Policy 603 Discipline & Coaching

UAB and UAB Medicine's policies and procedures are intended to facilitate productivity and satisfactory working relationships based on trust, self-discipline, and respect for the rights of others. When employee performance is not meeting expectations or violations of policies and procedures occur, and whenever possible and feasible, UAB and UAB Medicine will work with an employee through a counseling, coaching or progressive disciplinary process to retain the employee and to improve an employee's performance. The following are progressive disciplinary steps for unsatisfactory job performance, attendance, and other types of offenses or misconduct. They are also used to document coaching and counseling sessions.

Depending on the nature of the issues being addressed, there is no guarantee of previous warnings prior to the termination of employment.

Verbal Warning: A verbal warning may be given by an employee's supervisor for substandard performance, attendance, and other types of less egregious offenses or policy violations. The supervisor should keep notes of verbal warnings in the department/unit file. These notes are official documents of UAB and UAB Medicine and may become a part of the employee's official personnel file.

Written Warning: A written warning may be given by an employee's supervisor for policy violations or continued performance deficits after prior verbal warning. However, a written warning may be given instead of a verbal warning for first-time misconduct or other serious offenses. All written warnings should be addressed to the employee as a memorandum or on a corrective action form. If there has been a prior verbal warning given to the employee, it should be referenced in the first written warning. The supervisor should ask the employee to sign the written warning as proof of having received it. A signed copy of all written warnings should be placed in the employee's official personnel file in HR Records Administration. If the employee refuses to sign the written warning, that should be noted. The employee should be provided a copy of the unsigned written warning and the unsigned copy noting the employee refused to sign forwarded to the employee's official personnel file in HR Records Administration. An employee who receives three written warnings during an 18-month period (whether or not the first two written warnings resulted in probation and/or suspension) may be terminated without proceeding through the remaining steps in the disciplinary process.

Performance Improvement Plan (PIP): A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is a tool that may be used to assist in correcting unsatisfactory performance. The PIP document should identify performance issues, state the supervisor's expectations of the employee, provide a schedule for regular follow-up with the employee, and a timeline with an end date for correcting the performance issue, not to exceed 90 days. The PIP should also explain the consequences for failing to meet the stated expectations for improved performance. The document should be signed by the employee and their supervisor.

Imposed Probation: An employee may be placed on probation by their supervisor with the approval of the department/unit head for a period of 30, 60, or 90 calendar days. This action normally occurs after written warning, however, is not required. The employee should be given a written memorandum indicating the beginning and ending dates of the probation. A copy of this document should be placed in the employee's official personnel record in HR Records Administration. If an employee fails to progress through, or satisfactorily complete, the imposed probation period or fails to sustain the improved performance, dismissal may occur. Merit wage increases are not given to the employee during this period. Vacation, sick, and personal holidays will continue to accrue but will not be granted during this period of imposed probation.

Suspension: Serious offenses or behavioral problems may result in a suspension without pay not to exceed ten working days. Suspension may occur after a prior warning or as the first step if the infraction is serious enough. Employees arrested and charged with a felony or violent crime, if not discharged, may, at the option of UAB and UAB Medicine, be suspended or placed on administrative leave without pay pending final and full disposition of the case. All suspension notices will be given in writing by the appropriate supervisor, will be approved by the department/unit head, and will be placed in the employee's official personnel file. No vacation, holiday, or sick time, will be paid during suspension.

Administrative Leave: An administrative leave without pay may be imposed in cases in which the operation of UAB and UAB Medicine warrants such action. Administrative leave most often is used when time is needed to gather information for determining specific corrective action which need to be taken or when it is believed that normal unit operations or safety would be affected. The designated HR Consultant or HR Employee Representative should be consulted if the situation allows, before before administrative leave is imposed and should concur with the decision.

Dismissal: An employee's employment may be terminated after other disciplinary measures have failed or when a first time incident occurs that is egregious. An employee may be discharged at any time without regard to any progressive discipline steps if they commit an offense for which immediate discharge is specified as a penalty, or if, in the University's judgement, the employee's continued presence would be contrary to the well being and shared values of the University or it's employees. The recommendation for dismissal must be approved by the department/unit head and a review by the HR Consultant or HR Employee Relations for proper documentation and compliance with policy. An employee who receives three written warnings during an 18-month period may be terminated without any other steps in the progressive disciplinary process.

Leaders are held to a higher standard. As a result, leadership positions do not necessarily follow progressive disciplinary action. Determinations made about the impact to employee morale, patient safety, and other considerations may warrant immediate dismissal.

Demotion may be used as a remedy and not as a step in the progressive disciplinary process when an employee cannot perform assigned job duties satisfactorily. It is most often used when an employee's skills are not matched to the job assignment. It may be possible to demote the employee into a position of lower classification in the same department with a resultant decrease in salary.