Companies from all over the world have a behavior code in case of inappropriate conduct. If they aren’t followed, HR can submit a disciplinary action form to the employee so they can fix the improper attitude.

A business with solid company policies can be harmed if an employee commits a fault. This is why such forms exist to improve their actions before terminating their employment contract after prior warnings.

If you are the immediate supervisor of a troublemaker employee, or your business lacks compromise from your workers, developing employee discipline forms could be the solution you seek.

This article covers how to write an employee discipline form, what to include, and when to use it.

A disciplinary action is an alert the employers give to employees misbehaving in the working environment.

When a worker disrupts the workspace and doesn’t follow the company policy, you can give them a verbal warning. However, if this is not enough for them to change their behavior, you should send a disciplinary action 

The idea is to alert the employee about the situation and explain why they need to improve and what would happen if they do not.

It’s recommended to keep the reprimand private. You should always strive to keep confidentiality between you and the employee not to disturb the working place.

The employee disciplinary action form is a document that goes into the employee’s file that explains all the actions taken into consideration for performance and behavior improvement.

It’s the document you send to the troubled employee to inform them about employment expectations and the results you are expecting. The form has a deadline, so the person in charge – usually HR or supervisors – performs an employee review after the period.

This is to ensure that corrective actions were taken and to provide details about how to continue the working relationship.

It’s the proper and legal way to let an employee know that you care about them, but you need them to improve if they don’t want to be terminated.

Employees should receive a disciplinary action form (DAF) when their working behaviors aren’t aligned with the company policies.

You should give them a verbal warning to correct their actions in normal conditions. If they don’t, that’s when you submit the DAF.

Unacceptable conducts include:

• Excessive tardiness.
• Not following company procedures.
• Low work quality.
• Underperformance.
• Mistreating coworkers.
• Other inappropriate actions that harm the company’s code of conduct.

Before you send a disciplinary action form, you must have a code of conduct that employees follow in your company.

Every firm must have these rules of behavior created based on its identity. And each time a new employee comes on board, HR must explain those principles.

Here’s when you can set up those rules:

1. Include them in your job descriptions: An effective tool to show your policies is the job description. When you create an offer, besides the job title, the description is crucial to find personnel with expertise. Here’s the perfect moment where potential employees can see it.

2. Write down a code of conduct for your employees. This is a guide against a potential violation in your company. HR and the head of areas deliver this handbook to employees so they can read it. You should include potential violations and consequences. 

3. Create a behavior department for constant training. This area is responsible for solving internal conflicts within your employees and training them concerning proper behavior. Suppose someone commits a behavior that would require disciplinary action. In that case, they should come here to determine how to proceed after getting a DAF.

4. Encourage worker performance review in the workplace. Each person in a management position should review how their team is behaving. If managers notice evidence of bad behavior, they should address this with a DAF.

The employer’s comments are also necessary before submitting the disciplinary action form.

Developing an employee disciplinary action form can be difficult if it’s the first time you do it. In case other employees need a DAF for positive disciplinary action, we have gathered information about what you should include in your document for future reference.

Even though there is information you can add or remove from a disciplinary action form, here are the ones that you should include in most cases:

1. The employee’s first and last name.

2. Date of the events.

3. A brief description where you include the incident, manager in charge, witnesses, location, people involved, times, and dates. It should be in simple words so that every worker involved in the DAF can understand it.

4. Include past situations with the same employee.

5. Write down the corrective actions the employee must fulfill.

6. Provide more comments and other information.

7. Name of the direct supervisor or manager.

8. Signature from both supervisor and employee.

Filling out the disciplinary action form is straightforward. It doesn’t require any meeting or extra communication; you only need to write the information with as much detail and common sense as possible.

If applicable, you can also add specific facts or proof about the incident(s) and statements of the actions to improve productivity and the working environment.

Here are a few tips you can consider when you are completing the DAF:

• Be as detailed as possible. Don’t write general things or refuse to give the correct information about what happened. Make sure you use consistency and avoid any mistakes.
• Have documented forms. The disciplinary action form needs samples. So, ensure you have filed the form with proof so the employee can see what they need to fix.
• Establish deadlines and severe corrections. As the employer, you must ensure that the corrections are made to receive the benefits of your effort. These documents must carry severe consequences – like termination or suspension – if the employee doesn’t complete the actions.

Now that you have everything you need to write a disciplinary action form, you need a trustable software to write the document.

Whether you are a big or a small business, you should consider using Microsoft Office. This suite of programs will help you resolve your writing issues thanks to Microsoft Word. You can edit, create, share and even add media content to your documents.

To get this software, you must go to the official Microsoft Office website and install it. You will need an official serial number to activate Word. 

You can get a Microsoft Office 2021 suite CD key from RoyalCDKeys for barely $13 and use the whole suite on your computer.

With this, you can develop your employee disciplinary action form or use Word for different purposes.

You can use templates if you don’t want to write a disciplinary action form from scratch. You can find them online for free and then use them for your business.

We have gathered great templates you can use for your organization:

Template #1

Basic Disciplinary Action Form Template - Download Link

Template #2

Blue Colored Disciplinary Action Form Template - Download Link

Template #3

Checklist Disciplinary Action Form Template - Download Link

After you have submitted the document, the offense has been addressed, and the proper actions were taken, you can now save the document and statement in the employee’s file.

You should save the document signed by the employee so you can use it later for reference. This documentation is beneficial if a worker relapses after completing their DAF.

The disciplinary action form helps you recover control over your business. You can use it to make the troubled worker understand what they are doing wrong and how to fix it. 

If your employee still presents the same behavioral issues after receiving the document and reaching the deadline, you can use the disciplinary action form – along with proof of the incidents – as a legal document to terminate the worker’s contract.

The template above will reduce your time creating a DAF on your own. You can now use this employee disciplinary action form to take action and recover a healthy environment for your coworkers.

The template above will reduce the time creating a DAF on your own. You can now use this employee disciplinary action form to take action and recover a healthy environment for your coworkers.