60+ Employee Warning Notice Example & Template

An employee warning notice is basically a legal notice that states that an employee has been found guilty of an infraction, like tardiness, unprofessional conduct, or negligence. Your employee handbook needs to contain specific information on what constitutes an infraction, according to your established HR rules.

The number of days that a warning can last is determined by your payroll department. The most common reason for issuing a warning letter is violation of the company’s anti-fraudulent policy. In addition, there are other situations in which the notice is issued.

Employee Warning Notice

A recent survey showed that most businesses have not been consistent in their application of the policy and often end up issuing an employee warning notice when it doesn’t apply. When this happens, confusion ensues. Your company name could be misspelled; your employees may confuse your company with another; or, you may not even have a name for your company at all! In the case of the latter, it would be a red flag for an employee to question why they were asked to do a job with a generic title when their position was exactly the same.

An employee warning notice may be used for several reasons. First, your HR department will have specific protocols for warning employees about possible issues or violation of company policy. You can issue a written warning letter, an audio message or a video. In many cases, your written warning letter is ignored. However, given the volume of communication that takes place between the employer and employee on a daily basis, a written warning letter is much more likely to be read and accepted than an audio or video message.

Employee Warning Notice Template

An employee warning notice template can help you make this process easier. It contains several sections that include a brief overview of what types of issues are considered inappropriate and how they should be addressed. You should explain, in general terms, what behaviors or remarks would constitute inappropriate behavior and give your employees the chance to voice their opinions in writing.

Employee Warning Notice Sample

For example, if you are considering accepting a high-risk employee into a new program based upon the employee’s performance, you would include language that outlines the potential problem and asks for employee feedback to help you determine whether this particular person should be assigned to this new program.

The sections that should be most descriptive are the sections that outline the different types of improper behavior. In addition to describing inappropriate behavior, you should include examples of other forms of inappropriate behavior in your employee warning notice template so that employees have an idea of how they should respond to other forms of harassment or other types of misconduct.

As an example, you might have an employee warning notice template that includes the words “verbal warnings” next to a statement such as “You are not allowed to touch furniture.” Depending on the culture and the specific type of business that you have, you might find that other types of misconduct, such as sexual harassment, are appropriate to include in your employee warning notice. It is important, however, that you remain consistent with your discipline approach even when other types of disciplinary actions are involved.

Employee Warning Notice Example

The employee warning notice example itself is another important part of employee discipline. If there are specific types of misconduct that you have decided to apply in your employee discipline process, make sure you include those specific types of misconduct in your employee warning notice.

For example, if you have decided that you will apply a zero-tolerance policy in all situations, make sure that you include the words “zero tolerance for misconduct” next to the statement so that your employees understand that they will face discipline if they engage in any type of misconduct.

Be sure to indicate which types of misconduct are considered misconduct and which types of infractions warrant a more detailed explanation of the employee’s behavior.

Once you have the basic outline of the types of misconduct, it is time to actually write the employee warning notice. Depending on the culture and management philosophy that you are using, this may be one of the most difficult parts of the process. If you are unsure about how to begin writing the letter, you can find a helpful template online that will help you. You can also find sample templates in books that are designed to help people who are new to composing a written warning letter.

When it comes to discipline, it is important that you remain consistent and follow up on any infractions very carefully. In order to ensure that you do not create a negative work environment for your employees, you must be consistent in your punishments for tardiness or misconduct.

If you are unsure about how to properly prepare and print a simple employee warning notice, you can visit the official website of your company and find a template that you can use. With these templates, you can get started on creating the perfect written notice for your specific situation.