Unproductive subordinate missing deadlines due to health conditions and problems outside work

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

I manage an unproductive subordinate, who has worked for the company for about 8 years. The issue was first raised almost 2 years ago, and has been gradually getting worse. The problem is not the quality of work, but the time it takes to complete the work. I have tried several different methods to try making him more productive.

He gives his health conditions and problems outside of work as reasons for the poor productivity, which just sound like excuses. Before his health conditions were disclosed to me, I found he was unable to focus on his work and instead kept staring at his screen for long durations.

HR are involved due to his health conditions, and have been working with him on a list of reasonable adjustments. However, this has been going on for over 2 years. He says the deadlines being set are for his benefit, but he cannot meet them because of his problems outside of work.

As part of the reasonable adjustments, I feel like I have to walk on eggshells. I can't Skype him when he works from home, and he does not respond to my emails, so I have no idea what he is doingor why his work is taking so long. When I ask when his work would be complete, he says "tomorrow" or "next week", but when that comes around, his response is the same again. I am less productive due to the time I spend managing him, and I even end up taking his work home and completing it at night.

His previous line manager, who is now my boss, had the same problem, and is frustrated with the process. He advises me to avoid doing anything that could put the company at the risk of battling an unfair dismissal case in court. He has been pushing for the list of reasonable adjustments, but now the subordinate says he is angry with the company as he feels he is not being understood. Approaching HR is not particularly useful as they are either out of the office or unavailable for meetings.

I would now simply like to fire him, but I want to avoid being accused of unfairly dismissing my subordinate. This is my first time managing such a situation. What can I do to improve the situation that won't get me in trouble for firing him?

manpreet 2 years ago

The first thing you need to do is establish if there are any adjustments which can be made which aren't. Then make sure they are happening, then forget about any performance issues, experience, etc. from before those were in place. If HR are unresponsive then escalate to their managers.

The second thing you need to do is ensure your expectations are documented - things which. Not what your star performer does, but what some other person who gets the job done but fails to impress manages to produce.

Thirdly, you need to look at those expectations again in light and see if there are reasonable adjustments you need applying (e.g. do you really need short response times - or do you actually need regular updates?). Identify which are being met and which are not. Hopefully you should be having regular performance reviews so this should already exist once you have had an assessment period in which all reasonable adjustments have been made.

Fourthly, you need to find a manager to run a capability procedure (Other answers mention PIP but capability is the magic word to tell HR and to look for in your company policies). This gives them the chance to improve... and a clear process for what happens if they do not. Make sure they have every opportunity to be represented by a colleague or union representative (your choice) and request further adjustments as part of this process. You have already indicated you want this employee gone and that this is your goal. You cannot therefore run a fair process.

In the mean time, as DJClayworth says, be respectful and accept the fact that your team's productivity is lower than you would like - don't get caught up in the 'why' - you may never know, or need to know, the full story.