Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Business Plan Writer & Financial Projections
How Do You Write a Written Warning for an Employee?
A Fair Warning Protects the Employee, the Team, and You.
After 1,000+ clients, business consultant Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA, sees this one all the time. Something went wrong, and you want to act now. But acting before the facts are checked, or without a clear warning first, is how owners make the most expensive people mistakes. Below: how to write a fair employee warning.
Last Updated: 11/08/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
The Definition
What Is a Written Warning?
Short Answer
A written warning is a dated document given to an employee that describes a specific problem with their conduct or performance, the standard they are expected to meet, what must change and by when, and what will happen if it does not. It is given after the facts are checked and the employee has been heard, and both sides keep a copy.
Written warning = the facts + the standard + what must change by when + what happens next
Doctor Owl, in Plain English
“Before deciding anything, write the date and what happened. Then check it, hear him, and only then warn.”
How This Guide Works
Need the answer fast? Read the Short Answer above and the numbered steps. Want the full picture? Follow Sheldon, a crab who runs a lock and night-guard business from Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest Business School Series, as he fires a guard on the spot before checking the facts. His story shows up in a few short gold notes along the way. The math sits in one section, clearly marked.
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Meet Sheldon: Fired Before the Facts
Some lessons stick better as a story. Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest Business School Series teaches business through a forest full of small business owners. Doctor Owl, a dry-witted consultant who lives in the Lone Oak, helps them fix the same problems real owners face.
Today he is waiting for a new library lock at Hard to Shell, run by crab twins Sheldon and Percy. A boathouse round was missed overnight. Sheldon tells the young night guard, a gull, to put his keys on the counter and not come back, in front of customers and half the dock. Two days later, the facts come out.
Why It Matters
Why Should You Give a Written Warning Before Firing?
A warning gives the employee a real chance to fix the problem, and gives the owner a record that the process was fair. Skipping it, especially in anger, often means acting on incomplete facts.
For most performance and minor conduct issues, a written warning is the step before a performance plan or termination.
In the Fabled Forest
The round had been missed because Percy changed its time at a customer’s request and wrote it on the sheet, but never told the guard. Two boathouse accounts cancelled after the public firing.
What Goes In
What Should an Employee Warning Include?
- The date and the facts. What happened, when, and how you know.
- The standard. The rule or expectation that was not met, ideally from your handbook.
- The employee’s account. A line noting you heard their side.
- What must change, by when. Specific and measurable.
- What happens next. The next step if it does not change.
- Signatures and copies. Both sides keep one.
In the Fabled Forest
Doctor Owl walked the twins through five checks: conduct or performance, facts checked, a fair warning, private and short, and done properly. The gull’s firing failed every one.
Giving It
How Do You Deliver a Written Warning?
Privately, calmly, and briefly. Read the facts, state the standard, listen, and agree the change. Avoid lectures. The goal is improvement, not punishment.
Follow up on the date. If things improved, say so. If not, move to the next step you wrote down. Pair warnings with clear feedback.
In the Fabled Forest
Months later, when an older guard was found at two in the morning inside a boathouse he guarded, using a client’s key, the twins checked every fact and heard from him privately before deciding, and handled it behind a closed door.
The Numbers
What Did Skipping the Steps Cost?
Here is the cost of firing first and checking later.
| Result | |
|---|---|
| Accounts cancelled after the public firing | 2, at 8 coins a month each |
| Monthly revenue lost | 16 coins |
| Actual cause | A schedule change nobody passed on |
| Accounts that came back | 1 of 2 |
Step 1: The cost. 16 coins a month, about 192 a year, plus a reputation hit on the dock.
Step 2: What a warning process would have done. Checking the facts would have found the missed message before anyone was fired.
Step 3: Your version. Before any warning or firing, write the date and the facts, then check them.
Illustrative numbers in forest coins, from the book. This is not legal advice.
Step by Step
How Do You Write an Employee Warning?
Four steps, done calmly.
Write the date and what happened.
Facts only, before deciding anything.
Check the facts and hear the employee.
Records, witnesses, and their account.
Write the warning.
Standard, change needed, deadline, next step.
Deliver it privately and follow up.
Both keep a copy. Check in on the date.
In the Fabled Forest
Doctor Owl’s advice to the twins was to check, hear, and warn before deciding anything, and to do it quietly.
The Twins’ Full Story
What Did Percy Put on the Counter?
This page gives you the short version. The book gives you the whole week: a heavy ring of keys, two cancellation letters, a round sheet with a crossed-out time, a walk to the dunes, and a harder case handled the right way.
Every chapter of Human Resources for Small Businesses works the same way. One owner, one problem, one real idea you can use on Monday, plus a one-page worksheet to do it.
A Business Consultant’s View
What Do Business Consultants Check Before a Warning Is Given?
Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA · Business Consultant
Before a warning is given, Dr. Paul checks three things: are the facts confirmed by more than one source, has the employee been heard, and is the standard written somewhere the employee could have known about? If the standard was never written, the first fix is the handbook, not the warning. He keeps warnings short and specific, with one clear change and a date, because long warnings read as lectures and rarely change behavior. A warning done well often ends the problem. A warning skipped often ends in a costly mistake.
FAQ
What Do Owners Ask About Warnings?
How do you write a written warning for an employee?
When should you give a written warning?
Should a warning be private?
Keep Going
Where Can You Learn More About Handling Problems Fairly?
This term comes from Book 8, Human Resources for Small Businesses. New to a term on this page? Every one is in the human resources glossary.
Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA, business consultant and author with 14+ years of experience and 1,000+ clients served. Hiring, paying, or managing a team and want a second set of eyes? See business consulting and prices.
This page is for general educational purposes only. It is not legal, financial, employment, or other professional advice. Figures are illustrations. The Fabled Forest and its characters are fictional. For decisions about your own business, consult a qualified professional.