Oral Reprimand | Meaning and Definition

What is an oral reprimand?

An oral reprimand refers to a verbal admonition given by a manager or supervisor to an employee as a way of rectifying an incident of unacceptable behavior or conduct in the workplace. The admonisher here reproaches the employee by accurately and professionally articulating the concern such that the employee receives the warning, as well as other employees, come to respect the directives.

Furthermore, it is a means for a manager or supervisor to strive to correct an issue without needing to fill out any formal document. That is done to keep the incident off the employee’s professional record. A verbal or written document is underpinned by a document that is allocated to the employee. Approval from the Department Head must be secured before issuing a reprimand. 

When is an oral reprimand issued?

Oral reprimand is issued in the following scenarios:

•   Avoid issuing a separate oral reprimand for every breach or violation that an employee commits through a single incident. Instead, all violations must be cited in one reprimand itself. Scribing separate reproaches or as it said piling-up is not allowed.
•   To elaborate on an incident of misconduct, a supervisor or manager must collect all the germane details. For instance, one must know where the incident happened, how it happened, what actually occurred, the time and date of the incident, the folks involved in the incident, etc. In case there are witnesses, procure their statements on what they noticed.
•   Mention (if applicable) the misconduct of the employee that was recorded previously and the instruction, counsel, and oral reprimands you provided to the employee before.
•   Mention the disciplinary levels that are applied to regulate violations or any sort of breach. For instance, the instances of being rude to staff, students, or the public shall meet the following:

1. The first instance of misconduct: Oral reprimand
2. The second instance of misconduct is: Written reprimand
3. The third instance of misconduct: Suspension
4. The fourth instance of misconduct: Discharge

•   Indicate where the reprimand would be registered. All the oral reprimands are stacked in the departmental file whereas written reprimands are sent over to Employee Relations where they are placed in the official personnel file of employees in Human Resources. This must be mentioned to the employee.