Human Resource Blog

Letter of Reprimand

Does an employee have to sign a letter of reprimand if she doesn’t agree with what is written? By signing is she admitting guilt? I’m new to HR and I’m a little confused.

It is a best practice in HR to issue written reprimands to employees for serious transgressions. It is also a best practice to discuss the incident with the employee, and to ask her to sign it. The signature does not indicate that the employee is guilty. It merely indicates that this matter has been discussed with her, and that she is now aware of company policy.

Many written reprimands include a section for employee comments at the bottom. Even if there is not a section, the employee can write: I disagree with this reprimand and sign it. Either way, it has little effect on the outcome.

If an employee refuses to sign a written reprimand, the best practice is for the employer to have a (different) supervisor or manager witness her refusal. The second supervisor or manager then writes: employee refused to sign on the reprimand. The second supervisor or manager then signs and dates the paper.

Written reprimands serve two main purposes. The most important purpose is to help workers become better employees. Ideally, a reprimand just documents a two-way conversation between the employee and employee about company policy and the employers expectations. The second purpose is that they support the employer in any future legal action including discrimination or unlawful termination. They may also be used to support the employers future claim that the employee should not collect unemployment.

Refusing to sign the reprimand does not make the employee innocent, it does not wipe the slate clean and it does not prevent the employee from being fired in the future. In fact, it is somewhat childish and serves no real purpose.