Amazon employs their workers under strict rules, and when a staff member breaks a rule, they are either given a warning or are written up, which goes onto their employee record.
Therefore, potential Amazon workers may wonder what is involved in Amazon’s write-up policy, and how serious it is. If you’d like to find out, keep reading through this article for more on this topic!
Key Takeaways
Amazon’s Write Up Policy In 2022
Amazon’s write-up policy states that staff members can have up to 6 write-ups per year before being fired. Some managers may be more lenient depending on the cause of the write-ups, though this will vary per location. Staff members may be written up for being late, not following the dress code, and other similar reasons.
If you’d like to learn more about what Amazon writes up their employees for, if Amazon instantly fires staff members when they earn 6 write-ups and more, keep reading for more useful facts and tips!
How Many Write-Ups Does Amazon Give Before Getting Fired?
According to previous and current Amazon employees, Amazon will fire staff members who have either earned 4 write-ups within a 90 day period or 6 write-ups within one year.
However, depending on what a staff member was written up for, their manager may not immediately fire the employee and may instead put them on a probation-like term to improve their work ethic.
Otherwise, staff members at Amazon are urged to pay close attention to fireable offenses, in order to prevent being written up often enough to risk being fired.
What Does Amazon Write Up Employees For?
Amazon employees are held to very strict standards, and breaking any small rules can result in being written up by their manager.
Listed below are some reasons an Amazon employee may be written up:
- Working out of dress code (wearing watches, heavy makeup, expensive jewelry etc)
- Chewing gum while working
- Drinking beverages other than water while working
- Packaging and wrapping orders incorrectly (using too much tape etc)
- Working at a slow pace
- Coming to work sick or taking unapproved sick leave
- Clocking out or in too early/ late
- Talking to fellow employees too much while working
- Showing up to work late or missing shifts
Potential staff should note that showing up to work late and/or missing work without notifying their Amazon manager will earn them up to three points for one offense.
Therefore, staff members are urged to follow all the above-stated rules in order to retain their position at Amazon.
Do Write-Ups at Amazon Go Away?
After a certain period of time, write-ups at Amazon will technically fall off of an employee’s record.
However, Amazon still retains the right to fire that employee at any time if they have earned enough write-ups over time.
In other words, even if an Amazon employee was written up months previous and no action was taken, they still qualify for being fired at any given point if their manager deems it necessary.
Therefore, Amazon employees are urged to be careful in following Amazon’s rules, in order to prevent past misdeeds from losing them their job.
Does Amazon Fire Employees Instantly?
While Amazon managers are allowed to fire employees once they’ve been written up enough times, many Amazon managers will give their staff a chance to keep their job by taking the Pivot course.
The Pivot course is a work ethic training course offered by Amazon that covers a period of two months.
If a staff member needs their job at Amazon, they are given the option to take the course, which will put them on a probation-like period until the course is completed.
Amazon employees should note, however, that they can still be fired if they are not accurately following the program laid out in the Pivot course.
Therefore, staff members who choose to take the course instead of being let go are recommended to pay close attention to the rules in order to retain their position with Amazon.
Does Amazon Transfer Staff Members Who Have Been Written Up?
While Amazon does not directly state their policy for transferring employees, in most cases, companies will not offer transfers to employees who have multiple infractions on their records.
However, some Amazon managers may be more lenient when offering transfers.
Therefore, an employee who has been written up previously but would like to switch to a different Amazon division is encouraged to discuss the transfer with their location manager.
However, staff members should be aware of the possibility that they do not qualify for a transfer, and may have to seek employment elsewhere if they are moving to a different area.
Does Amazon Unfairly Write Up Employees?
According to previous Amazon employees, some Amazon managers have been known to unfairly write up their employees, sometimes resulting in an unjust termination.
One Amazon employee states that she was written up for taking too many breaks, despite not taking any unscheduled breaks during her shift.
Another Amazon employee stated that she and other staff members were receiving write-ups with no explanation, as well as being threatened with termination despite being unaware of their alleged offense.
Therefore, some Amazon managers are unfair when writing up their employees. However, it’s important to note that not all Amazon facilities treat their workers the same.
Nevertheless, Amazon employees who feel they’ve been mistreated by their manager are encouraged to express their concerns to their manager or file a complaint with Amazon’s higher-up staff.
To find out more about Amazon’s working policies, you can also read our posts on Amazon break policy, Amazon vacation policy, and the Amazon VTO policy.
Conclusion
According to Amazon’s write-up policy, employees may be fired if they either earn 4 write-ups within a 90-day period or 6 write-ups within one year.
Individual Amazon managers will choose either to fire their employees or provide them with a work ethic training course.
Amazon will write up employees for a number of reasons, including working out of dress code, taking unscheduled breaks, eating or drinking during their shift, showing up to work late, taking unscheduled sick leave and/or time off, in addition to other issues.