An employee who fails to meet their obligations according to the employment agreement can be reprimanded by their employer. It is important for both parties to be aware of the difference between different types of reprimands. Below, the difference between a warning and a reprimand will be explained.
A reminder is issued if the employee has acted incorrectly or failed to fulfill their obligations under the employment contract in a desirable manner. The purpose of a reminder is to be a corrective or informative measure that reminds the employee of their obligations. The employee should be made aware of the problem in order to create an opportunity for the employee to adjust their behavior. The employee must also be made aware of the consequences of not changing their behavior (see e.g. AD 2011 no. 78 and AD 2013 no. 53).
As a starting point, the employer is not obliged to negotiate according to the Co-determination Act before issuing a reminder. There are also no formal requirements for what a reminder should look like. However, it may be a good idea for an employer to prepare a written reminder and ask for the employee's signature certifying that they have read the reminder. This can serve as suitable documentation that the employer has requested a change and that the employee has received this request. Such documentation is important for evidentiary purposes.
A reminder should also indicate what an employer can normally expect from an employee, how the employee's behavior has deviated from this, and what consequences will follow if the behavior does not change. It is important to be specific about what has happened and when it happened.
A warning can be considered a disciplinary measure. A warning is considered a disciplinary measure when the employee is warned in such a way that the warning can be perceived as a punishment in itself - for example, by containing a threat (see AD 1980 no. 156). Such a measure requires support in law or collective agreement and must be negotiated according to the Co-determination Act.
Provisions regarding a warning are stated, for example, in the Act on Public Employees. Collective agreements also contain provisions on disciplinary measures such as suspension, salary deductions, and warnings.
