These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications.
Q: How long should disciplinary warnings remain on file?
A: Really there are two questions here. For how long is a warning valid, and when should we remove it physically from the file? Ordinarily all warnings up to but excluding final warnings should remain valid for no longer than six months. During that time, if there is a recurrence of misbehaviour, you may proceed to the next level of your disciplinary procedure.
A final warning ordinarily remains valid for twelve months. However you may vary the validity length of any warning if you have good reason for doing so. For example a final warning for expense claim irregularities might remain live for two years, whilst one for sexual harassment could remain valid indefinitely. How long the warnings remain on file should be embodied in company policy and communicated to all employees. Take note of the recommendations of the Information Commissioner. What do you and your colleagues think?
At one extreme you might argue that, if a warning is no longer valid, no record should remain. At the other extreme you might argue that a long term record needs to be kept in case a pattern develops in which, after a year of good behaviour following a final warning, an employee starts to misbehave again. Your policy may fall somewhere between these extremes. You may, for example, remove warnings from individual employees' files as soon as they expire, but keep a brief record of disciplinary warnings in a central place.
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