Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Employee relationsEmployment lawDispute resolutionDiscipline

Employers crack down on unauthorised absence

by Personnel Today 10 Jul 2007
by Personnel Today 10 Jul 2007

Poor timekeeping, unauthorised absence and poor performance levels are rife in the average workplace, according to research by Personnel Today’s sister publication, Employment Review.

When HR practitioners were asked about the issues that frequently gave rise to disciplinary action in their organisation, nearly one in three (30%) cited absence, while a further one in four said poor timekeeping (25%) and poor performance or capability (23%).

The same problems were mentioned as occasional causes of disciplinary proceedings by 61% in relation to absence, 59% in relation to poor timekeeping, and 67% for poor performance or capability.

But the most commonly cited overall cause of disciplinary procedures was the catch-all problem of ‘general misconduct’, said to be a frequent trigger for action by 36% of employers and an occasional one by a further 58%.

Further down the scale, one in 10 employers (10%) said they frequently had to invoke formal disciplinary procedures because of theft, while almost as many (9%) said they had to do so to deal with e-mail or internet misuse.

Most employers also had a less frequent need to use disciplinary procedures to deal with bullying or harassment (68%) and health and safety infringements (51%), while around one in three (32%) did so in response to substance misuse.

The 147 surveyed employers together employ 287,644 staff. Over the past year, they had formally disciplined 5,456 individuals.
Employees who fall foul of disciplinary procedures are most likely to face transfer to another job or downgrading, the Employment Review study shows.

Most employers prefer to downgrade employees rather than dismiss them…

Most of those surveyed said that when they needed a sanction short of dismissal they would transfer (60%) or downgrade (53%) employees. Less commonly, they would suspend them without pay (37%), withhold a bonus (29%), or deny a basic pay rise (23%).

The employers taking part in the survey said they had dismissed a total of 1,359 people in the previous 12 months – around one in four of all those taken through formal disciplinary proceedings.

All the organisations taking part in the study had formal disciplinary policies. More than nine in 10 (91%) said their procedures involved at least three stages and an appeals process (93%), while eight in 10 (78%) set time limits for each stage of the procedure.

…but you can’t say you weren’t warned

Employers use multiple methods of warning employees about the disciplinary procedures they have in place and the sanctions they might face if they fall foul of them.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

According to the Employment Review research, three out of four employers (75%) use employee handbooks and contracts of employment to spell out their procedures, while two-thirds raise the issue during induction (67%) or have information on their intranet (62%).

Less commonly, one in four employers (24%) talk about disciplinary procedures in their letters of appointment.

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Visa applications centres closure plan raises fears of more potential terrorists getting jobs in the UK
next post
Human resources salary survey: the demise of HR bonuses

You may also like

Fire and rehire: the relocation question

22 May 2025

Minister defends Employment Rights Bill at Acas conference

16 May 2025

CBI chair Soames accuses ministers of not listening...

16 May 2025

EHRC bows to pressure and extends gender consultation

15 May 2025

‘Polygamous working’ is a minefield for HR

14 May 2025

Contract cleaner loses EAT race discrimination appeal

14 May 2025

Construction workers win compensation claim against defunct employer

9 May 2025

Zero-hours workers’ rights to be extended from beyond...

8 May 2025

Employment tribunal backlog up 23% in a year

7 May 2025

Ministers urged to outlaw misuse of NDAs

7 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+