Disciplinary Process for SPA Employees

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill administers a corrective disciplinary system in which discipline is proportionate with the severity and frequency of unsatisfactory employee job performance or unacceptable personal conduct. Discipline provides a communication process for correcting and improving performance problems and for handling instances of unacceptable conduct. Individuals must be informed of job and behavior expectations, notified of the consequences of inappropriate performance or behavior, and given guidance to improve. The successive discipline procedure in this policy ensures employee due process and provides management with a mechanism for protecting the workforce from dangerous or difficult working conditions created by co-workers whose performance or conduct is inadequate, inappropriate, or unsafe.

The policies and procedures below are designed to:

• encourage a working environment that recognizes the dignity and value of the individual while meeting the needs of the University,
• promote effective communication at all levels,
• ensure that all employees receive prompt, orderly, and fair treatment and due process, and
• encourage reconciliation of employee-employee and employee-management differences.

At all times disciplinary actions must be administered in a fair, equitable, and consistent manner without regard to race, sex, age, sexual orientation, handicapping condition, religion or national origin. Performance expectations must be established and communicated clearly to each employee. Inconsistent treatment of employees for similar infractions may lead to lower morale among employees, departmental liabilities in the grievance process, and/or claims of discrimination filed against the University.

Assistance from the Employee & Management Relations Specialists in the Office of Human Resources for work-related problems is available to both management and employees. The Employee & Management Relations Specialists are available to:

• advise management of University policy and practice across departments and suggest alternatives for the fair treatment of employees,
• serve as a sounding board and provide guidance for employees who are experiencing work-related problems, and
• mediate between supervisors and employees with performance problems.

Discussions with Employee & Management Relations Specialists are confidential and may be considered as work time. To be considered work time, the employee must notify the supervisor of an appointment with an Employee & Management Relations Specialist. He/she need not discuss the reason for the appointment.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a service provided by the University that provides counseling and referral services to employees who have personal difficulties that may be affecting their work.

Because the disciplinary process is meant to be corrective rather than punitive, supervisors are encouraged to offer the Employee Assistance Program to employees when non-work related issues or concerns may result in the need to use the disciplinary process. The services of EAP may be offered in conjunction with any and all of the first three steps of the disciplinary process. When disciplinary action becomes necessary and the supervisor determines that EAP may be helpful, EAP should be offered as a complement to the disciplinary action. (For more information, see "Related Subjects" below.)

This policy and procedure covers all SPA permanent employees who have successfully completed a probationary period, including employees who have time-limited appointments.

This policy does not apply to probationary or temporary employees. It is recommended that management provide the opportunity for notice and correction of unsatisfactory job performance for probationary employees.

There are three bases for discipline or dismissal of University employees. These are:

• Unsatisfactory Job Performance
• Grossly Inefficient Job Performance
• Unacceptable Personal Conduct

These bases are described in greater detail in separate sections.

The disciplinary processes for each of these bases have certain restrictions. No disciplinary action shall be invalid solely because the disciplinary action is labeled incorrectly.

When there is a mixture of job performance and personal conduct problems with an employee, the supervisor must separate and document each circumstance. A supervisor may issue a separate warning for performance and separate warning for personal conduct to an employee for omissions and/or commissions that are part of the same job related situation.

Disciplinary actions include:

• Written Warning
• Suspension without Pay
• Demotion
• Dismissal

The proper use of these disciplinary actions is discussed in greater detail in separate sections.

In certain instances, management may need time to investigate the facts and reach a decision concerning a potential disciplinary action. For example, management may need to remove an employee to avoid the disruption of work or to protect the safety of co-workers, clients, or property, or to schedule or conduct a pre-disciplinary conference. Prior to placing an employee in investigatory status with pay, management must consult with the Employee & Management Relations Specialist assigned to the department to review the procedural and substantive basis for a recommendation for investigatory status with pay.

Management may place an employee in investigatory status with pay for no more than 30 calendar days pending a prompt and thorough investigation.

Management must notify the employee in writing of the reasons for placement in investigatory status no later than the second scheduled work day after the beginning of that status. (For a sample letter see "Related Subjects" below.) If management chooses to place an employee in investigatory status, management should immediately retrieve the employee's keys, ID badges, ID cards, and all equipment that belongs to the University. The purpose of this action is to protect University property and staff.

If the issue which places an employee in investigatory status with pay is resolved without disciplinary action, the letter notifying the employee of the investigatory status must be removed from all files and returned to the employee.

Any written warning or documentation of disciplinary action taken under this policy is considered to be a part of an employee's personnel file. Copies of all written warnings or documentation of disciplinary actions taken must be sent to the Employee & Management Relations Department. The Employee & Management Relations Department will record the information necessary to comply with the reporting requirements of State policy, and forward the written warning or disciplinary action to HR Records & Information Department, where it will be placed in the employee's personnel file.

A written warning and other disciplinary actions normally remain active for twelve calendar months following the end of the month in which the employee received the disciplinary action. Disciplinary actions that are no longer active (along with all supporting documentation) must be removed from the employee's personnel file. It is recommended that the department return the document(s) to the employee. When disciplinary actions are removed from a departmental personnel file, the department must notify Employee & Management Relations to remove the corresponding disciplinary action from the University personnel file.

When a disciplinary action becomes "inactive", it can no longer be considered as a "building block" for future successive discipline. Disciplinary suspensions without pay and demotions remain in effect. Dismissed employees are not reinstated.

Exceptions:

Disciplinary actions become inactive when the employee has not received another disciplinary action during the 12-month active life of a disciplinary action. The written warning and/or other disciplinary action for unsatisfactory performance is then considered inactive, and must be removed from the employee's personnel file permanently. However, if another disciplinary action is issued before the end of the 12 months, the prior action remains in force until the most recent action becomes inactive.

Disciplinary actions become inactive when, prior to the end of the 12 month period, an employee receives at least a "Good" for both the annual overall evaluation and the principal function(s) cited in an existing performance-based written warning.  The written warning and/or other disciplinary action then shall be considered resolved and become inactive. Documentation of the disciplinary action(s) must be removed from the employee's personnel file permanently.

Disciplinary actions become inactive when management specifies a period less than 12 months.

Dismissal letters and supporting documentation remain permanently in the employee's personnel file.

With management approval, and after obtaining approval from the Employee & Management Relations Specialist assigned to the department, the supervisor must schedule a pre-disciplinary conference with the employee prior to initiating a disciplinary suspension without pay, a demotion, or a dismissal. (A pre-disciplinary conference does not occur for written warnings.) Regardless of the nature of a proposed disciplinary action, the purpose of a pre-disciplinary conference is to ensure that an employee receives due process, has the opportunity to present information and facts, and is not wrongfully disciplined.

The employee should be notified in writing of the date, time, location, and purpose for the conference prior to the conference, if possible. (For a sample letter, see "Related Subjects" below.) If advance written notice is not possible, a written notice describing the basis for the proposed discipline and other information about the conference must be presented to the employee when the conference is held.

At the conference, the employee is again informed of the proposed disciplinary action and given the information supporting the proposed discipline. The employee then has the opportunity to respond to the recommended disciplinary action and provide information on his/her behalf.

No attorneys for either management or employee shall be present at the conference. A representative from the Office of Human Resources must be present, and will generally conduct the conference. Security personnel may be present at management's discretion.

After the conference, management will consider all the information presented by the employee and determine if the recommended disciplinary action is justified. The earliest a decision may be communicated is the next work day. The latest a decision may be communicated is the end of the second work day following the date of the pre-disciplinary conference. If the employee is not dismissed, lesser discipline may be imposed. The supervisor, with higher-level management approval, will document the results of the conference, the decisions reached, and the actions taken. This documentation will be placed in the employee's departmental and University personnel files.

Often it will be best to schedule a pre-disciplinary conference late in the work day. At management's discretion, the employee may be sent home at the end of the conference to avoid any possible embarrassment for the employee or disruption of the department's operation. If the employee is excused, any scheduled work time between the conference and the issuance of a written decision (or decision that no disciplinary action is needed) is paid time, without charge to the employee's leave. If the employee is excused, management may deem it appropriate to obtain the employee's keys and University identification card if such items were issued. Management also should verify the employee's current mailing address and telephone number during the conference.

If you have questions about this policy, contact the Employee & Management Relations Specialist in the Office of Human Resources assigned to work with your department.