Written warning at work-what now?

LegacyUser

THis may be in the wrong place, so move if that's the case!
Anyway, I'm in retail managment and made a really stupid decision recently, one that was for all the right reasons but against company policy, so I ended up with a final written warning, to be on my file for a year. Basically, if I f*** up again I get dismissed, but that's not going to happen coz I love what I do and I'm treading on eggshells to ensure that I don't mess up again. However, does anybody know if this gets mentions if another company wants a reference for me? I had thought about spreading my wings before this happened but now I'm afraid that if I apply for any jobs the warning will be put on my reference (my company issue the standard dates/position/reliable/punctual/rehire again? type of reference), is this the case? It's blown over to a certain degree with my immediate superiors, they understand why I did it but agree that it wasn't my finest moment so I don't want to bring it up with them! Thanks

Gordon

I'll move this to the work forum but you won't be able to reply as an unregistered user hamstermum. PM me if you want this moved back to PI.

pickarooney

I'm pretty sure from reading previous threads here on the subject that Irish companies are not allowed to give negative references, just neutral or positive ones.

John Mason

i lost a job because a company gave me a bad reference for leaving them - horrible people to work for tbh

vibe666

my g/f used to be in recruitment until recently and she had a very hard time trying not to tell people that their favoured referee had given them a bad reference. whilst they legally aren't allowed to give a bad reference afaik, they quite often did anyway but as it is confidential she legally couldn't tell the people looking for work that they'd got a duff reference.

it happened several times that she had candidates for jobs with perfect CV's on paper who went right through to 2nd and 3rd interviews without problems then got canned when it came to references.

i guess I'm just trying to say that you should be careful who you give as a reference and make sure they like you first!

either that or get to know someone in recruitment and get them to do a test reference call to your references to make sure you get good ones!

AARRRGH

Companies can give negative references, as long as what they say is true.

"He was on his final written warning when he left".

Doesn't sound too good...

What you could do is apply for jobs while in your current position, and simply say you don't want to give your current employer as a referee due to you still working there.

kaimera

Hang on, a final written warning?

What did you do prior to the final one?

Show_me_Safety

kaimera wrote: »

Hang on, a final written warning?

What did you do prior to the final one?

there's process of warnings that an employer must follow:

informal warning>formal verbal warning>written warning>final written warning.

...so unless you have these warnings already they should not give a final written warning.
if it stays on your file for one year than it will affect any promotion you go for within the company, and it can be mentioned in a reference.
if i was you and was being interviewed for a new job i would mention it to an employer but spin it in such a way where you show you have learned from it...
that, imo, looks better than hiding it and having them find out when they call for a reference.
you can also appeal the decision to have your final written warning reduced to say a verbal warning.

the process doesn't apply to those on probation however, meaning you can go from verbal warning to dismissal in one step.

leeroybrown

Show_me_Safety wrote: »

there's process of warnings that an employer must follow:

informal warning>formal verbal warning>written warning>final written warning.

...so unless you have these warnings already they should not give a final written warning.

In fairness to the employer, without us having the full details of the conduct or a copy of their discipline procedures we comment with any certainty.

'Must' and 'should not' do not apply here. Convention dictates that this order is applied but the employer has full discretion to go straight to a final warning or even a dismissal should they feel that it matches the offense. So long as they are following through on procedure they're not doing anything wrong.

As for the OP, I'd suggest putting any plans to leave on hold temporarily to let things blow over fully. If they see out the year and the warning is expunged from their permanent record then it hopefully won't come up again. Trying to move now introduces a serious risk of alerting future employers to the problem, not getting those jobs and causing problems in the current company when the reference check comes in.

Nody

Show_me_Safety wrote: »

there's process of warnings that an employer must follow:

Err no, sorry you're wrong.

...so unless you have these warnings already they should not give a final written warning.

No, the warning has to match the company policy AND be appropiate to the severity of the error. I.e. if you come in drunk to work, crash the fork lift through the office of your boss and then pee on his table you're not going to get the same warning as if you came in late two hours a day for a week. The rule of thumb would be "What would be considered industry standard" when deciding the warning severity.

board om

Show_me_Safety wrote: »

there's process of warnings that an employer must follow:

informal warning>formal verbal warning>written warning>final written warning.

...so unless you have these warnings already they should not give a final written warning.
if it stays on your file for one year than it will affect any promotion you go for within the company, and it can be mentioned in a reference.
if i was you and was being interviewed for a new job i would mention it to an employer but spin it in such a way where you show you have learned from it...
that, imo, looks better than hiding it and having them find out when they call for a reference.
you can also appeal the decision to have your final written warning reduced to say a verbal warning.

the process doesn't apply to those on probation however, meaning you can go from verbal warning to dismissal in one step.

Nody is right there. if it is something like a time keeping issue or maybe down to you not doing your work to a stsfactoy level then they have to follow the verbal warning, written warning, and then final written warning.

but if you did something like stealing from your employer or as nody said came in drunk and crashed the forklift, it is grounds for immediate dismissal.

tbh the fact that they gave the OP a final written warning straight off means it was something serious. but the fact they didnt actually let him go i would take to mean that they must like him and know that he just made a bad decision. so they are basically warning him but are giving him the chance to put things right. they obviously think a lot of him so it might be worth staying there if he likes the place.

GavMan

Very much a little from column A and a little from column B

Companies should have a grievance procedure set out and agreed upon(which would include a warning structure)

However, you still can be sacked on the spot, depending on the offence.

*Dallas

im in a similar situation.. final written warning for logging a colleague in one morning.

I never did anything wrong before and it was the companies decision to place me on a final written.

They don't have to give a verbal first, it depends on the severity of what you have done wrong.

I'm lucky though the company i work for will not give a "character" reference.... all they say is "she worked with us from x to x " but I think the majority of companies would love to get that dig in against you to possible employers by saying "he/she was on a years warning".

So you have two options, dont give the company as a reference or be upfront with your new employer and be honest, tell them you are on a warning- they'll find out anyway and the fact that you are honest would count for alot.

board om

*Dallas wrote: »

have two options, dont give the company as a reference or be upfront with your new employer and be honest, tell them you are on a warning- they'll find out anyway and the fact that you are honest would count for alot.

what ever you do, DO NOT tell the company you are interviewing with that you were on final or any other written warning. i can tell you now that if you do you will definitly not get the job. honesty doesnt pay off in these situations im afraid. you just come across as someone who is stupidly honest.

i interviewed a guy once for a sales position and he said that he was given a warning for not hitting target so he worked harder and now he over achieves his targets. fair enough, it shows he works hard. but he didnt get a job and it was becuase of the original comment about the warning.

your options are to stay where you are for a few months and prove everyone wrong by working hard and then ask your direct team leader / manager for a reference. or else just jump ship now and dont mention your warning to the new employer and if it comes up in the reference check it comes up. if it doesnt it doesnt. i wouldnt go worrying about it though. in all the references i have checked i have never been informed of warnings. if you were fired it would be a differnt story though.