Smoking on the property - supervisory question

[notanumber]

Hey guys, thought I'd get some advice on this. I discovered one of my care aides had been smoking on a patio that is adjacent to his floor (not ground floor). He is aware that smoking is only allowed off property (most go to the sidewalk between the grounds and the road). When I first asked, he lied about it. Then when I looked out there I found a can with a butt inside it and asked again, to which he replied, "Well, I had one earlier." I stated strongly that that was not permitted, and that if he wanted to take a short break outside he needed to ask one of the other care aides to cover him.

Query - being his direct supervisor and the first such incident, should I leave it at the verbal warning and keep an eye on things, or should I send a note to my super informing him of what happened and what I did about it? I don't want to bother him about every little problem that comes up, but the fact the aide lied to me is troubling and makes it more serious.

[Scottishtape]

I would do both. Leave the employee with a verbal warning for now, but do document the break in policy and the steps you took to resolve it at this time.

That way, if it happens again or is a persistent problem, you have documentation to back you up when you decide to move past a verbal warning, or to back you up in case of any future issues if that employee got terminated.

[CalArmy]

First off he lied!! That in itself would make me mad. I would definately write him up for one breaking policy and two lying. I hate to be an ogre but what if he had thrown a lit butt in dry leaves or something next to the building. Yes I know worst case scenario ever but still he needs to maintain patient safety.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

It's fair to leave it as a verbal warning.Give him a chance to take the corrective action.I find that smokers really need their fix or they get cranky and now he knows he needs to take it off the prooerty.In the scheme of things it's a minor offense.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Definitely inform your supervisor and document appropriately. If this is really a good employee you want to keep, this will be the end of it. But if this guy continues to violate policies and/or lie, then you will want this event documented as the start of your paper trail.