Part of running a business is managing staff. While some business owners rarely face challenges, others may spend most of their day dealing with employees. An essential step in managing workplace behaviour is understanding the difference between culpable and non-culpable activities and how to deal with them. This important concept is a key piece in your human resource arsenal and will make managing workplace behaviours and issues more effective.
Responsibility of Actions
Culpable Behaviours
Culpable behaviours are those where the employee is in control and responsible for their actions. These are disciplinary behaviours. For example:
- Calling in sick when they’re not.
- Choosing not to perform duties well or at all.
- Wilfully disregarding safety measures.
- Instances of theft.
It’s essentially when the employee knows what the expectations are in any given area and is capable of meeting them but chooses not to.
Non-Culpable Behaviours
Non-culpable is the opposite. The employee is not worthy of blame or discipline. These may include:
- Legitimate absences due to illness or injury.
- Poor performance due to an employee’s inability or a lack of resources.
- Employee’s personal issues interfering with their ability to be effective in the workplace.
Culpable Behaviours: The Discipline Process
Dealing with culpable behaviours is often a straightforward process. They can be responded to with disciplinary action if they’re ‘blameworthy’ or controllable behaviours. For the most part, discipline is done in a ‘progressive’ manner, meaning that with each subsequent incident, discipline is more serious. You would do this to allow the employee an opportunity to correct their behaviour. The most common path is:
- Verbal warning
- Written warning
- Final written warning
- Termination
Choosing the Right Approach
You may start disciplinary action at different points depending on how severe the issue is.
For example, if you have an employee who’s chronically late, you may choose to start with a brief conversation. You may outline the expectation that they arrive to work on time and are responsible for making arrangements to ensure they meet this responsibility. If they continue to arrive late, discipline will escalate.
On the other hand, if you discover that an employee has been taking products from your business and selling them to friends, you would likely move straight to termination.
Keeping Track
It’s essential to keep detailed notes in your employee’s files that recount any discussions you may have had about disciplinary or potentially disciplinary issues. You should also keep copies of any written correspondence on file after they’re provided with the original.
Need Help?
For more information on ‘for cause’ termination, take a look at the Government of BC’s page on Quitting or getting fired. It’s important to remember that the onus of proof rests with the employer for terminating with cause, and it’s recommended that you seek legal advice before carrying out any termination.
Non-Culpable Behaviours: Finding the Solution
The approach is different when addressing non-culpable behaviours, where the employee may not be responsible. Your goal is to find a solution to address the problem and coach and support the employee so they can meet the expectations you’ve set for them.
But this doesn’t mean you can’t ultimately let an employee go on a ‘without cause’ basis. BC Employment Standards set out expectations for severance and notice in such cases. However, leaving this option as a last resort allows you to work with the employee in an effort to resolve the issue, avoiding the need to terminate and the costs associated with it.
The Approach
The first step is to identify what the underlying problem is. If an employee is underperforming, is it because they don’t understand what’s required or need more training?
If you have employees who are often ill and unable to work, would implementing a workplace wellness program help resolve the issue? In an office environment, a good ergonomics program may help reduce overall absences due to headaches, arm and shoulder strain, and so on.
When you find employees going through personal issues that are creating a distraction at work, making temporary adjustments to their work situation, such as modifying their duties or allowing them to take some time off, can be immensely helpful.
The Importance of Communication
Open communication is essential. When a concern arises, speaking directly to your staff may give you a sense of what’s affecting their performance. By trying to find a mutually agreeable solution and providing support and understanding, you’ll not only gain a loyal and appreciative employee but a well-performing one, too.
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