Probation

4.100 PROBATION PROCEDURES DUE TO UNACCEPTABLE PERFORMANCE

When an employee's work performance fails to meet position requirements, the manager may either give the employee a verbal warning and follow up with written documentation, or the manager may place the employee on written probation for a period of not less than thirty (30) days nor more than ninety (90) days. The action the manager elects to take depends on her or his assessment of the seriousness of the performance problems and the remedial actions the manager and the employee must take for the employee to reach satisfactory performance requirements.

Under most circumstances the action that is taken with the employee will begin with a verbal counseling session. If improvement in the employee's work performance does not occur, the manager will give the employee a written statement of the problem(s) as defined below. If the employee's work performance does not improve to a satisfactory level following this warning, then a final written statement will be given the employee by the manager. In each step of this process, a set period of time will be stated during which the performance improvement must occur.

If the manager determines that she or he must place an employee on formal, written probation, a counseling statement will be prepared by the manager to include the following information:

  1. A statement of the problem(s) regarding rules, policies, standards, practices, unsatisfactory performance, etc.
  2. A statement of prior discussions or warnings on the subject.
  3. A statement of the College policy or rule on the subject, if applicable.
  4. A summary of the corrective action to be taken to correct the problem.
  5. A statement of the consequences of the employee's failure to improve the performance or correct the behavior.
  6. The employee is given an opportunity to make a written statement in response to the counseling statement.

The counseling statement will be discussed in detail with the employee to ensure that both the manager and employee understand all conditions of probation. The manager and the employee will sign the counseling statement to acknowledge that it has been reviewed with the employee, and it will be forwarded to the Office of Human Resources for placement in the employee's file. If the employee should refuse to sign the statement, a witness will sign the document showing that the employee refused to sign the statement.

An employee on probation is ineligible to receive salary increases. Also, the employee may not apply for other positions on campus. The manager will meet with the employee at the end of the probationary period to discuss the improvement that has been made with the work performance. At this time the employee will be removed from probation if the requisite improvement has occurred. The probation period may be extended only on an exception basis. Approval of extension of probation must be given by the senior administrator and the Director of Human Resources.