Nearly one in five employers experience their disciplinary processes dragging on for longer than three months, causing a significant drain on time and resources, a survey has found.
Research by HR support service WorkNest shows that sickness absence caused by stress and anxiety was the most common cause of a protracted, with 23% of employers saying this was the reason for a long investigation. 19% said that a lack of staff to deal with disciplinaries also caused delays in the process.
The survey, covering 356 employers also discovered a lack of confidence in dealing with disciplinary matters among employers, with only 37% saying they are “fully confident” in handling disciplinaries effectively.
Absenteeism, including excessive short-term absences, timekeeping and unauthorised absence was the largest cause of disciplinary action, with poor performance a close second.
