A dear friend of mine got a written reprimand at her job today. The supposed "incident" happened in the morning when she arrived at work. She was called into a meeting where she received the letter. The idiot who said my friend apparently said certain things (which she wholeheartedly denies, and I honestly believe her. Very honest person) obviously lied.
This stays on her permanent record for one year. A few people that are bosses (not the BIG boss) to her sympathize with her as well thinking that the guy had nothing better to do with his time.
I do believe my friend in saying that she was wrongfully reprimanded. I told her she should go to the main boss and explain what happened. Get it taken off her record. It really is unfair so can that happen? Can my friend go to her boss and explain the situation and ask for the reprimand to be rescinded?
Thank you :)
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
You didn't say much about the kind of company in which your friend works. If it's a very small company, the rules can be rather loose.
If the company is big enough to have a human resources department, that's where to go for guidance. You should at least have access to an employee handbook. Bosses just can't hand out written reprimands on a whim (at least in theory they can't) there has to be a process guiding when written reprimands can be given. The boss at least has to go to the motions to give out a reprimand.
If there's a policy for giving reprimands, there should be a policy for contesting them. The HR department should be able to advise on what these policies are.
Most written reprimand systems I"ve worked with has the employee sign off as an acknowledgment . You can and should sign stating that you understand the reprimand but do not agree that it is valid. The events did not occur.
The main purpose of a reprimand system is to protect the company should they have to fire you and you decide to sue.