Resources / Managing Underperformance / Record of Employee Discussion
Module 2: Onboarding & Probationary Periods

Record of Employee Discussion

The tool to reach for when informal feedback has not landed, but the issue is not serious enough for a written warning. A short, signed record of the conversation, the educator's view, the actions agreed, and the deadline. Fill it in live during the meeting and have the educator sign before they leave.

Four principles

Fill it in live

Write the record during the conversation, not after. The educator sees what is being written as it happens.

Capture their view

Section 2 is the educator's words. Ask open questions, listen, write what they say. Not your interpretation.

Name the commitment

Specific actions, who is responsible, by when. If you cannot name the next step, you are not ready to record it.

Both sign before they leave

Print it, read it through together, both parties sign, give the educator a copy. This is the whole point of the record.

Where this sits in the escalation ladder

A Record of Employee Discussion is a step up from a one on one, and a step down from a written warning. Use it when the issue is real but not yet serious, and when informal feedback has not changed what you are seeing.

Step 1
Informal one on oneFirst line of defence. Raise the concern. Listen. Agree one thing to work on.
Step 2, this tool
Record of discussionMinor issue that has not resolved. Document the concern, the educator's view, actions and deadline.
Step 3
Written warningSerious concern, or pattern not resolved by step 2. Formal letter, Fair Work defensible.
Step 4
PIP or show causeStructured improvement plan, or a formal meeting to consider termination.
When a ROED is the right tool

Reach for a ROED when three things are true.

  • You have already raised the concern in an informal one on one and the behaviour has not changed.
  • The concern is real, but the seriousness does not justify a written warning. Examples: repeated attention to detail errors in learning documentation, not attending team meetings without notice, missed handovers between room teams, minor breaches of programming routines.
  • You can name the specific change you need to see, and the timeframe is short (2 to 4 weeks).

If any of those three are not true, pick a different tool. A written warning is the right move for anything that touches child safety, child protection, active supervision, or a breach of the National Law. A one on one is the right move if you have not yet had the informal conversation.

How to run the meeting

A ROED meeting is a 15 to 20 minute conversation, often at the end of a shift, in a quiet office with the door closed.

  • 24 hours notice. The educator should know there is a meeting and what it is about. A simple sentence is enough: "I want to sit down tomorrow after pickup to talk about what we discussed last week on the learning documentation, and document what we agree." Avoid surprise.
  • Support person optional, always mention it. Say in the invite: "You are welcome to bring a support person if you want one." Most ROEDs do not have a support person. That is normal. Mentioning the option is what matters.
  • Open with the purpose. "This is a Record of Employee Discussion. It is a record of this conversation that we both sign at the end. It is not a written warning. It is a step to make sure we are on the same page about what needs to change and by when."
  • Name the concern in plain sentences. Use the specific examples. Read them out from the record. Do not hedge.
  • Ask for their view, then listen. "What is going on for you around this?" Then write what they say in Section 2. Their words, not yours.
  • Agree the action together. What will change, by when, and how you will both know it has changed. Write it into Section 3 while they watch.
  • Read it back, then sign. Print the form. Read the whole record aloud together. Both parties sign. Give the educator a copy before they leave.
What to write vs what to leave out

Write what you observed. Dates, times, what you saw, who reported it. "On 12 March the programming folder for the Toddler Room did not include the Week 11 plan. You told me you had not finished it." Short sentences, specific.

Leave out what you inferred. No "you clearly do not care about documentation", no "I think you are overwhelmed", no "it seems like you are not prioritising this". Inference does not belong in a record that both parties sign.

Write what the educator said. Their actual words in Section 2. "Sarah said she has been covering the Toddler Room on her own for 3 weeks and has not had programming time in the roster." If they raise a workload issue, write it. If they disagree with your version, write their version too.

Leave out your own commentary. Section 2 is theirs, not yours.

How it protects everyone

A ROED is documentation. It is not a weapon. If things resolve at step 2 and you never need to escalate, great, the record stays in the file and you never have to refer to it again. If things do escalate to a written warning or a PIP, Fair Work will look for exactly this kind of documented conversation as evidence that the educator was told, was heard, and was given a chance to change.

It also protects the educator. A well-kept ROED means nothing is being sprung on them later. Whatever Section 3 says is the plan, is the plan. If they meet it, the record closes. If new issues emerge, they emerge against a known baseline.

After the meeting
  • Scan and file. Signed copy goes in the employee file. Some services keep a secure digital copy as well.
  • Calendar the review. Whatever deadline you set in Section 3, put a diary note so the review conversation happens on the day, not the week after.
  • Do the support. If you agreed to provide a resource, a shadow shift, or a training module, follow through fast. Fair Work looks for service-side delivery, not educator-side.
  • Review with the educator. On the review date, a short second conversation. Has the change happened? Close the record with a short outcome note in Section 4. If not, you are either extending the timeframe or moving to a written warning.

Feedback Planner

Plan the COIN conversation if this is the informal step before a ROED.

Written Warning Generator

The next step if the ROED does not resolve the issue, or the issue is serious enough to skip straight to.

Performance Improvement Plan

For ongoing, multiple performance concerns that need a structured plan.

Feedback Scripts Library

Ten ready-to-use scripts including the opening for a planned discussion meeting.

Use and save

Fill this in live during the meeting. All fields save to this browser automatically. Use Print or save as PDF to produce a clean page to sign, or Clear form to start fresh for the next ROED.

Record of Employee Discussion

Confidential, held in the employee file

1. Description of the concern

Filled in by the Service Manager before the meeting. Dates, what was observed, who reported it, what has already been discussed informally. Plain sentences, observable facts only, no interpretation.

2. Educator response and context

Filled in live during the meeting. The educator's words, not the Service Manager's interpretation. If they raise a workload, training or personal issue, write it. If they disagree with Section 1, write that too.

3. Actions, commitments and deadline

What will change, who is doing what, by when, and how both parties will know it has changed. Write specifics. If you cannot name the next step, the meeting is not ready to close.

Typically 2 to 4 weeks out.
Name the next step plainly. This is what makes the record Fair Work useful later.

4. Outcome at review

Filled in at the review meeting. Did the actions happen? Is the concern closed, continuing, or escalating? A short note is enough.

Signatures

Both parties sign before the educator leaves the meeting. Educator keeps a copy.

Educator

Signature
Date

Service Manager

Signature
Date