Discussing Future Plans and Performance Issues – Manager’s Guidance

  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Employee Relations
  4. /
  5. Retirement
  6. /
  7. Discussing Future Plans and...

 

The employee’s future plans and work aspirations will be discussed annually at their Performance Review and Development meeting or, in the case of teachers, at their Professional Review and Development meeting, whatever the age of the employee.

The discussion, in part, will be around where the employee sees themselves in the next few years and how they view their contribution to the organisation. It will help the employee with their career planning and will also assist the Council with workforce planning.

Employees will be treated fairly in these discussions and are expected to participate in as open and frank a manner as possible. The discussions do not have to follow exactly the same format for all employees as there will likely be slight differences depending on where the employee is in their career, but they should be broadly similar.

Open ended questions should be used by the manager including enquiring about the employee’s plans and aims in the short, medium and longer term. This should assist the Council with organising training and development as well as in succession planning. It is also a chance to consider the skills of the workforce and how best to deploy these resources.

A summary of the discussion will be recorded on the Performance Review and Development  form or in the Professional Review and Development documentation (in the case of teachers), with the record agreed and signed by both the employee and their line manager, in accordance with normal practice.

A manager should not ask any direct questions of an employee about retirement during the discussion, rather the employee should be asked about their future plans and how they see themselves developing in the organisation over the coming period. However, where an employee indicates during the discussion that they may be interested in retiring, there is then no issue about the manager talking to them about a possible date and what the arrangements would be for retirement. The retirement process would only begin upon receipt of the employee’s written notice of their decision to retire. No assumptions will be made about an employee’s commitment to the Council as a result of the discussion.

Performance Issues

Any issues and concerns a manager has about an employee’s work performance, regardless of age, will be addressed through the Council’s Managing Performance policy/procedure or Framework on Teacher Competence,  whichever applies. No assumptions will be made about an employee’s performance in relation to their age.

All employees have a contractual duty to perform to the required standards. The Managing Performance policy/procedure and the Framework on Teacher Competence both provide a framework to ensure that employees who fall below the required level of performance are managed through early intervention in a fair and consistent manner. These procedures ensure that employees are informed of concerns about their performance and that they are provided with reasonable time and support to meet the required standards. They will also be informed of the consequences of a failure to improve. Using the agreed performance management approach, as detailed in the respective procedures, will help ensure that performance issues are addressed consistently across the organisation, regardless of age.

Click here to return to the main Retirement page

Add a ‘Like’ and/or a ‘Rating’ below to indicate how useful you found this page

Please Rate this Page