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Help confused Insubordination or Inability?

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vandek

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Illinois
:confused:
My Employee Handbook says:
Insubordination -- refusal to obey a reasonable directive or supervisor
(not to be confused with inability.
Act of insubordination requires that:
- a reasonable directive be given by someone having proper authority
- the staff member refuses to carry out the directive
- a restatement of the directive be given by the person with authority indicating consequences of failure to comply.
- subsequent refusal from the employee to carry out the directive after consequenses were explained.

Counseling reports:
2002 - Inability to work with others in professional manner/Failure to be courteous/Rest and meal periods
Told consequences that day further occurences of these problems could lead to further disciplinary action.
2003 - Assumed authority/Unprofessional behavior/Defiance
Not told consequences that day
2004 - being disrespecful, use of profanity/ employees should be professional and couteous.
Told due to past counseling sessions, this is the last warning for behavorial problems. will recommend discharge next time.
2005 - Inability to follow instructions given by manager/Failure to be courteous.
This one was read to me a time of discharge.

Insubordination - Unwilling to submit to authority.
Inability - The condition of being unable, lack of ability, power or means.

If someone does something out of natural habit, cause it's always been the way they have done it. Which one would it fall under?
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Insubordination. They CAN do it the way they were told; they just neglected to do so.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
"If someone does something out of natural habit, cause it's always been the way they have done it. Which one would it fall under?" (a) Why does it matter?; and (b) if my "natural habit" is to tell someone to buzz-off if they say something I don't like, that doesn't mean that my telling my supervisor to buzz-off isn't insubordination.
 

lucky4822

Member
as a boss, this is how i see it.
If i ask you to do something and you refuse, flat out say no, then thats insuboardination. On the other hand if i ask you to do something and you explain to me that maybe your not well or whatever the case may be that you cannot do the job I would pass it along to another. Like well if you cant do this can you take this persons place so they can. Work with me id work with you. I know not every workplace is this way, but for me I would want understanding if i wasnt up to par. I dont know your entire situation so i cant comment to much nor do i have any legal training just going by what ive learned dealing with people and what my momma taught me.
I have a 70 yr old woman that works for me, she wears a hearing aid so i cant have her wear the headsets we use, there are only a few things she can actually do so if she ever refused to do one of those things i could say she is being insubordinate, but if someone tried to have her wear a head set and do that job and she says i cant well that would be inability, becuz she cant without blowing up her ear..lol...
anyways let me stop cuz i feel im ramling more than im helping....
Good luck
 

lucky4822

Member
if you were fired for failure to be courteous, then yes its insubordination.
you can decide not to give into your natural habits, its a decision. you are responsible for the words coming out of your mouth and your actions.
im not educated nor did i have a great life growing up but i choose not to let that hinder me or be an excuse for how i behave myself.
its a daily struggle. its seems as though the talked to you a few times before actually letting you go, maybe a different line of work would be better.
again i dont know the whole story, but as for natural habits its not a disabilty, if you learned it then you can unlearn it.
takes work everyday.
 

Gadfly

Senior Member
Lucky,

There are headsets designed to work with hearing aids just as there are telephone handsets designed to work with hearing aids. They are not expensive and you could provide this reasonable accomodation so that your hearing impared person could do the job.

Vandek,

You quoted the employee handbook so we know you can read. Now use those reading skills to read up on appropriate behavior and how to deal effectively with other people. You clearly have some bad habits that you have convinced yourself are OK. They are not.
 

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