Underperforming Employee Won't Sign Their PIP? Think Hard Before Going Straight to Termination

Imagine you’re a manager with a chronically underperforming employee, and nothing you’ve done so far has worked to get them back on track.

You’ve offered job coaching. You’ve increased the frequency of your one-on-one meetings. You’ve made sure they understand the expected standards and what can happen if they don’t meet them. Still, nothing gets better.

So, working with your company’s Human Resources department, you organize your supporting documentation – deadlines not being met, performance targets not being hit, persistent tardiness and/or absenteeism – and you draft a Performance Improvement Plan.

You line up peer support from a colleague to provide guidance to the employee if they’re struggling to hit their targets. You schedule a private meeting with the employee, explain the situation, and present a PIP with clearly defined expectations. Finally, you outline the support measures you’ll take during the process, and express confidence in the employee’s ability to correct course.

But they refuse to sign it.
 

If they won’t sign a PIP, find out why – and assume good intent

Do you have the right to fire the employee on the spot? Absolutely, if you’re in an at-will employment situation.

However, immediate dismissal shouldn’t be your first inclination. The first thing you should do is ask why the employee doesn’t want to sign.

Make that question open-ended: “What concerns do you have about signing?” Then give them a chance to explain without interruption.

Above all, assume good intent on the employee’s part until proven otherwise. Don’t automatically assume that their underperformance comes with an attitude problem, or that they’re challenging you because of a problem with authority.
 

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Correct any PIP misunderstandings in a straightforward manner

The reason someone refuses to sign a PIP could be as simple as them not understanding what that signature means.

Signing the PIP is a lot like signing a traffic ticket. It’s not an admission of fault. It doesn’t negate their rights to contest the disciplinary action if they believe (rightly or wrongly) that it’s unfair.

Signing the PIP is simply acknowledging receipt, in the same way that signing a traffic ticket acknowledges that you’ve been cited for a specific infraction and given a date to either pay a fine or appear in court.

The employee might also believe that a PIP can’t be enforced if they don’t sign it. This is not the case. If they’re refusing for that reason, explain that you can call in a witness to sign that they’ve received the PIP and it’s been explained to them.

Maintain an even emotional keel. Don’t threaten. Don’t berate. This is already an emotionally charged situation.
 

Take any concerns about the PIP being unfair seriously

An employee might believe that you’re only putting them on a PIP as a self-protection move before firing them, that the outcome has already been predetermined. There have been instances of this, so it’s reasonable that the employee might fear this, but assure them this is not the case.

In reality, a well-structured PIP can benefit a worker by helping them not only increase performance but also better develop the skills and mindset for long-term success. Stress that you want them in your organization; you just need to see better performance for their employment to continue, and the PIP is a tool for making it happen.

An employee might also balk at signing because they believe they’re being placed on a PIP as retaliation for a protected action like corporate whistleblowing, or that the PIP discriminates against them for their age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or protected disability.

If they raise such concerns, you must take them seriously if you want to demonstrate good faith and minimize your chances of a formal complaint or legal action. You might even need to put the PIP on hold while you investigate their claims.

The bottom line: Yes, you can use an employee’s refusal to sign as immediate grounds for termination. But should you? Not unless you can look at the situation and decide that it’s less of a hassle to go through the time and expense of recruiting, hiring and training their replacement than dealing with their concerns as part of working through the PIP process.

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