Disciplinary Process

Owner Circle	People
Last review	2026-09-08 with VPPL-90

Owner Circle

Last review

2026-09-08 with VPPL-90

This page covers Track 4 of the Conflict Resolution and Personal Development Process: disciplinary measures for policy violations. Value-fit concerns (behavior against our values) are not handled here; they are Track 3 and are described on the conflict resolution page. A Personal Improvement Plan (PIP) is a development tool and is never used as a disciplinary measure.

It is important to ensure VSHNeers understand the difference between having a possible objection (improvement) to existing policies (all agreements from governance) and violating or ignoring them, and understand the process and applicable consequences of violating policies.

This disciplinary process is a procedure in which a possible offense is examined and, if necessary, sanctioned.

Objections vs Violation

In the absence of objections to a proposal or decision, I intend to follow through on what’s been agreed to the best of my ability. - From the Principle of Consent

Questioning a policy, voicing concerns, and proposing improvements is part of how we work together, and it’s never treated as a violation. At the same time, disagreeing with a policy or raising an objection is not a license to ignore it. The circle that owns the policy works together with anyone raising an objection to find out whether it’s a valid objection worth integrating, and how. Until that is sorted out, we stick to the policy as it is written.

What Constitutes a Violation

A policy violation is clear-cut: a policy was ignored or violated, yes or no.

This relates to repeated acts of negligence or deliberate misconduct, and not to accidental mistakes that happened while acting to the best of one’s ability.

The responsibility to understand and comply with the policies lies with the VSHNeer. Once a policy has been officially documented and announced at least once through the proper channels, the VSHNeer must know it: they have a duty to seek out information and ask if anything is unclear before acting.

Procedure

General

At VSHN we value direct, personal feedback, and if possible face-to-face, not just a chat message. The following procedure is for what should happen, if that doesn’t address that someone is still not following through on agreements / policies. A possible violation first needs to be understood objectively, and those having tension or those owning the policy should directly talk to that person - this is the following first step:

The observer tells the person directly, names the violated policy, and makes clear that this isn’t okay. If it’s addressed and won’t happen again, they stop here. They can and often should get support from a Team Facilitator, the People Operations Role or the People Role, but the case is not yet tracked or taken over by People Operations. If people repeatedly stop at this point, People Operations is not responsible for acting, as they don’t know and don’t track the case.
The observer reports to the People Operations Role.
The People Operations Role gathers proof.
The People Operations Role runs an objective check, including ruling out that the policy itself is useless or not applicable. The decision is with the policy creator or owner circle and the People Role.
The People Role classifies the severity (Low, Medium or High, see below), in consultation with the owner circle of the policy in question.
The People Operations Role applies the measure indicated by the severity and defines a control time period, in which the violation must not happen again.

If the same behavior is repeated after a measure, the case escalates to the next step in the measures catalog. The People Operations Role defines a control time period for each measure, in which the violation must not happen again.

Severity and Measures

The severity of a violation determines which measure applies. Repetition escalates to a stricter measure. The mapping from severity to measure is binding; the example lists are illustrative, and their binding force comes from the referenced policies.

Severity	Example	Measures
Low Low risk for company or team, but a hindrance for others and collaboration. Usually coming from neglect of general duties, avoidable mistakes, laziness.	Calendar or time sheets not up-to-date repeatedly, Sick leaves not recorded nor reported to the People Operations Role, Work that impacts others is not tracked.	1) Verbal Warning From the People Operations Role 2) Written Warning To be signed by VSHNeer: Next violation is treated as "Medium" Severity The People Operations Role defines a control time period.
Medium Real risk for the company, but no damage yet. Usually intent or ignorance of policy.	Faked working hours, Violating security (ISMS) or privacy policies (such as internal data sent to untrusted external parties), Money spent without approval of the responsible circle.	3) Final Written Warning To be signed by VSHNeer: Next violation leads to contract termination.
High Higher risk for the company, (potential) damage already occurred. Usually intent, severe ignorance of rules and breach of policy.	Accessing non-authorized data, Selling or intentionally leaking information, Active negative actions against VSHN’s reputation.	4) Contract Termination Needs consent from VSHN Circle. 5) legal actions meaning a "Strafanzeige" if appropriate.

Severity

Example

Measures

Low

Low risk for company or team, but a hindrance for others and collaboration.
Usually coming from neglect of general duties, avoidable mistakes, laziness.

Calendar or time sheets not up-to-date repeatedly,
Sick leaves not recorded nor reported to the People Operations Role,
Work that impacts others is not tracked.

1) Verbal Warning: From the People Operations Role
2) Written Warning: To be signed by VSHNeer: Next violation is treated as "Medium" Severity

The People Operations Role defines a control time period.

Medium

Real risk for the company, but no damage yet.
Usually intent or ignorance of policy.

Faked working hours,
Violating security (ISMS) or privacy policies (such as internal data sent to untrusted external parties),
Money spent without approval of the responsible circle.

3) Final Written Warning: To be signed by VSHNeer: Next violation leads to contract termination.

High

Higher risk for the company, (potential) damage already occurred.
Usually intent, severe ignorance of rules and breach of policy.

Accessing non-authorized data,
Selling or intentionally leaking information,
Active negative actions against VSHN’s reputation.

4) Contract Termination: Needs consent from VSHN Circle.
5) legal actions: meaning a "Strafanzeige" if appropriate.

Measures Catalog

The measures below form the disciplinary catalog. Severity selects the entry point (see the severity table), and repeated behavior escalates to the next measure.

Verbal Warning

Participant: Employee / People Operations Role

The first measure for a Low severity violation. The People Operations Role sits down with the employee for a clear, honest conversation: they explain what went wrong and what VSHN expects, agree with the employee on how to prevent it from happening again, and are transparent about the consequences of further wrongdoing. Whether the offense was intentional (malicious) or unintentional (accidental) must be documented. The verbal warning is a documented conversation and must be in writing and placed in the personnel file. The People Operations Role defines a control time period in which the violation must not happen again.

Written Warning

Participant: Employee / People Operations Role

This "yellow card", is issued for repeated behavior after a verbal warning, or as the next step for a repeated Low severity violation. The People Operations Role clearly formulates the wrongdoing in writing and substantiates it with examples, issues a warning letter, and points out the consequences of further wrongdoing. It must be in writing, signed by the employee and placed in the personnel file. The People Operations Role defines a control time period in which the violation must not happen again.

Final Written Warning

Participants: Employee / People Role

This "red card", is issued for further disregard of the warning or in Medium severity cases. It includes the suspension of the automatic wage increase (for one year). It formally requests the employee to refrain from certain behavior or action and warns of the next measure (contract termination) in case of further wrongdoing. It must be in writing, signed by the employee and placed in the personnel file.

Contract Termination

Participants: Employee / People Role

Termination is the measure for High severity violations and needs Consent from the VSHN Circle. The termination process and execution is described in Employment Terminations. Consult legal counsel if necessary, and consider legal action ("Strafanzeige") if appropriate. It must be in writing and placed in the personnel file.

Applicability and Referenced Documents

This process applies to all policies that are documented, consented to, and applicable to the VSHNeer in their role or circle. It also applies to violations of team-internal working and collaboration agreements.

The legal basis in Switzerland is the Code of Obligations and the Labor Law (or the applicable similar law at the location of employment).

Non-conclusive list of referenced policies and documents

Information Security Management System (ISMS)
Information Security Policies and Processes
Time Off Policy
Vacation budget, sick leave, requesting time off, yearly carry-over limitations, etc.
Working Hours Policy
Overtime, minimum and maximum working time, time tracking, mutual flexibility, etc.
Any other company wide policy
Any other circle or role level policy (including work agreements)

This policy relates ISO 27002:2022 to control A.6.4.

Communication of this Disciplinary Process

This process is part of the employment contract, and any changes are communicated proactively to all VSHNeers. The process is published in the VSHN Handbook.