Should I sign a written warning – documenting your employment.

My company looks to write people up because they fight all claims my question is what do I do if written up sign or don’t sign

Hi,

Whether you sign or do not sign a written warning should be dictated by the form. Somewhere on the form it should state what signing it means.

If you want to cut to the chase .. ask the employer if signing the form means you agree with what is stated on it or if you may attach a statement disagreeing which will be added to your personnel file because if you are being warned and you disagree, nothing should go unanswered.

You can also look to your employee handbook. Refusing to sign might be grounds for immediate termination for insubordination.

In either case, I believe that when you disagree with a written warning it is your responsibility to counter document your disagreement. The goal should be to have the employer attach your documentation to the warning.

Of course your disagreement needs to be legitimate.

There is nothing sadder than an unemployment claimant who was passive at the time they were being warned, not being able to “prove” a legitimate reason for disagreement which calls for the employer’s contention of misconduct to be scrutinized.

Let’s take for example someone written up for attendance, but the absence was due to a health issue .. maybe a child being sick. You need to state either on the written warning itself or through a written statement your reasons for disagreeing.

Email is perfect for when the employer says you can’t comment right on the form or says you can’t add anything to disagree with them.

When I say counter document .. I mean find a way to put your disagreement into your personnel file and/or makes you able to keep a record for your own file which can prove the employer was made aware and that will add weight to your testimony when asked by the state I”f you thought it was unfair .. why didn’t you talk to the employer about it?”

This is not rocket science .. this is common sense and it is how we may be able to win.

What if the issue is performance?

If you have a list of reasons which explain why the performance issues are not your fault, but due to uncontrollable factors or lack of training, unreasonable change in quotas, etc. Document it.

What if you believe your manager is issuing disciplines out of dislike or spite?

Document your well founded beliefs. Make notes so you can recall ..

I cannot express strongly enough that YOU MUST be aware of the rules you are employed under If you have lost yours or buried it somewhere, find it.

It is these rules and documented written warnings which create the scenario for being denied benefits due to misconduct. Counter documenting is your attempt to cover your ass from such a scenario.

Comments for Should I sign a written warning – documenting your employment.

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Dec 03, 2018
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Written Warning

by: Anonymous

Hi,

I was given a verbal warning regarding delays in service.
Two months prior I noticed that there were many programs held that overlapped another big project. During one of my meeting with my boss, I explained to her that I would like to get coverage for some of the events. She said yes but I was never granted this during events mentioned two months later. I sent emails requesting the same items but nothing was provided. I also reached out to coworkers expressing my need to have this task complete was also denied.
Three months later I was told I have a verbal warning for the delayed completion of the tasked I requested to extra time for.

Is there anything I could do combat this inaccurate claim on my record?

Yes, counter document. You can do this via an email, or if the verbal warning is a written verbal warning, on the form in the employee comment section, and/or you can indicate you’ve responded next to your signature.

For example:

Chris Unemployment Tips (please see the attached for my written response.)

Of course you need to save a copy to use and better still proof you gave a response to the employer, just in case the employer chooses not to submit the response along with the written warning .. for an unemployment hearing .l. and you don’t want to be bothered with requesting it be subpoenaed.

Not signing a write-up may be considered insubordinate behavior good enough to terminate someone immediately, even if the write up someone is refusing to sign, might not stand up well as proof of work related misconduct.

As they say .. when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Doing what an employer does, document obsessively and progressively to prove the burden of misconduct, is a technique/strategy. Few employees even think about what employers do as a strategy they too can use, and that’s a shame .. because I know it can be very effective when the facts are on the employee’s side .. vs having no way to put and keep the facts on their side.

If more employees counter documented as an employee, they’d begin to understand it all about proving facts related to the burden of quitting, or the facts as expressed by an employer on a write-up meant to make an employee appear to be guilty of misconduct regardless if the reason they were fired for, wasn’t actually willful work misconduct.

Chris

Jan 20, 2011
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do I have to sign written warning I don’t agree with

by: Anonymous

I work in a clerical position at a hospital and anyone that missed work due to the blizzard was given a written warning. Does an employee have to sign a written warning if they do not agree and if the governor issued a state of emergency. Even jobs that had no contact with patients were given warnings, something that I have never seen working in other hospitals over many years. We were also told it could be cause for termination if it happened again. Any thoughts on how to handle this, especially assuming there will be more blizzards in the future. We are all adults and should be able to make judgement on the safety of traveling in such conditions. Where do we stand on this? Comments would be appreciated

Hi,
Given that I don’t know what state you are in .. and I can’t see the small print of the written warning ..

You might consider omething along the lines of ..

Let it be known the day in question was xx/xx/xxxx. This is the day the governor declared a state of emergency due to the blizzard. I was unable to make my way to work that day due to the conditions. I have discussed this with the employer to no avail.

Employers should enforce attendance policies with the same reasoning the unemployment department uses .. as far as what is and what is not misconduct.

The reason the small print might be important is that in some states the refusal to sign a written warning depending on the small print and sometimes even unemployment rules .. might be seen as “insubordination.

It just depends on the form.