Overcoming the Urge to Disregard a Cautionary Advice
Receiving a warning from your employer for repeated lateness or absence without a valid reason isn't something to just accept blindly. It can be recorded in your personnel file, affecting your chances of promotion and potentially leading to termination if it happens again.
But fear not, employees do have options to challenge a warning. First and foremost, they should ensure that the allegation in the warning is indeed accurate. If it's found to be unjustified, then you can request your employer to withdraw the warning from your personnel file, suggests Johannes Schipp, a labor law specialist attorney.
What if the employer refuses to comply? In such cases, there's always the option of legal action - filing a lawsuit to have the warning removed from your file. If direct litigation isn't your cup of tea, you can alternatively demand that a counter-statement be included in your file. This will ensure that the incident leading to the warning is not represented as a one-sided matter by your employer.
Warnings and termination protection
It's essential to note that not challenging a warning does not imply acceptance of the allegation. Your employer may not conclude that the warning was justified even if you didn't challenge it initially. During a termination protection process, you can still argue that the warning was unwarranted - even if you chose to keep silent at the time of the warning. This can occasionally be a strategic move. For the employer, it may be challenging to prove the warrant of the warning after some years have passed.
Timeframe of warnings
Can you simply wait out the expiration of the warning instead of contesting it with your employer? It's not as straightforward as that in most instances. There's no specific legal provision regarding how long warnings should be kept in your personnel file.
According to labor law specialist attorney Schipp, the length of time a warning remains in your file largely depends on the severity of the offense. Minor infractions can often result in a warming's removal from your file after about two years, while more serious cases may be kept on file longer.
In extraordinary circumstances, you can even demand not just removal from the personnel file but the actual withdrawal of the warning itself. This, however, necessitates a particular legal interest, such as continuing impairment of your employee rights.
Upon finding the warning unjustified, you can request your employer to withdraw it, as advised by labor law specialist attorney Johannes Schipp. If the employer refuses to comply, legal action or demanding a counter-statement inclusion in your file are viable options.
During the termination protection process, even if you initially did not challenge the warning, you can still argue that it was unwarranted, potentially proving it challenging for the employer to prove the warrant after some time has passed.
