What should we do if an employee refuses to sign a performance warning or evaluation?

In most cases, an employee is asked to sign a warning or evaluation to document that the employee was made aware of the form’s content. An employee may refuse to sign because the employee a) disagrees with the content or b) thinks that the document is not valid without the signature. These situations lead to a few options:

• Employers may add a statement above the signature line that says, “By signing, I acknowledge that I received a copy of this document; my signature does not necessarily indicate agreement with its contents.”
• If the employee disagrees with a warning or part of the evaluation, supervisors can encourage the individual to provide a written response to be added or attached to the original document.
• If the supervisor believes the information is accurate, yet the employee still refuses to sign the document, the supervisor should contact a third-party witness (i.e., another manager or someone in HR) to join the meeting. The witness will confirm that the employee is familiar with the document yet refuses to sign it. If so, the supervisor may write on the form that the “employee refused to sign” and sign and date this statement. The witness also signs and dates this statement. A copy of this form is then given to the employee, and the original is placed in the employee file.

Negative performance reviews and warnings may take an employee by surprise. As a supervisor conducts the meeting, he or she should be open to new information and be ready to hear the employee’s explanations.

After a lengthy evaluation with an employee, a supervisor may wish to provide the employee with a copy of the evaluation after the meeting. The employee should be allowed time to absorb the information overnight and add comments before the supervisor asks for a signature and date on the original form for the file.

When an employee disagrees with one or more statements in the performance document, the supervisor should review these areas with the employee again and provide examples and facts to support them. If the statements are unclear, the supervisor or manager should adjust the wording so it clearly explains the issue.