AF33
09-11-2011, 09:02 AM
Hi I'm new to this forum and new to my role as a sole HR person so would appreciate people's thoughts on the following situation:
We have an employee that has been working in the warehouse and a few weeks into the job the person told us they have a back problem. The employee was not given a position description to outline the requirements of the role, e.g. heavy lifting. We only give tasks which can be completed without further injury although it puts more pressure on the other staff. The work the employee is doing has mistakes which cause re-work. The employee was counselled about their performance 2 months ago which improved for a short period but has dropped off again. We have planned another formal meeting and expect it to be a 1st written warning.
There's not a lot of processes or policies in place at the moment e.g. pre-existing injury forms, everyone gets a PD for their role, policies easily available to staff. Also, it's a non-unionised environment.
Here's my questions/issues:
1. Do we have to offer her a support person to attend the meeting? As I understand it, we shouldn't refuse a support person if they ask
2. Is 4 weeks a reasonable timeframe to improve performance in terms of quality and speed with the work the employee can do, in this type of role?
3. Should we go to a 2nd, then 3rd & final written warning before we dismiss the employee, or go straight to a final warning after this one?
4.Is there anything we can do about the fact that the employee can't perform some key requirements of the role, given they weren't provided with a PD, and we didn't ask if they had any injuries?
Thanks!
We have an employee that has been working in the warehouse and a few weeks into the job the person told us they have a back problem. The employee was not given a position description to outline the requirements of the role, e.g. heavy lifting. We only give tasks which can be completed without further injury although it puts more pressure on the other staff. The work the employee is doing has mistakes which cause re-work. The employee was counselled about their performance 2 months ago which improved for a short period but has dropped off again. We have planned another formal meeting and expect it to be a 1st written warning.
There's not a lot of processes or policies in place at the moment e.g. pre-existing injury forms, everyone gets a PD for their role, policies easily available to staff. Also, it's a non-unionised environment.
Here's my questions/issues:
1. Do we have to offer her a support person to attend the meeting? As I understand it, we shouldn't refuse a support person if they ask
2. Is 4 weeks a reasonable timeframe to improve performance in terms of quality and speed with the work the employee can do, in this type of role?
3. Should we go to a 2nd, then 3rd & final written warning before we dismiss the employee, or go straight to a final warning after this one?
4.Is there anything we can do about the fact that the employee can't perform some key requirements of the role, given they weren't provided with a PD, and we didn't ask if they had any injuries?
Thanks!