Sample hospital policy wording

Every clinic's employee manual needs information about the introductory employment period. Here's some sample wording for yours:

The first three months of employment will be an introductory period for all employees. During this time, an employee is ineligible for any hospital benefits. At the end of the introductory period, a manager will review job performance, and if it is deemed satisfactory, the employee will be placed on regular status. At that time the employee will be eligible for the benefits that apply to his or her employment status. If performance is not satisfactory and training or counseling has not resulted in sufficient progress during the introductory period, the employee may be terminated without advance notice.

With this policy in place, you can terminate an employee at any time during the introductory period. You need only say to the team member, "You're in your introductory period and I feel it's not working out. Therefore I've decided to discontinue your employment at our hospital." You don't need to provide reasons or prior warning as long as the team member is still in those first three months of employment.

Once an employee has worked past his or her introductory period, it's the discipline policy that matters. Here's how a typical disciplinary policy might read:

Discipline pertains to the violation of any and all company policies. All discipline will be dispensed in the following manner:

1. The first incident will be addressed by verbal warning.

2. The second incident will be addressed by a written and witnessed reprimand.

3. Any further incidents will lead to suspension without pay or immediate dismissal if the above steps have taken place in any three-month period.