Fortunately, most employees perform their duties well with little need to take corrective action. There are times, however, where an employee is not meeting either performance or behaviour expectations, it is critical to act. Coaching and retraining are often all that is required to bring about an improvement in the employee’s behaviour or performance. There are occasions when this type of supportive action does not result in positive changes leaving a manager to take some form of disciplinary action to correct the less than expected employee output. Disciplinary action is a formal process many managers find difficult and time consuming to implement.

And a word of caution…

Three strikes and you’re out – this is a myth!

From time to time, there are misunderstandings about employer and employee rights and obligations at work. For example:

Myth: As an employer you have to give employees three warnings before terminating their employment.
Fact: There is no legal requirement to give three warnings. The exception may be the inclusion of a disciplinary process within an enterprise agreement and in this case, it is legally binding.

This Tips and Trips focuses on bringing about changes where an employee is not meeting business expectations and coaching and retraining has not brought about the desired improvements. We also seek to dispel the myth of needing to have three warnings in a process leading to termination of employment.

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The Modern Awards and the Fair Work Commission set minimum rates of pay that are to be paid to employees and these minimum rates have increased from 1 July 2019. In this article we highlight the importance of ensuring you are paying your employees correctly and additionally provide information on finding and using the correct rates of pay.

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There are times, in the workplace, when we may seek better verification for an event than simply an employee’s word for it. An absence that is unsupported by suitable documentation is an example. Another is making a statement as a witness about an occurrence where you are seeking verification – a workplace incident might be an example.

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Business owners and leaders work very hard to build their brand and to develop and maintain their reputation in the marketplace. This process often takes many years of investment in time and money and it is critical to ensure all aspects of your business support the ongoing attainment of brand identity and reputational growth.

This article provides some insights in developing and maintaining your brand and enhancing your reputation by engaging and utilising your number one asset – your team.

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Work related social functions, in particular end of year functions, are a good way to recognise and celebrate achievements and provide a setting for people to enjoy some social time together. In most cases, these events are enjoyable and allow excellent opportunity to encourage and build a team to be more cohesive. In some cases, unfortunately, these events can become a time of unsatisfactory behaviours.

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