Across the country, people are being encouraged to work from home as much as possible to stop the spread of COVID-19. While many employees are adapting well to their new work environments, other employees may have experienced a drop in productivity.
There are many reasons for decreased performance such as personal stress, environment changes or even company-wide systemic problems. Likewise, there are many strategies for increasing performance including identifying the underlying reason, increasing communication, setting realistic goals and having greater transparency.
Your Legal Obligations
It is important to recognise that underperformance is not the same as misconduct. Misconduct is very serious behaviour such as theft or assault, which may justify instant dismissal. In cases of misconduct, employers should seek specific advice from their lawyers about how to proceed before taking any action, so as not to give rise to an action for unfair dismissal.
Underperformance, on the other hand, should be dealt with very differently. When working with an employee to remedy underperformance, the usual goal should be to make sure that the employee knows what is expected of them, and has the necessary tools at hand to meet those expectations.
A step-by-step guide that you can follow to manage underperformance whilst complying with your legal obligations is:
It is also a good idea to ask the employee whether there are any other reasons for the underperformance that they are aware of, such as stresses at home.
We also recommend that, after the verbal meeting, the discussion and outcomes of the meeting be put in an email and sent to the employee.
If the employee’s performance has not improved, more serious action may be required, including a formal warning, and ultimately, termination of their employment. Employers must make sure that the termination is not harsh, unjust or unreasonable, as this may give rise to a claim for unfair dismissal.
At Frank Law, we regularly advise our clients on their legal obligations when dealing with underperforming employees, and can advise you on the specific steps that you should take.
If you have further questions, please contact us at frank@franklaw.com.au.
This is not legal advice.