Lockerbie Discipline Lesson

Discipline decisions are tough for supervisors and employers. Is the employee’s misconduct or action worthy of discipline and if so, what should the discipline be? Those questions are asked every day. The answers to those questions are second-guessed every day. And occasionally, the discipline (even if it’s a discharge) is changed.

Before discipline is enforced, there should be a thorough investigation. The employee’s side of the story should be carefully examined. No stone should be left unturned. Once discipline has been imposed, it should rarely be changed. That undermines the whole discipline process. It makes finality unstable.

That’s not to say discipline should never be changed. If it’s clear you made a mistake, admit it and modify the discipline accordingly. The more severe the discipline, however, the less likely it should ever be changed. Severe discipline should be used only when you’re sure the employee is guilty of something bad.

If you begin to feel sorry for the employee and decide to upset the discipline (bring him back to work, let’s say), you’re setting precedent that’ll come back to haunt you. In fact, your whole disciplinary process could quickly crumble. 

Abel Basset Ali al-Megrahi was sentenced to life for bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and killing 270 people. Because he has terminal cancer, the Scottish government decided to free him from prison so he could return to Libya to live out his final days. Sometimes, elderly or sick prisoners are shown mercy in their final days. Sometimes, a disciplined employee is given a second chance.

But not when the prisoner is a mass murderer — not when the employee’s misconduct is intolerable. Just as the governments of Scotland and Great Britain are being pilloried for the release of Megrahi, so it will be for an employer who let’s sympathy or politics trump reason. The respect you lose will take a long time to recover.