Policy overview
Our staff are central to the success of our aims and objectives. We want to foster a culture that encourages them to manage and improve their performance.
Our managers will support employees by being clear about the standards we expect. We will provide training and development to help them meet these standards.
Managing performance is an ongoing process. It is a means to encourage improvement in staff performance. We promote an informal approach before referral to our capability procedure.
We will look at ways to resolve capability issues, such as:
- further training
- additional support and coaching
- access to tools and resources
- improved communication or working relationships
Principles
- Managers should use this policy when an employee's performance falls short of expectations.
- This policy applies to all employees, following their probationary period. If an employee underperforms during this time, the probation policy will apply.
- 'Working days' are weekdays, Monday to Friday. These exclude Bank Holidays and statutory holidays, regardless of the days an employee works.
- Managers will monitor performance with one-to-one meetings and ongoing discussions. They will review this as part of the performance and development appraisal process.
- We will support the improvement of performance to contribute to our objectives.
- When dealing with an employee's under or poor performance, the manager will:
- allow sufficient time for improvements in performance
- consider training, support and additional guidance
- To determine whether an employee is under-performing, managers will take into account:
- any reasonable adjustments required under the Equality Act 2010
- any agreed programme of training or support
- any other factors that may impact on an employee's performance
- An employee may have an underlying medical issue affecting their performance. Managers may consider referring the employee to occupational health. This team will support the employee with recommendations and may refer them to other support services. To find out more, read our employee support policy.
- Managers will aim to support an employee with any reasonable adjustments, or consideration for redeployment on medical grounds where it is recommended by occupational health
- If an employee develops a disability defined under the Equality Act 2010 and occupational health recommend redeployment, they will have Primary At Risk status. We will give them priority consideration for alternative roles. For more details, read our redeployment policy.
- An employee may decline a referral to occupational health. The manager should explain that without a report, they will make decisions using the information available.
- Managers will decide whether meetings should be held in person or virtually or as a hybrid of both.
