In this instalment of Lancaster’s Workplace Essentials webinar series, expert panelists will examine recent caselaw and key principles relating to progressive discipline. Topics to be addressed include:

• What is the distinction between job coaching and training, performance management, and discipline? When may non-disciplinary approaches be appropriate to improve employee behaviour?
• Is it necessary to apply a “progressive” approach to discipline in all cases? When are employers justified in imposing more serious consequences at first instance?
• Can the progressive discipline process be “bypassed” by relying on language to that effect in a contract, collective agreement, or policy? For example:
  • Where a “penalty provision” stipulates a severe consequence for a specific type of workplace misconduct?
  • Where the employer has a “zero tolerance” policy in place?
  • Where there is a “last chance” agreement in place?
• What is the doctrine of “culminating incident”? When may an employer rely on earlier misconduct by an employee in support of more serious disciplinary consequences for subsequent misdeeds? How may a “sunset clause” impact this analysis?
• What consequences can flow from a court’s or arbitrator’s finding that an employer improperly failed to apply a progressive approach to discipline?
• How can employers and unions collaborate to develop progressive discipline processes that are both fair and effective in deterring employee misconduct?