Managing staff performance in hospitality: a fair, step-by-step process

Most performance problems in hospitality start small. A bartender who's five minutes late, then fifteen. A chef who stops filling in the fridge temperatures on busy days. A server whose tables keep waiting for the bill. Left alone, they grow until the rest of the team is carrying that person, resentment builds, and you end up in a formal meeting you could have avoided months earlier.

The fix is a fair, consistent process: clear standards, early conversations, real support, and formal action only when that hasn't worked. This guide sets out the steps. For the detail on any specific case, use the Acas guidance and speak to Acas or an employment adviser before you take formal action.

Step 1: Set clear standards

People can't hit a standard they've never been told. Write down what "good" looks like in each role:

• Bar: arrive in uniform ready to start at shift time; Challenge 25 every time; serve within a set time at the peak; close-down checklist complete.
• Kitchen: fridge temperatures logged at opening and before service; allergen procedures followed every time; section clean and stocked before you leave.
• Floor: greet tables within a few minutes; know the specials and allergens; keep your section tidy.
• Everyone: report sickness by phone at least two hours before your shift; swaps only through a manager.

Put the standards in your staff handbook, go through them at induction, and keep training records so you know what each person has been taught.

Step 2: Have the early, informal conversation

Acas says employers should try to resolve issues informally first, for example through a private conversation, agreed improvements or a training plan. In practice:

• Do it soon. The day after the problem, not three weeks later.
• Do it privately. In the office or a quiet corner before opening, never in front of the team or guests.
• Be specific. "You've been more than ten minutes late four times in the last three weeks" beats "your timekeeping isn't great".
• Ask, then listen. "Is something going on?" Childcare, a second job, a bus that's been cut, a health problem: the answer changes what you do next.
• Agree what happens next, and write a short note of the conversation. Acas recommends keeping a record of performance conversations.

Most problems end here.

Step 3: Work out whether it's capability or conduct

Acas draws a clear line:

Get this right because the response differs. You don't discipline someone for not yet knowing how to do something you never trained them to do.

Health and disability

If sickness or a disability may be behind the problem, Acas says to consider changed duties, a phased return or reasonable adjustments before any disciplinary action, and to make sure you've done all you reasonably can to support a disabled person before using a capability procedure. A KP with a back problem might need different duties, not a warning.

Step 4: Support, then a performance improvement plan

For capability problems, Acas says to offer coaching, mentoring or training and adequate resources. In a kitchen that might mean three shifts working alongside the sous chef; behind the bar, a quiet afternoon learning the till properly.

If informal support doesn't work, Acas suggests a performance improvement plan (PIP) that includes:

• Specific objectives
• A reasonable timeline
• Any further support or training

Discuss it with the employee and give them a written copy. Make clear what happens if they don't improve.

A simple PIP for a line chef:

Objective 1: Log fridge and freezer temperatures at opening and at 17:00 every shift, with no gaps. Objective 2: Complete the grill section close-down checklist every shift. Support: Two shifts paired with the sous chef on the close; refresher on the temperature log. Timeline: Four weeks, with check-ins at the end of weeks 1, 2 and 4. If objectives aren't met: We may move to the formal capability procedure.

Checking progress on the agreed dates matters as much as setting the plan. If there's partial improvement, Acas mentions extending the timeline as an option.

Step 5: The formal process (the Acas Code)

If problems continue, or for serious misconduct, use a formal procedure. The Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures is described by Acas as the minimum an employer should follow, and it covers both misconduct and poor performance. In outline:

1. Establish the facts. Investigate promptly. For misconduct, gather evidence: rota and clocking records, checklist records, CCTV, statements.
2. Tell the employee in writing. If there's a case to answer, give enough detail for them to prepare their response.
3. Hold a meeting. Give reasonable time to prepare. Let them explain and respond to the evidence.
4. Allow them to be accompanied. Workers have a statutory right to be accompanied by a fellow worker or a trade union representative or official, if they make a reasonable request. If that person can't make it, you must postpone to a reasonable time within five working days.
5. Decide and confirm in writing. For confirmed misconduct or unsatisfactory performance, a written warning is usual. A further failure within a set period would normally lead to a final written warning. Serious first offences can go straight to a final warning.
6. Offer an appeal. Heard impartially, ideally by someone not involved before, with the same right to be accompanied.

Acas says failing to follow the Code doesn't in itself make an employer liable, but a tribunal will take it into account and can increase an award by up to 25% for an unreasonable failure to follow it.

Small venue? Plan who does what

In a single pub, the owner might be the only manager. The Code asks for impartial appeals where possible, so think ahead: could a manager from another venue, an HR adviser or a trusted external person hear an appeal?

Why this matters more from 2027

The rules on unfair dismissal are changing. Acas says that from 1 January 2027, employees will be able to claim unfair dismissal after six months' service, down from two years, and the cap on compensation will be removed. The deadline for most tribunal claims went up to six months from 1 October 2026.

Hospitality has plenty of people who stay six months to two years. A fair, documented process now protects you, and is simply better management.

Probation: use it properly

Acas recommends:

• Regular, one-to-one probation reviews, with informal check-ins in between.
• Honest feedback, using real performance information.
• Written records of each review, shared with the employee.
• Dismissal during probation as a last resort, with extended probation or performance management as alternatives.

Nobody should be surprised by the outcome of their final probation review.

Use records, not memories

The best evidence is the stuff your venue already records day to day:

• Rota vs hours worked shows lateness patterns as fact, not feeling.
• Named, timestamped checklists show whether temperature checks and closes were done, and by whom.
• Incident logs show what happened on the night, written at the time.
• Training records show what someone was taught, and when.

Records cut both ways: they also show when the problem is the system (nobody's been trained on the new till) rather than the person.

Common mistakes

1. Waiting too long. The first conversation should happen this week.
2. Inconsistency. Lateness from your best bartender gets ignored, from the new starter it gets a warning.
3. Skipping the "why". A cause you don't know about can't be fixed.
4. Vague plans. "Improve your attitude" can't be measured.
5. No notes. If it isn't written down, it didn't happen.
6. Going formal without checking the Code. Read it, or call Acas, first.

Performance management checklist

• Role standards written, in the handbook, covered at induction
• Training records kept for each person
• Early, private conversation held and noted
• Cause explored; capability vs conduct decided
• Health or disability considered; adjustments explored
• Support given; PIP written with objectives, timeline, support
• Progress reviewed on agreed dates, with notes
• Formal process follows the Acas Code: facts, letter, meeting, companion, written outcome, appeal
• Probation reviews held and recorded

Where ShiftComplete helps

ShiftComplete gives you the day-to-day records that make performance conversations factual and fair. If you switch on clocking in and out, you can see hours actually worked against the rota for each person, and download them as a spreadsheet. Opening, closing, cleaning and due-diligence checklists record every tick with a name and a time, with optional photo evidence, so you can see whether the fridge temperatures were logged and who did them. Incidents are logged with a photo, severity and notes, and the full audit log can be exported as a CSV.

It won't run a disciplinary for you, and it isn't a substitute for Acas guidance, but it means you're working from facts. ShiftComplete is £1.49 per staff member per month, free for 60 days, no card needed.