A manager says an employee needs to be ‘more proactive’ and proposes a four-week performance improvement plan. That is not yet a workable standard. A fair plan identifies the actual gap, tests whether the cause is capability or conduct, gives the employee a reasonable opportunity and the right support to improve, and explains how evidence will be reviewed. Used properly, it is a management tool. Used as a pre-written route to dismissal, it creates risk without solving the performance problem.
Diagnose the problem before writing the plan
Start with facts. Identify the requirement of the role, the evidence showing the shortfall and the effect on work. Compare like with like: volume, quality, accuracy or deadlines should reflect the employee's duties, agreed priorities, working hours and the resources actually available. A vague concern about attitude is not a measurable performance gap.
Acas distinguishes capability—an employee's ability to do the job—from conduct, which concerns behaviour or unwillingness. A person who has not learned a system may need training. A person who can meet the standard but deliberately ignores a reasonable instruction may raise a conduct issue. Do not put both into one PIP because it feels administratively convenient; identify the right process and evidence for each concern.
Check the employer's contribution as well. Were expectations explained? Has workload changed? Is the equipment reliable? Were reasonable timescales, supervision and training provided? Ask the employee for their view before fixing the plan. A reasonable explanation may point to unclear priorities, a skills gap, a workplace conflict or a health issue that needs a different response.
Acas: problems with an employee's performance ↗ · Related guide: disciplinary hearing procedure →
Write targets that can be understood and evidenced
Each target should connect the shortfall to an achievable standard and a method of measurement. Replace ‘improve customer service’ with the relevant behaviour or result: acknowledge assigned enquiries within one working day, record the agreed next action in the CRM, and escalate complaints under the published procedure. State where the standard comes from and how the manager will sample the work.
Use several measures only where the role genuinely requires them. A sales target alone can reward poor-quality selling; a quality score alone can ignore productivity. Set the expected level, starting position, review period, evidence source and person responsible for checking it. Keep the measures within the employee's control and explain how approved absence, system failure or reassigned work will be treated.
There is no statutory PIP length that suits every role. The period must be reasonable for the work and the improvement expected. A daily processing task may produce useful evidence quickly; a monthly account cycle or project role will not. The question is whether the employee has had a genuine opportunity to demonstrate sustained improvement—not whether a standard template says 30 days.
Define the support, not only the consequences
Acas says a PIP should include specific objectives, a reasonable timeline and any support or training needed. Name that support precisely: refresher training on a stated date, weekly coaching with a named manager, access to examples of acceptable work, adjusted priorities or protected practice time. ‘Support will be provided if requested’ is rarely enough when the employer already knows what skill needs development.
Record what the employee will do, what the manager will do and when each action must happen. For a small employer in Newcastle, Durham or Teesside, support does not need to be elaborate, but it must be real and available. A missed coaching session or withheld resource can undermine the plan and make the evidence harder to rely on.
Explain the possible outcomes without suggesting they are predetermined. These may include successful completion, continued monitoring, a reasoned extension, a formal warning under the capability procedure or, after a fair process and as a last resort, dismissal. Check the contract, policy and past practice so the stages and authority are clear.
Address health, disability and reasonable adjustments
If health or disability may affect performance, pause long enough to understand the position. Discuss the work impact and useful support without trying to diagnose the employee. Consider whether medical or occupational-health advice would answer practical questions about restrictions, adjustments, timescales or a sustainable return to full duties.
A disabled employee must not be disciplined or dismissed simply because they are disabled. Reasonable adjustments may include altered equipment, instructions, communication, duties, working arrangements or the way performance is assessed. Keep an open mind and review whether an adjustment works. The same headline target may be inappropriate if the employer has not first removed a disability-related disadvantage.
Keep the evidence proportionate and confidential. Record the employee's explanation, adjustments considered, decisions and review results. Where dismissal could follow, Acas advises employers to be able to show that all reasonable support has been tried and reviewed and that there is no suitable alternative role or other reasonable way for the work to be done.
Acas: capability and performance when someone is disabled ↗ · Related service: occupational health referrals →
Turn the concern into a process a manager can run.
HR + SAFETY can help North East SMEs define evidence-based targets, select realistic review points and prepare the letters and meeting structure before the PIP begins.
Discuss a performance planHold reviews that test progress fairly
Give the employee the plan and underlying evidence, then discuss it rather than announcing a finished decision. Confirm the targets, support, meeting dates, evidence sources and consequences in writing. At each review, share examples, recognise progress, identify remaining gaps and let the employee respond. Contemporaneous notes are more useful than a retrospective summary written when dismissal is already being considered.
Do not move the goalposts. If priorities change, record the effect and revise the plan openly. If an agreed course is cancelled, a manager is unavailable or the employee has relevant absence, decide whether the timetable remains fair. An extension should answer a specific unresolved question; it should not become an automatic way to avoid a decision.
Where the process becomes formal, follow the organisation's capability procedure and the basic fairness principles in the Acas Code. Set out the concern and evidence, allow the employee to be accompanied at a formal hearing where the statutory right applies, make an evidence-based decision, confirm it in writing and offer an appeal. Dismissal for capability must remain a last resort after support and alternatives have been considered.
Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures ↗ · GOV.UK: dismissal on capability or conduct grounds ↗
Performance improvement plan checklist
Legal requirements and official guidance were checked on 5 October 2026. The plan should remain a live record of the standard, support, evidence and decisions—not a one-off form signed at the opening meeting and filed until the deadline.
- Identify the role requirement and objective evidence of the current gap.
- Decide whether the issue is capability, conduct or a mixture requiring separate handling.
- Ask for the employee's explanation before finalising targets.
- Check training, workload, resources, instructions and management support.
- Set specific, achievable targets and name the evidence that will measure them.
- Choose a reasonable timeframe based on the work cycle and improvement required.
- Record the training, coaching, adjustments and other support the employer will provide.
- Consider health, disability, occupational-health advice and reasonable adjustments.
- Schedule review meetings and keep balanced notes of progress and response.
- Explain the possible outcomes without predetermining the decision.
- Follow the capability procedure, formal-hearing safeguards and appeal stage where required.
A useful performance improvement plan makes four things visible: the gap, the expected standard, the support available and the evidence that will decide the outcome. Diagnose capability and conduct properly, allow a reasonable opportunity to improve, address health and disability fairly, and keep the process open-minded from the first conversation to any appeal.
This guide provides general information for UK employers. It is not legal advice and should not replace advice based on the facts of a specific matter.