Help protect your office from potential liability by having a written termination procedure as part of your office policies and procedures.
Two facts of employment: people get hired and people get fired (or resign).
Few supervisors and
managers savor the idea of being good at firing people. Nevertheless, you need to
know how to terminate employees in a way that preserves their dignity while
meeting your organization's needs. Even the most experienced managers will
experience stress and anxiety when they go through the termination process.
Having a clear idea of the process won’t make it any more pleasant, but could
prevent you from making costly mistakes.
The key to a
"successful termination" begins with hiring and continues throughout
the employer/employee relationship. Performance Reviews also play a critical
role in a "successful termination". But the actual process of
termination is what stays in everyone’s mind the longest time. Remember that a
termination impacts everyone.
Outline of the
Termination Process
- An employee’s manager or direct supervisor should call
and conduct the termination meeting. Hold the meeting in a private
location other than the employee’s normal work area to limit any
embarrassment the employee may experience. Information to be covered in
the meeting follows.
- Notify the employee how and why he or she is no longer
working at the company. Tell the truth, such as facts about an employee’s
poor performance, regardless of how uncomfortable it is. However, never
make remarks about an employee’s personal character.
- Inform the employee that the decision is final and when
the termination will be effective. (For example, immediately as is common
with termination for poor performance or at sometime in the future as is
common with a layoff due to reduction in workforce.)
- Let the employee know what benefits (unemployment,
health insurance, severance pay, etc.) are available. State laws typically
govern how and when final pay and vacation pay is handled.
- Give the employee a written termination notice. Send a
written termination notice—by certified mail—to an employee that is being
terminated because he or she has failed to come to work as required.
- If you are concerned that an employee may become
violent or take legal action, you might consider preparing a statement
explaining the termination and read it verbatim to the employee.
- Consider offering assistance to the employee for
finding another job. You might offer company assistance in preparing and
mailing resumes, making copies or job search coaching tips.
Following the
termination meeting, document it with a written, detailed description of the
meeting. Include what the employee was told and what the employee said in the
notes.
How to Fire an Employee
Checklist
- Decide exactly, and succinctly, why you want to fire
the employee.
- Compare your reasons for wanting to fire the employee
with the job descriptions for that employee’s position. Does at least one
of your reasons include that the employee is actually not doing the job
properly?
- If you have specific procedures for termination of an
employee, follow those procedures.
- If the employee is working pursuant to a contract, you
must comply with the terms of the contract having to do with termination;
otherwise you may be in breach of contract.
- Be sure to tell employees why they are being fired and
give them these reasons in writing. (This can be mailed to them later if
more convenient.)
- After you tell employees why they are being fired, allow
them to tell you any defenses or other responses they have to your reasons
for termination. IT just may be that you are making a terrible mistake, or
the employee may confirm your decision to fire them
- Make sure employees’ files include a copy of the written
reasons you gave the employees for their firing. Also, make a note in the
file of any comments or defenses employees made in response to being
fired.
- Be sure all wages, benefits, property, or other things
belonging to the employee, or to which the employee is entitled, are given
to the employee.
- At all stages of the termination process, from deciding
to do so until the employee files is closed for good, treat the employee
with common respect and courtesy.
- Never, ever do anything to humiliate the employee.
Simply being fired is humiliation enough for an employee.
- Firing an employee is not a pleasant thing. However,
being sure of your decision, following proper procedures, and keeping
objective records of the decision and the event can put you in the best
position possible in case the employee later makes accusations against
you, or even if they sue you.
Final Mental Checklist:
- Plan what you are going to say
- Be calm
- Be humane
- Avoid surprises
- Have a strong paper trail
- Write a letter of termination to the employee
- Change the employee’s computer password and eliminate
all of their IT access (don't forget email group lists)
- During the termination meeting, make notes of what was
said and exchanged
Related articles:
