The Banner Health System Corrective Action Process

The Banner Health System Corrective Action Process

When corrective action is necessary, managers should take the lowest-level action possible to correct problem, even if that means repeating a step previously used. Banner believes that a progressive corrective action is not intended to be punishment, but rather to impress upon the employee the need for improvement. All facts, including length of service, previous performance, and attendance, will be considered.

An informal counseling with the employee may be all that is necessary to correct performance or attendance problem and should be used before beginning corrective action. This is an opportunity to discuss with the employee the problem, the resources available to him or her, and the ways to resolve the problem.

• Step 1 : verbal warning. Discuss the problem with the employee, pointing out what is needed to correct the problem. Be clear with the employee by saying, “This is a verbal warning,” and by indicating that a written warning will result if performance or attendance is not improve as expected. This action should be documented and kept in the supervisor’s file for future reference. No record of this warning is to be placed in the employee’s official personnel record.
• Step 2 : written warning. If sufficient improvement is not observed in performance or attendance after issuing the verbal warning, a written warning is to follow. The problem and relevant facts should be described on the corrective form. The employees must be told that if performance or attendance doesn’t improve, further corrective action will accur in the form of a final written warning or suspension. A record of this warning should be placed in the employee’s personnel record.
• Step 3 : final written warning or suspension. If sufficient improvement is not observed after the written warning, the supervisor should proceed to a final written warning or suspension. A suspension may be for one or three days, and in the progressive action process is always without pay. Employees should be advised that the suspension is the last step before discharge and the time away from work is to be used to decide wheter they can correct their performance or attendance problem. As with suspensions and final written warnings are to be documented with the relevant information and the dates of previous corrective actions steps on the corrective action form.
• Step 4 : Discharge. Before making the final decision to terminate, the supervisor should discuss with the employee the issue/incident that has caused the decision to discharge him or her. If employee gives information that needs to be investigated, the supervisor should take time to do so. If there is no new information, then the HRD should be consulted prior to discharging the employee.

Immediate action

Occasionally an infraction is so severe that immediate corrective action, up to and including termination, amy appear to be warranted. If it is necessary to remove an employee from the work area, suspend him or her immediately, pending an investigation that should not last for more than a few days. There’s no reason to terminate employees ‘on the spot’. In such cases the employees will be paid for the days of suspension.