Progressive discipline is a legal concept that emerges in labour law that states that it would be unfair and unjust for an employee to be discharged or disciplined (depending on the misconduct) without first being given an opportunity to correct their behaviour, and without being warned that such behaviour may lead to further discipline or termination of employment.  Progressive discipline has its limitations – the employer can terminate for very serious misconduct immediately – such as theft, violence or threats.  For most other forms of misconduct, such as being late, for example, the employer is first required to warn, provide assistance and coaching if necessary to improve performance and understand consequences, and then progressively issue discipline that normally follows the course of warning letter – suspension – suspension of a few days – suspension of multiple days – termination. Progressive discipline does not follow a script.  Managers are supposed to weigh the aggravating factors vs the mitigating factors.