The difference between misconduct and poor performance
September 9, 2010
Misconduct or unacceptable behaviour occurs when a rule is broken, or some other unacceptable behaviour takes place e.g. assault, swearing at a supervisor etc..... Assume – an employee is never absent, performs well, always performs above the standard in terms of both quality and quantity – but the employee is caught stealing. This is clearly misconduct – not poor performance.
In order to assist in dealing with misconduct the following questions may be asked:
- Is there a rule?
- Is it reasonable?
- Was the employee aware of the rule?
- Was the employee aware of the consequences of breaching the rule?
- What action was taken against other employees who breached the rule?
Poor Performance involves the situation where the job, which the employee is being paid to do, is not been carried out to the required standard. Therefore, in establishing whether poor performance exists, a useful guide can be to ask the following questions in relation to the employee and the job:
- Is there a work standard?
- Is it reasonable and achievable?
- Has the employee been given adequate instruction, training, guidance or counselling in order to meet the standard?
- Does the employee have adequate tools and equipment in order to meet the standard?
- Was the employee given a reasonable opportunity to improve and meet the standard?
In short, misconduct deals with unacceptable behaviour – poor performance deals with performance that does not meet the required standard set by the employer.
Can an employee’s poor performance also be misconduct? If an employee deliberately fails to perform the work to the standard required or has an “I don’t care” attitude, it would constitute misconduct and would be dealt with as misconduct.
For more information contact Jacques Franken, Senior Consultant.
