Managing the Employment Relationship

Institute of Leadership & Management

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9780080464435
• eBook ISBN:
  9781136381768
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Super series are a set of workbooks to accompany the flexible learning programme specifically designed and developed by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) to support their Level 3 Certificate in First Line Management. The learning content is also closely aligned to the Level 3 S/NVQ in Management. The series consists of 35 workbooks. Each book will map on to a course unit (35 books/units).

Session F
Discipline

DOI: 10.4324/9780080914817-6

1 Introduction

Any group of people is much more effective when it works as a team. As a team leader in your own workplace you will no doubt appreciate that fact.

Without discipline, teamwork can easily break down. If individual members of a team are refusing to pull their weight or cannot perform to the standards required of them, then the overall effectiveness of the group suffers. Other members, seeing that they are doing more than their colleagues, will either decide to take it easy themselves, or become angry that work is not being shared evenly.

Remember, discipline is not about punishment. It is about resolving problems at work in as fair a manner as possible. In the interests of fairness, there should always be clear rules about the way that disciplinary problems are dealt with. In this Session we’ll examine each of the stages in the process of maintaining discipline.

2 The purpose of discipline

This workbook concentrates on practical ways of handling discipline. However, before we start we should try to define what discipline is for.

Activity 44

Write down two purposes of discipline at work.

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See whether you agree with the following arguments.

Discipline at work has four main objectives:

• safety;
• fairness;
• prosperity of the organization;
• compliance with a contract.

2.1 Safety

Someone entering a workplace for the first time won’t necessarily be able to know how to behave. In particular, he or she probably won’t be aware of the dangers of that workplace, and so won’t be safe until told about the hazards and the means of protection against those hazards. Employees who ignore safety rules, or who indulge in fighting or drinking at work, for example, may endanger others.

2.2 Fairness

People may under-perform in various ways which impose extra work and responsibility on their colleagues. Sometimes this may be conduct such as lateness or absenteeism, but it may also be that they cannot meet the standards required for output or quality. Fairness must be seen to flow from the employer, evidenced by proper training or re-training, and from the first line manager through offering appropriate support. In return, individuals must observe the rules and ask for help if they cannot meet the standards set.

2.3 Prosperity of the organization

For an organization to prosper, it will need the vast majority of employees to obey the rules and meet the agreed performance standards for the greater part of the time. Employees who fall short in either respect should be given support and the opportunity to improve in whatever respect they are failing. For the few who cannot, or will not, improve, then the formal disciplinary procedures exist to offer a final series of opportunities to do so before they must be dismissed in the interests of their colleagues and the other stakeholders in the organization.

2.4 Compliance with a contract

Under the terms of the contract of employment, the employer provides facilities and resources, such as training, supervision and payment for agreed work done. In return, the employees commit themselves to meeting agreed standards of conduct and performance once their training is completed.

Discipline at work should work for the benefit of the organization and everyone who works in it.

And when dealing with a disciplinary offence, there is one guiding principle:

The main aim is improvement in performance, not punishment.

3 Rules

If there is to be discipline at work, there has to be a set of rules. Rules help to determine the standards of conduct expected from employees.

This is important because people need to know what is expected of them.

Everyone needs to know what the rules are, and the reasons for the rules.

Activity 45

Note down two or three examples of the rules that affect the people at your place of work.

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Typical of the kinds of rule that are found in work organizations are:

• rules about timekeeping;
• rules about absence;
• rules about health and safety;
• rules about using company facilities;
• rules about who does what;
• rules about what constitutes gross misconduct.

The law of the land applies at work as well as outside it, even though the list of rules drawn up by an organization won’t normally remind employees of that fact. It goes without saying that it is a disciplinary offence to steal or to damage property, for instance.

It’s obviously preferable for the rules of an organization to be written down.

Activity 46

Even if the rules are written down, there can be problems in communicating the rules to all employees.

Note one such problem, and say how it could be overcome.

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Problems can arise with:

• new employees, who aren’t familiar with the accepted and safe ways to behave in the new workplace. They need to have the rules explained to them – it usually isn’t good enough simply to provide a copy of the rules, especially where safety is concerned. Explaining the rules forms part of an induction programme;
• people who don’t speak English as their first language. You must take steps to make sure the rules are understood. If you don’t speak the particular language yourself, you will need help from more senior management or the human resources department to make sure you act effectively;
• young people, who don’t have experience of working life. Again, it may fall to you to ensure that a young person fully understands the rules and why they have to be followed.

4 Dealing with offences

What is a disciplinary offence?

Activity 47

Let’s start by thinking about the disciplinary offences you may have had to deal with at work, or those you may have heard about.

Note down some examples of disciplinary offences. Try to think of three or four. An example is stealing.

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Here are some disciplinary offences:

• fighting;
• verbal abuse;
• lateness;
• abusing company equipment;
• disobeying a reasonable instruction;
• stealing;
• smoking in a non-smoking area;
• horse-play.

You may have come up with offences not on this list. The list of disciplinary offences is as long as our imaginations can make it.

However, all these offences involve one thing:

all disciplinary matters involve a breach of rules or failure to meet agreed standards of work.

If we want to deal with disciplinary ...

Table of contents

• superseries Managing the Employment Relationship
• Contents
• Series preface
• Unit specification
• Workbook introduction
• Session A Managing diversity
• Session B The law relating to equality at work
• Session C Pursuing real equality in the workplace
• Session D Employment policies
• Session E The consequences of illegal discrimination
• Session F Discipline
• Performance checks
• Reflect and review