Ask HR: Can We Reduce an Employee’s Hours as a Disciplinary Measure?

Discipline policies and enforcement continue to be hot-button topics for

many HR departments. The professionals at HR Support Center often

encounter questions from employers about disciplinary techniques and

best practices and are skilled at handling all types of situations,

including this topic.

Question:

Can we reduce an employee’s hours as a disciplinary measure?

Answer:

We do not recommend reducing hours as a disciplinary measure, as it does

not directly address the performance or behavioral issue that the

employee is having. Unless reducing hours is already a common practice

in your workplace, it could be challenged on the basis of fairness,

consistency with your policy, or discrimination. For example, if no

other employees have had a reduction in hours for disciplinary reasons,

this employee could claim they’re being unfairly targeted and that the

discipline was actually a result of their inclusion in a protected class

(e.g., if the employee is over 40 years old or practices a particular

religion).

Instead, we advise that you follow a progressive disciplinary process

and put the employee on a performance improvement plan (PIP), addressing

poor performance and behavioral issues as soon as they arise. In this

case, we recommend that you meet with the employee to discuss the

performance and behavioral problems, and document your expectations

going forward. Treating the employee consistently with your policy and

documenting the steps of the disciplinary/PIP process will be useful if

any of your decisions are later challenged by an employee claim.

This content came from a team of HR professionals at HR Support Center.

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