Can an Employer Issue a Show-Cause Notice for Jealousy and Work Quality Issues?

Hi, can an employer issue a show-cause notice with charges of jealousy, work efficiency, quality compromise in work, and negativity for a single instance to an employee?

Dear Sonal Dash,

What is the context of your query? Are you an aggrieved employee? Have you raised this query in the capacity of an HR professional? What exactly was the incident? Did it happen for the first time, or is it a repetition? Did a manager come to the HR Department and express his/her frustration against an employee, and you have written down exactly what he/she told you?

An employee can be issued a charge sheet for the misconduct mentioned in the Standing Orders approved by the competent authorities. Before issuing the charge sheet, a domestic enquiry should be conducted, and the Enquiry Officer (EO) should verify and investigate the facts. The focus of the enquiry should be on what happened rather than generating evidence to establish someone's culpability.

Comments on the Charges

a) Jealousy: I don't think this misconduct is mentioned in the standing orders. However, the effects of jealousy can be misconduct.

b) Work efficiency: Yes, subpar efficiency could be misconduct. However, the employee should be communicated well in advance about the norms of efficiency. The measurement of efficiency should be for the work that is part of the employee's Job Descriptions (JDs).

c) Compromise in quality: This is similar to (b) above. The employee should be informed well in advance how the quality of the work will be measured, when it will be measured, how frequently it will be measured, etc.

d) Negativity: This is similar to point (a) above. Negativity in itself cannot be the misconduct, but it could become the cause of the misconduct.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Hi, A show cause notice can be issued for poor work performance, quality issues, misconduct, etc. If it is the first time, rather than issuing a show cause, it is better to opt for a verbal warning or a written warning. In case of any repetitiveness, you may issue a show cause notice. When drafting show cause notices, the charges should be framed properly, and you should have evidence for the charges. While poor work performance issues or quality issues can be proven with material data, how can charges of jealousy be proven? Jealousy is an emotion—you cannot issue a show cause notice for being jealous.

The company can face charges only if all the charges are listed in the company's standing orders as misconduct. If any charges are not included in the standing orders, it may be favorable for the employee to legally challenge them.

Thank you all for providing clarity.

Required legal references for dealing with domestic enquiries and chargesheets

Thanks, Sonal Dash