Arley’s comments:

There’s been some research done here, and I appreciated the use of headings and subheadings. You’ve covered two topics in this area: how to write a recommendation report and employee discipline. However, this section is referring to something specific, which is a recommendation report about how an employee should be disciplined following an investigation. Therefore, this section will need some revision to meet the audience’s needs and a different type of research will have to be done. Also, make sure to use in-text citation and paraphrase effectively.

Introduction

In last sections, we have learned about two disciplinary actions-giving verbal and written warning to employees for their misconduct or poor performance. Moving further, this section will highlight the next disciplinary actions which can be taken depending on the repetition and seriousness of a situation. Following the progressive discipline, after giving verbal and written warning, an employer can suspend, or terminate an employee for their continuous low performance or repeated misconduct (Wright, 2016). This chapter specifically explains that how a supervisor or HR professional can make written recommendation to management for taking these disciplinary actions against an employee.

What is an Employee Disciplinary Action Report?

An Employee discipline action report is an official document that records an employee’s violation of the employer’s regulations. It contains information about employees, events/incidents when employee does not adhere to policies of organization, suggestions for improvements, and highlights the further action which can be taken against an employee.

According to Indeed.com, “An employee disciplinary action form informs an individual of their inability to meet employment expectations and includes actions that will be taken as a result. Upon completion, these documents are typically stored in the employee’s file, providing the employer with a complete record of an individual’s past behavior”(“Employment Disciplinary Action Forms: A Sample”, 2020).

Importance of Employee Disciplinary Action Reports/Forms

There are multiple purposes of writing Employee Disciplinary Action Report/Form which are as follows:

1. It serves as an evidence at times of serious disciplinary actions like termination, or suspension, etc. These reports document the facts about the actions taken before terminating an employee, which can be helpful to protect the company from legal issues (Dimoff, 2019).
2. It can decrease employee turnover because when employee get written steps for performance improvement, they will learn better(“Employment Disciplinary Action Forms: A Sample”, 2020).

Employee Discipline Recommendation Reports

A HR manager or supervisor can use information contained in Employee Disciplinary Action Reports/Forms to make recommendation to the employer for taking disciplinary actions for an employee. Recommendation reports are written for the purpose of recommending the options available for the problem. The report’s objective is to assess the possibilities, propose one, and support performance evaluation. These reports record the steps of progressive discipline actions taken and evaluation of employee’s behavior after receiving these actions. These documents present the specific facts and evidence of violation of company’s policies by a worker. This data makes it easier for the employer to make right decisions for disciplining an employee. Let’s have a look on two examples of employee discipline recommendation report.

Example 1: Recommendation for Demotion of an employee for his misconduct.

[Company Name]
[Address]

To

[The Recipient Name]

Re. Recommendation for the Demotion on Account of Rolling Out the Confidence and Breaching Employees’ Confidentiality Rights According to the C-701 Clause of Employees’ Rights Protection 2010

Dear [Name]

This letter is to serve as a recommendation to the demotion of Mr. Joseph Michael from the Department of Tax and Finance. According to the C-701 Clause of Employees’ Rights Protection 2010, all the employees are liable to keep important information of the company confidential. It may include project management, contractual details, or other internal affairs of the company.

Moreover, it is stated in the law that no employee can reveal personal information about the other employees. As Human Resource is in charge and possesses all the information about the employees, thus, the members of Human Resource are liable to keep the information confidential and not reveal any information.

Such acts committed by an employee can cause revealer’s reprimand in the verbal and written medium. Hence, if not reprimanded, certain disciplinary actions can be taken likewise depending on the gravity of the problem produced.

On 23rd January 20XX, it was reported in the General Management that Mr. Joseph Michael has been working with Human Resource due to a lack of available manpower. The report stated that he has been accused of revealing important information about [X]. Some of the personal credentials were disclosed for inappropriate use. He was reprimanded verbally, and a written warning note was also sent to him (Please find the copy attached).

In the warning letter, he was warned of his immoral and deliberately illegal action and was also told that the warning will lead to strict disciplinary action if not abstained.

I am regretful to state that Mr. Joseph has committed the same act again. He has also confessed that it was done by him that is not acceptable after giving one verbal and one written warning and deterred. Hence, it has been decided by the supervisory committee to take up strict disciplinary measures against Mr. Joseph so that any more acts like this can be halted.

The supervisory committee recommends demoting Mr. Joseph from Senior Finance Manager to Assistant Finance Manager into the B-09 scale of the job. Thus, he is unable to entertain any perks and privileges of a Senior Finance Manager. Further diligence is recommended in the internal affairs of the company. Moreover, it is declared that any other breach of confidence will result in the termination of Mr. Joseph.

A copy of this letter has been sent to the Senior General Manager, Assistant Manager, Managing Director, and Supervisors of all of the departments.

For more please contact at [X].

Regards

Max Cooper
Department of General Management
Arcadia Groups
C-42, Limson Square Avenue, San Diego
California, USA

Example 2: Recommendation for Termination of an employee for his Poor Performance and Inappropriate Behavior.

[Company Name]
[Address]

To

[The Recipient Name]

Re. Recommendation of the Termination of Mr. Michael Levant from the Department of Project Analysis and Development on the Grounds of Chronic Inappropriate Behavior and Poor Performance.  

Dear Manson,

The letter has been drafted to serve as a recommendation letter from the Supervisor/Head/Consolidation Officer of the Department of Project Analysis and Development. The letter justifies and recommends the termination of Mr. Michael Levant for inappropriate behavior and poor performance.

Levant’s sheer irresponsibility and carelessness have caused immense irregularity and have caused [X]’s Project of $1M investment as creditors. His wrong calculation and then misconduct have caused me to recommend that.

Mr. Levant has already been warned and reprimanded for such misconduct and carelessness which met no amendment and improvement. On 10 February 20XX he was furnished with a warning/reprimand letter and ten days’ time was provided as a period of sheer diligence and careful conduct.

Hence, he did not pay heed to the reprimand notices (verbal and written). On asking me to amend his ways, he behaved rudely and pounce the files on the table of the senior manager.

There are certain rules and regulations that need to be followed while working on the premises of the office. Moreover, Federal Law of Employee Commencement 2017 clearly states that an employer is legitimate to reprimand/demote/terminate any of the employees whose behavior does not accommodate the environment of the workplace.

Having said all of this, I recommend the immediate commencement of Levant’s termination withholding all of his rights to pension and termination perks. Such disciplinary actions are to improve the workplace environment and indicate the other workers to behave within a certain code of conduct.

A copy of the letter has been provided to all the department heads, management force, and human resources. Please contact me for more at [X] or write to me at [X].

Regards

Manson Karl
Supervisor/Consolidation Officer
Department of Project Analysis and Development
I-CEPS Group of IT Professionals and Software
C-90 G Sector, San Diego, California, USA

How to write Employee Discipline Recommendation Reports?

According to a blog by Untoldcontent.com, the tips for writing Recommendation Reports include:

1. Executive summary: There should be proper summarization and introduction of the purpose of writing a report. The reason for writing the report should be clear to the audience.
2. Problem statement: The problem statement is to justify the purpose the report. It is the most important part of the report as it provides a strong sense of need for the options.
3. Description of Options: It also plays a vital role in the report. It should include the following information:
   1. 1. Overview of the option
      2. Specific details about how this idea could be implemented
      3. Justification to why this idea would work
4. Evaluation criteria and evaluation of options: In this section, the evaluation criteria would be done based on information figured in statement of need. Then each option will be evaluated based on ability to answer the criteria.
5. Final recommendation: After describing and evaluating, you will recommend the best option for it and also the reasons for the recommendation. 
6. Conclusion: The conclusion will restate the final recommendation and offer suggestions about how the audience could move towards implementation.

What to include in an Employee Disciplinary Recommendation Report?

According to Sampleforms.com, the important information to include in the report is:

1. Details of Employee- Full name, Position of Job, Employment Period(for how long he/she has been working in the company) and status( whether he/she is a permanent or probationary employee).
2. Description of Company’s Policies which are violated by the employee.
3. Details of incident when these policies were violated and how. Include the witnesses’ statements for justification.
4. Add written records of communication conducted with the employee and witnesses.
5. Include Supervisor’s information and his/her signature.
6. Explain the recommended action and how it justifies. Add evidences of previous warnings.
7. Specify the date till the disciplinary action is effective.
8. Get Approval from the employer before making final decision. Get the Report signed and dated by the employer.

Template of an employee discipline recommendation report

Given below is a template by Sampleforms.com.

Template: Disciplinary Action Report Form

Key Takeaways

References

1.  Wright, M. (2016). [Blog]. Retrieved 17 July 2021, from https://mrsc.org/Home/Stay-Informed/MRSC-Insight/October/A-4-Step-Approach-to-Progressive-Discipline.aspx.
2. Disciplinary Action. Betterteam. Retrieved 17 July 2021, from https://www.betterteam.com/disciplinary-action.
3. Employment Disciplinary Action Forms: A Sample. Indeed.com. (2020). Retrieved 17 July 2021, from https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/disciplinary-action.
4. – Dimoff, T. (2019). How to Complete Employee Disciplinary Forms (or Write-Ups). i-Sight. Retrieved 17 July 2021, from https://i-sight.com/resources/how-to-complete-employee-disciplinary-forms-or-write-ups/.
5. Recommendation Letter for Disciplinary Action | Word & Excel Templates. Wordexceltemplates.com. (2021). Retrieved 17 July 2021, from https://www.wordexceltemplates.com/recommendation-letter-for-disciplinary-action/.
6. Gormandy White, M. Tips for Writing a Good Recommendation. Grammar.yourdictionary.com. Retrieved 17 July 2021, from https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/tips-for-writing-a-good-recommendation-memo.html.
7. Untold Content. n.d. Blog | Untold Content. [online] Available at: <https://untoldcontent.com/blog/> [Accessed 17 July 2021].
8. Sampleforms.com. Retrieved 17 July 2021, from https://www.sampleforms.com/disciplinary-report-forms.html.