The idea behind performance improvement plans is positive. Companies identify issues with a worker’s job performance, educate them on the matter and assist them with meeting company standards. Successful performance improvement plans often involve additional training and a careful assessment of a worker’s job performance to ensure that they address any deficits and meet the company’s requirements.
While performance improvement plans can help workers understand company expectations and secure the support they need to meet them, they can also justify an employer’s decision to terminate a worker. In some cases, placing a worker on a performance improvement plan may be a hidden form of retaliation and a warning sign of worse to come. Employees may need to act promptly if they believe that their employers want an excuse to fire them, rather than to help them improve.
What triggered performance concerns?
Frequently, employees subject to legitimate performance improvement plans recognize that there have been issues with how they handle job functions or interactions with coworkers. However, others may question the necessity of the plan and the company’s reasoning for subjecting them to it.
The timing of the company placing the worker on the performance improvement plan can be a key warning sign of inappropriate motivation. If the employee in question recently reported a supervisor for harassment or acted as a whistleblower, the company’s alleged concerns about their performance might actually stem from a desire to fire them without consequences.
Especially if the professional can show that their attendance and job performance have remained the same or even improved since filing a complaint or acting as a whistleblower, the company’s sudden concerns about their job performance may not actually be legitimate. As such, nothing the employee does is likely to result in a favorable plan completion.
Instead, the company may continue documenting alleged performance deficits and disciplinary issues. Indications that the company holds one employee to a higher standard than others in similar positions can also serve as warning signs of a retaliatory performance improvement plan intended to obfuscate the retaliatory nature of a future termination or demotion.
Professionals questioning the legitimacy of a performance improvement plan may need the help of an attorney. Working with a lawyer can help professionals document and fight back against unlawful workplace retaliation.