What is a written warning?
Most people know what a written warning is. It is a document issued by an employer to an employee asserting that the employee’s performance or conduct has been unsatisfactory and that the employee is at risk of dismissal. The warning may contain a period of time by which the employee has to improve. A warning is often used to support a decision to dismiss and should therefore be treated seriously by employees.
What can I do about a written warning?
Employers usually have a general discretion to issue written warnings unilaterally. This means warnings can be issued for trivial or personal reasons with little to no external scrutiny. There is also no universal law in Australia that requires an employer to issue a certain number of warnings before they can dismiss an employee. Accordingly, if you have received one warning, you should not automatically assume that another will follow before any dismissal.
The lawyers at Jewell Hancock Employment Lawyers can assist you in challenging the issuing of a warning, negotiating the terms upon which a warning has been issued and making an application to the Fair Work Commission if the warning has been implemented for an unlawful reason or is part of a general pattern of workplace bullying. We can also assist you to rely on deficiencies in a warning to support an unfair dismissal application.
It is important to act quickly if a warning is issued.
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You are not legally required to sign a warning if you don’t agree with it. If you disagree with a written warning, you can provide a written response outlining your version of events or raising concerns about its fairness.
Yes, depending on the circumstances. There is no law in Australia that requires employers to issue a certain number of warnings before dismissing an employee – provided they follow a fair process.
Employers are expected to follow a fair disciplinary process before taking serious action like dismissal, which may include issuing a warning. If you believe you weren’t given a chance to respond, the process lacked transparency, or the warning was retaliatory, you may have grounds for legal action.
