What is: Discipline

Managing poor performance or inappropriate behaviour

Unfortunately, there are times when an employee doesn’t respond to positive performance management, counselling or development and you need to initiate a discipline process. In this case Metro North Health will investigate the matter and impose a penalty if required.

What’s discipline?

Discipline is a formal process used as a last resort to act against an employee for inappropriate behaviour or poor performance.

Discipline in the public sector is governed primarily by:

the Public Sector Act (Qld) 2022
the Public Sector Commission Directive (05/23)
the Code of Conduct for the Qld Public Service 2011
Qld Health’s Discipline Policy (E10)

You must comply with the processes outlined in these documents.

A discipline process can result in:

allegations not being substantiated
administrative action
a range of penalties ranging from a formal reprimand through to termination of employment.

When is discipline required?

Staff can be disciplined either for poor performance or inappropriate conduct.
Only senior managers have the authority to commence a disciplinary process, and only after considering all other alternatives.
Discipline is not a substitute for management action. Managers must intervene early when there are issues with an employee’s performance or conduct at work. Refer to the Micro-Skill Guide on Positive Performance Management for more information about how to do this.
If you’ve taken action to help an employee improve their performance or correct behaviour and there’s been no change, you may consider initiating a disciplinary process. Consult HR for advice and guidance, to make sure you follow ‘due process’ and meet your ‘natural justice’ obligations.

Why is this important and what’s my role in this?

According to the Public Sector Act 2022 a public sector manager must:

pro-actively manage the work performance and personal conduct of public sector employees under the manager’s management
take prompt and appropriate action to address unacceptable work performance or personal conduct.

What do I need to do?

Make sure you’re familiar with the discipline process. It’s a very structured process, designed to make sure staff are treated fairly.
If you think you need to initiate a disciplinary process, consult your HR Business Partner. Don’t correspond with the employee about the process until you’ve received advice.
Don’t threaten the employee with disciplinary action.
Seek advice and take action as soon as possible, especially when the matter is serious. The Public Sector Act 2022 requires that your action is ‘timely, fair, appropriate and proportionate to the seriousness of the matter’. The action you take straight away can affect the options available to you and the final outcome.
Try not to have pre-conceived ideas about what the outcome of a discipline process should be. If you don’t get the outcome you expect, there may be other ways you can address issues and improve performance.
The outcome of a discipline process can be uncertain and take some time. Support the employee through the process.