The top reason employers lose unemployment claim protests is due to poor or missing employee documentation.  The most critical type of documentation which affects Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim protests is employee discipline.  Failing to effectively document employee discipline will result in you losing more UI protests.  Can you afford to lose protests that you shouldn’t lose?

In an effort to help readers more effectively document employee discipline, here are some tips for employee improving your documentation:

1. Just Do It!  - avoiding documenting employee issues does not help you nor does it help the employees, so make sure that you properly document employee situations as the need arises.

2. Know Your Audience - make sure that your documentation is written to educate the employee on what they have done wrong and how to improve it and avoid further disciplinary action.  When defending your position later (in court or elsewhere) it is often much easier to defend well-written documentation.

3. Follow the Rules - you must always follow your employer policies and the law each and every time.  Failing to do so could put you and your company in jeopardy of legal action.

4. Tell the Story - ensure that you are detailed in your documentation and that you have all of the facts included.  Get the details and do your research before you write your documentation - it will save you potential embarrassment and legal action later.

5. Be Consistent – When documenting employee discipline, it is critical that you are consistent.  Making exceptions or changing the rules for one employee over another can get you into trouble – Consistency Keeps You Out of Court!

If your documentation improves – you will notice a significant improvement in your UI protest wins, and you just might find that it helps you in other areas of your operations as well.  There are many other forms of employee documentation and many ways to improve all of them.  For more information, visit us on the web at UnemploymentTracker.com.