to your post are as below:

Points (a) and (b): These are too old. Why was action not taken at that time itself? Notwithstanding this misconduct, why was the said person promoted to a senior level in 2010?

Point (c): Why was a show cause notice not issued immediately?

Point (d): If a few workers were found working in inebriated conditions, why was a domestic enquiry not conducted at that time? By the way, which law permits workers to work for 16 hours? Who is responsible for the transgression of the Factories Act?

Points (e) and (f): This is the management style of the individual, and it cannot be construed as "misconduct" as such.

Final Comments: Overall, I find the failure of the management style of the Founder-Director more concerning than the behavior of the VP. All along, the VP was in the good books of the Founder-Director, and now the VP is in the bad books. For the progress of the company, these whims and fancies do not work.

The VP was unfit to be promoted to this level, yet he has been given promotions. At this stage, the Founder-Director can very well call him into his office and tell the VP to put in his papers. To lay the groundwork for the mistakes that have happened in the last week or fortnight, issue him a show cause notice. Warn him upon receipt of his reply. Do this 1-2 times and tell him to put in his papers.

Lastly, what is your designation? Does the Founder-Director want to shoot from your shoulders? If yes, then refrain him from doing so. You have joined the company just recently. Let the Founder-Director clean the muck that has been gathering all along. If you are just an HR Manager, then play it safe and tell the Founder-Director that you cannot initiate any action against the VP. However, you may give advice to him as and when necessary.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Evaluating the Case of Mr. VP

If you go through the details, the company has rewarded him with promotions continuously in the years 2008, 2010, and 2011, and now wants to initiate action, which is not at all acceptable. You also need to check the performance rating of the employee concerned for the last four years. If it is good, then you cannot even mention the misconducts if they occurred in previous years. Hence, you have the option to initiate action based on the recent happenings.

As rightly mentioned by Mr. Divakar, your director wants to make you a scapegoat. I opine that the appointment order might have been signed by the directors; hence, the disciplinary process should also be from their desk. In case your company does not have any legal consultant, then it is better to obtain an opinion from a legal consultant and base your actions on his advice.

Regards

Issues with Mr. VP's Conduct

Falsification of Attendance Register (Signing the Attendance Register without attending the office) in 2006-07: Mr. VP did not attend the office on a particular day but subsequently signed the Attendance Register as present. There is no memo or notice issued to this effect in Mr. VP's personal file. Too late in the day. No action is possible.

Share trading activities during office hours using the office Internet facility in 2010-11: The Founder Director informs that Mr. VP has been using the internet facility in the office to conduct share trading business during office hours, for which he has proof from the System Admin. Again, too late for action. Are there any clear rules in the company regarding the private use of the internet?

Arrogance during discussion: The Founder Director informs that during one of the discussions in 2015, Mr. VP replied arrogantly. Very subjective and, again, too much time has passed by.

A similar query was posted a few months ago; use the search button to locate this post and several replies given by members. As learned member Dinesh said, it is purely a style of management and should have been pointed out at that stage and not used subsequently to settle scores.

The VP has been given promotions over the years, and now old issues are being raked up. Being a VP, you as HR can only facilitate action but are not competent to act. The Board of Directors can act if they feel like it. However, the whole issue is hazy, and legal action can be easily challenged by the VP in a court of law.

Give the right advice and steer clear of getting involved personally.

It is clear that at least one of the actions of the VP can be proved, i.e., trading during hours, in case net usage records are available. What kind of action does the management want? Dismissal? If yes, then check the terms of engagement. In case a clause exists regarding the misuse of property/IT equipment, then the person can be dismissed on these grounds. If you give him a show cause notice, and he knows that he may be dismissed, then most likely, he will offer to resign instead of facing dismissal. Other points may be difficult to prove without a long-drawn domestic inquiry.

Regards,
Col. Suresh Rathi

In view of the details, it seems to be purely an academic exercise, not a real-life situation. Furthermore, the querist has chosen to remain anonymous and has failed to mention in what capacity they are assigned the job of taking action against the so-called VP.

Mr. Divekar has rightfully raised questions about the management's inaction. The question that arises is, if the situation was so favorable, how and why did he receive frequent promotions to reach the level of a VP?

In this case, I completely agree with Mr. Dinesh Divekar. Once the attendance is marked, why is it not closed on a daily basis? The HR department has given room for all staff to falsify attendance at any time during the month before the commencement of the salary process.

As you are planning to corner the Senior Management person, you might find yourself in a trap, and ultimately, the HR will be blamed, and the senior HR person will get a black mark.

There are many software solutions available in the market. With their usage, you could have blocked websites irrelevant to your organization. Why was this not done? Again, the HR/System Admin Team will be blamed for not blocking irrelevant websites.

If a person is bold enough to behave arrogantly even with a co-founder member, consider the hold he has in the office. If you confront him, you might be in trouble, and your survival will become a big question mark.

How do you register their attendance? Do you maintain in-time and out-time for the employees? If so, on the first day of 16 hours itself, why did you not trigger any email to the VP to seek some explanation so that you can obtain approval from the Factories Inspector and permission from management?

Once the VP can manage even from your office regarding the attempt to suicide case of an employee, you can think about his power in the organization. Be cautious and careful while handling such personalities, as it may endanger your career growth.

He may not have the motivating power, but he delivers productivity; that's why 60% of employees are deployed under him. Now you can imagine his strength and power in the organization.

As a matter of fact, the Co-founder Director does not want to take any action from his side, even though he is frustrated. If he takes any action against him, the organization will suffer a great loss. But he wants to take control over him. That's why he wants to use you as a weapon. You can advise only the directors to talk to the VP and sort out the issue amicably and act as advised by Mr. Dinesh Divekar.

From my side, I can add one more piece of sound advice: In the board of directors meeting, they can create a new department and post the VP there, placing only 2 or 4 employees under him as part of policy creation or restructuring the organization towards its development. For his post, they can appoint someone suitable for the vacancy.

Regards