--- title: Best Practices for Disciplining Employees description: Discipline is an act on the part of the employer to address and correct inappropriate behavior or a policy violation by an employee. image: https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/ee%20term.jpg --- Start typing and press Enter to search * * # Best Practices for Disciplining Employees [Home](https://www.ahola.com/) » [News & Events](https://blog.ahola.com/best-practices-for-disciplining-employees) » Best Practices for Disciplining Employees [2022-08-30%2020:43:09](2022-08-30%2020:43:09) ![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/ee%20term.jpg) ## Best Practices for Disciplining Employees By [ Ahola Corporation ](https://blog.ahola.com/author/ahola-corporation)  Posted [ August 30, 2022](2022-08-30%2020:43:09)  In  [Human Resources](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/human-resources), [Training & Development](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/training-development), [Employees](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/employees) - - - - - Discipline is an act on the part of the employer to address and correct inappropriate behavior or a policy violation by an employee. Discipline functions both as an incentive for employees to refrain from bad behavior in the first place and as a corrective if bad behavior occurs. Common forms of discipline include[ oral warnings, written warnings, and termination](https://blog.ahola.com/what-are-some-typical-examples-of-employee-discipline). Here are a few of our recommended practices: - Discipline should reflect the severity of the behavior. Egregious sexual harassment might merit [**immediate termination**](https://blog.ahola.com/guidelines-for-employee-termination) while forgetting to clock in one time almost certainly wouldn’t. - Discipline should be applied consistently. For instance, if you jump straight to a final warning when a certain employee is an hour late to work, but let another employee come in late regularly without so much as an oral warning, you’re setting yourself up for trouble. Consider how you addressed certain behaviors in the past and the precedent you want to set for the future. - In situations where minor policy violations are an ongoing issue, a progressive approach is often best. For a first offense, you might start with an oral warning, but then move to a written warning, final warning, and finally termination if the issue persists. - At each step, make your expectations clear, notify the employee of the consequences should they fail to improve (e.g., they’ll be one step closer to termination), and document what actions you took. - The warnings you give to the employee should stick to the facts, i.e., what infraction was observed, when it occurred, and what policy or policies were violated. Opinions about the infraction should be left out, as these are easily disputed. For example, “Yesterday, you arrived 20 minutes late in violation of our attendance policy” simply states the facts, whereas “You’re always tardy and can’t be trusted to arrive on time” is likely to get pushback. Keep in mind these best practices do not take into account any state or local law. *Content provided by Ahola's HR Support Center* ### Reply a Comment ## RELATED POSTS [![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/qtq80-NamCe0.jpeg) ](https://blog.ahola.com/form-i-9-compliance-and-basics) [Form I-9 Compliance and Basics](https://blog.ahola.com/form-i-9-compliance-and-basics) [![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/canstockphoto95026575%20(1).jpg) ](https://blog.ahola.com/how-to-file-and-claim-the-employee-retention-tax-credit-with-form-941-x) [How to File and Claim the Employee Retention Tax Credit with Form 941-X](https://blog.ahola.com/how-to-file-and-claim-the-employee-retention-tax-credit-with-form-941-x) [![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/IRS-1.jpg) ](https://blog.ahola.com/businesses-can-file-and-claim-employee-retention-credit-retroactively) [Businesses Can File and Claim Employee Retention Credit Retroactively](https://blog.ahola.com/businesses-can-file-and-claim-employee-retention-credit-retroactively) ## SUBSCRIBE ### Recent posts - [Professionalizing HR Without Losing Your Family Culture ](https://blog.ahola.com/professionalizing-hr-without-losing-your-family-culture) - [Why Encouraging Employees to Take Summer Vacation Benefits Your Workplace ](https://blog.ahola.com/why-encouraging-employees-to-take-summer-vacation-benefits-your-workplace) - [Ahola Named a 2026 Top Workplace — Six Years Running! ](https://blog.ahola.com/ahola-named-a-2026-top-workplace) - ### Topics - [Affordable Care Act (13)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/affordable-care-act) - [Benefits (223)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/benefits) - [Cybersecurity (1)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/cybersecurity) - [Employee Engagement (255)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/employee-engagement) - [Employees (603)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/employees) - [Family Business Insights (10)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/family-business-insights) - [Hiring (282)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/hiring) - [Human Resources (645)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/human-resources) - [Laws/Policies (26)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/laws-policies) - [Managing COVID-19 (153)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/managing-covid-19) - [News Release (56)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/news-release) - [Offboarding (3)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/offboarding) - [onboarding (7)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/onboarding) - [Payroll (428)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/payroll) - [Recruiting (142)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/recruiting) - [Safety (121)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/safety) - [Tax Compliance (230)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/tax-compliance) - [Time & Attendance (124)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/time-attendance) - [Training & Development (214)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/training-development) - [Trending Topic (75)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/trending-topic) - [Uncategorized (1)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/uncategorized) - [Webinars (69)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/webinars) - [Workers Comp (1)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/workers-comp) [see all topics](https://blog.ahola.com/best-practices-for-disciplining-employees#) ### GENERAL DISCLAIMER This blog is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, and cannot constitute legal advice, because the authors are not licensed attorneys. Readers should not rely or act upon any information presented on this blog without seeking professional legal counsel. The views expressed in each post are those of the author, and the author alone; they are not the views of Ahola. The information provided in this blog is general, and based on information available as of the date of publishing. Information herein is provided on an “as is” or “as available” basis; we make no warranty of any kind to you regarding the information provided and disclaim any liability for damages from use of the blog or its content. Please consult an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular question or issue. 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