An undocumented "verbal warning" can be easily disputed by an employee as "I don't remember that." But documenting that you gave them a "verbal warning" cannot. In most cases "verbal warnings" are not permanent to your file and depending on the company's policy, are only applicable between six months to a year, then removed from your file. Once you proceed from a "written verbal warning" it is no longer a "warning". The employee has been "written up" and has now put into action the progressive discipline policy of the company. The initial "write up" is a part of the employee's permanent file.Exactly, I was thinking about posting this as a pet peeve. Having to put in writing when giving someone a "verbal warning". I too was in a position where I had to discipline workers using an escalating system starting with "verbal warning". The problem with this is, you have to put the "verbal warning" in writing before you move up to "written warning". So what you have is two written warnings. One is called verbal and the other is called written.
I see a "written verbal warning" as a "red light" on a traffic light. It sends a clear message to the employee that their behavior has reached a point where if they continue the behavior aka "run the red light" they will be "issued a ticket". It's really to help the employee to keep from getting something potentially damaging to their career in their employee file.
