HR issue

[Anonymous]

I need advice on how to move forward - I will avoid any personal / company information.

Short story: Company A places Employee 1 on PIP due to multiple screw-ups and data integrity issues. Employee 1 (likely) sees the writing on the wall and makes a move: complains to HR about Employee 2. Employee 1 claims that Employee 2 retaliated against Employee 1 (by reporting the long list of mistakes that resulted in Employee 1 being placed on PIP). Employee 2 is also accused of unprofessional behavior. HR performs a half-ass investigation and issues a written warning to Employee 2. Apparently, HR cannot see that Employee 1 retaliated against Employee 2 for reporting the mistakes and data integrity issues.

Even though the circumstances are extremely clear to everyone (including management), HR stands its ground with the written warning. Refuses to engage with Employee 2, refuses to share any evidence that led to the written warning. We believe HR tries to pretend that they took action when they received the complaint from Employee 1, but they had little basis to issue the written warning. What should Employee 2 do?

[Anonymous]

Did employee 2 makes mistakes or no?
Written warning not a huge issue imo.

[Anonymous]

Yes you left out a crucial detail. Was the complaint valid.

[Anonymous]

Is employee 2 the boss?

[Anonymous]

Written warning for what? Retaliation? As in the legal definition for reporting illegal behavior? The purported grounds for the warning matter. If HR said “stop whining,” who cares. If HR says “you engaged in potentially illegal behavior,” the answer is different.

[Anonymous]

I’m assuming employee 2 is the boss. If written warning was ‘behave better’ it’s NBD.

You’re potentially mishandling the whole thing and between the two of you, you’re getting on HR’s last nerve. Eat the warning. Focus on getting Employee 1 either in line with no errors and performing or moving him/her out the door.

[Anonymous]

Most people in HR have no business managing anything. They make every situation worse once they get involved. Sucks for Employee 2 - they should start looking for a new job.

[Anonymous]

I work in HR and this is really weird and dumb of Hr as they are handing Ee 1 a way to challenge their termination.

I’m assuming there is no union here?

I think the best Ee 2 can do is request to put a written response on their personnel file which should be as succinct as possible and just set out the facts. Ideally. Ee 2 could also try their managers to write a letter for the file that says it was very helpful for ee 2 to point out these deficiencies, and that he/she does not see any basis for concluding that reporting the deficiencies in any way violated company policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did employee 2 makes mistakes or no?
Written warning not a huge issue imo.

OP here to answer questions and provide more detail as requested. I will not repeat this line, but you can assume that all answers within the next 15 minutes belong to me.

To answer this post and the next, HR had not shared any evidence to that would prove any allegations of lack of professionalism or retaliation. It is unclear how they reached those conclusions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is employee 2 the boss?

No, Employee 2 is not the boss. Employees report to different direct managers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Written warning for what? Retaliation? As in the legal definition for reporting illegal behavior? The purported grounds for the warning matter. If HR said “stop whining,” who cares. If HR says “you engaged in potentially illegal behavior,” the answer is different.

The warning letter says something along the lines "this behavior is not quite retaliation, but we will give you a warning for retaliation anyway."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m assuming employee 2 is the boss. If written warning was ‘behave better’ it’s NBD.

You’re potentially mishandling the whole thing and between the two of you, you’re getting on HR’s last nerve. Eat the warning. Focus on getting Employee 1 either in line with no errors and performing or moving him/her out the door.

This idea that someone is getting on HR's last nerve is stupid. Part of HR role is to solve conflict between employees. If they cannot solve these conflicts professionally, they should look for a different job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people in HR have no business managing anything. They make every situation worse once they get involved. Sucks for Employee 2 - they should start looking for a new job.

Employee 2 cares about the job and goes above and beyond to make sure the work is done well and on time. Puts in a lot of extra hours. Employee 1 finds any reason to leave work early and doesn't care much about quality of work. The latter is the reason why Employee 1 was placed on PIP. The work environment became really toxic and you bet Employee 2 is looking for a different job. But Employee 2 doesn't want this warning to stay on their employee record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in HR and this is really weird and dumb of Hr as they are handing Ee 1 a way to challenge their termination.

I’m assuming there is no union here?

I think the best Ee 2 can do is request to put a written response on their personnel file which should be as succinct as possible and just set out the facts. Ideally. Ee 2 could also try their managers to write a letter for the file that says it was very helpful for ee 2 to point out these deficiencies, and that he/she does not see any basis for concluding that reporting the deficiencies in any way violated company policy.

This is good to hear from and HR person and lines up with our thinking. That's likely exactly what Employee 1 is looking for because the writing was on the wall once they were placed on PIP. You are correct - there is no union.

The problem is that HR refuses to meet or engage in any way. I believe HR is legally required to provide employees guidance on HR issues, including how they can challenge HR decisions. Looking for advice on this forum is the last resort to find solutions that don't cost an arm and a leg. An employment attorney will come next if we cannot avoid going that route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m assuming employee 2 is the boss. If written warning was ‘behave better’ it’s NBD.

You’re potentially mishandling the whole thing and between the two of you, you’re getting on HR’s last nerve. Eat the warning. Focus on getting Employee 1 either in line with no errors and performing or moving him/her out the door.

This idea that someone is getting on HR's last nerve is stupid. Part of HR role is to solve conflict between employees. If they cannot solve these conflicts professionally, they should look for a different job.

HRs job is to protect the organization - if that means mediation between two people then that is what they will do. But HR does not exist merely to referee your conflicts like a parent. I don’t understand how you’d get an employment attorney involved if you are employee 2??? For what cause wrongdoing or harm to you?? It sounds like you had it out for your peer, employee 1, whether the errors are true or not and this has now become a battle between the two of you. She made a claim against you and you’re proclaiming ‘not fair!’. That’s not how HR works, kid. We now know you’re not the manager - all I can say is grow up OP.