Suzanne Desrosiers Professional Corporation

(705) 268-6492
(705) 268-6492

Progressive Discipline

As an employer, it is very likely that at some point you may need to apply progressive discipline if inappropriate behaviour is exhibited by an employee within the workplace. If you are federally regulated, it is imperative that progressive discipline is applied properly, and be documented, to be able to dismiss an employee. Progressive discipline is the process of applying disciplinary measures of increasing severity that is proportional to the misconduct of the employee in an effort to provide the employee with a reasonable chance to correct the inappropriate behaviour.

Progressive Discipline

  • Applies to both Federal and Provincial Employers
  • Notes the problem with ignoring or only providing verbal warnings for inappropriate behaviour
  • Explains how to properly apply progressive discipline
  • States and addresses the importance that the employee understands that their employment is at risk
  • Addresses when an employer has grounds to terminate after applying progressive discipline
  • For Federal Employers, where the employee has worked for more than 12 months, it is the main way that an Employer can establish a termination for cause claim
  • Offered in-person and online either live over Zoom or Microsoft Teams or via self-paced modules
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Under the Canada Labour Code, just cause must be proven to terminate the employment relationship if employed for more than twelve consecutive months of employment and the only way to prove just cause is through the proper application of progressive discipline unless there is one serious event of misconduct. For provincially regulated employers, progressive discipline should be applied to correct employee misconduct as it gives your employees an opportunity to become aware of the issues occurring and how they can fix them. Our team of lawyers can advise you on how to deal with misconduct in the workplace and prepare any notices or letters as required.

To learn more, read our blog post on Progressive Discipline.

If you would like to look into training on progressive discipline, the SDLaw e-Learning & Training Centre, offers a self-paced course on this topic entitled Progressive Discipline in the Workplace Training.