Every employer is required to have a process ensuring employees follow safety protocols—or a compliance plan—as part of their Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP). An effective compliance plan includes training, a recognition or reward process, and a disciplinary process. Your disciplinary process, or disciplinary action plan, is designed to help your employees understand how to work safely and the steps you will take when employees don’t follow your safety rules—and it belongs in the compliance section of your IIPP.

What are disciplinary procedures and why should I have them?

Disciplinary procedures protect your employees. They explain your corrective action process and the steps you will take to notify an employee of their unsafe actions or work behaviors. Your workplace benefits by lower injury rates, fewer employee absences, and greater productivity—all of which can help reduce your operational costs.

Disciplinary procedures are in place to correct work behaviors, not punish them. You should always start with positive reinforcement such as implementing an employee incentive and recognition program rewarding employees who follow safety protocols. The important thing is to identify unsafe acts and correct them. But what do you do when your positive methods aren’t working? It’s time to turn to your disciplinary action plan.  

Create your own disciplinary action procedures

A viable disciplinary plan incorporates counseling, written warnings, and suspensions, with the last step being termination. Staff will know the consequences they may face if they continue to ignore safety rules. Having disciplinary procedures in place shows your staff that you are serious about safety and that keeping employees safe is your number one priority. Don’t forget to work with your Human Resources manager in creating your plan.

Also, be sure to address your disciplinary procedures:

  • During safety orientations with new staff
  • In your employee handbook and other written safety policies
  • As reminders at your safety meetings

Besides reducing injuries, employers can use these disciplinary procedures to enforce general workplace safety practices, teach proper behaviors, and recognize employees who work safely. Your disciplinary action plan is just the first step in enhancing your safety culture and promoting a safe work environment for your staff. Just remember that the best safety structure to have is a proactive approach and the disciplinary procedures summarized will certainly help you achieve this goal.

You should also keep a confidential log of disciplinary actions for all staff so that a supervisor can easily determine what level of discipline should be applied based on previous violations.

Talk to your employees today about your disciplinary procedures. Remind them that the procedures are in place to help protect them and encourage them to report any injuries, symptoms, and/or dangerous conditions.