Easing somebody from off the company can be a particularly delicate situation. There are legal swamps to wade through and even the emotional welfare of your employee must be taken into account. Performing badly on their part, however, is rarely an excuse. Neither is it yours; you wouldn’t want to be caught in a hairy situation and here are a few tips that should start you on your quest for hassle-free conduct.
The law should always be taken into account. Let me tell you, there are two kinds of employees: “at will” which means that they can quit any time without reason or notice –this may certainly work to your disadvantage. But here’s another clause: this also means that you can dismiss them at any time with or without the same. The second is “property interest”: in much the same way you can’t wrest control of their property from them, you cannot simply take away their jobs without due process.
You cannot, for example, fire anyone in the “protected class”, like those who are above 40 years old. You can’t terminate someone simply because of their age, nor can you fire anybody on the basis of race, medical condition, religion, or gender. There are other conditions in this list I won’t wax on so…hire that lawyer and keep his advice.
Fire employees gradually by means of progressive discipline. Nobody likes unpleasant surprises and being warned gives you the sense of exactly what is happening. Do the same for your employee. A verbal warning can be given for the first offense, a written warning for the second and so forth. Inappropriate behavior must be put out to air but do so with tact and in the shelter of privacy. Lay out the consequences and if in the end, he or she still performs poorly, then by all means, terminate the person with respect.
Do it in a private place where no one can hear and do it tactfully, with professionalism. It’s bad enough that your employee is losing his job and revealing this diplomatically will help him –and even yourself –save face. You never know if things will go awry so always have some form of back-up with you. A person from HR will answer questions that you cannot, and will also act as witness. Document any disciplinary actions done beforehand so that if anyone asks, you have something to show.
Always and never least, keep to the golden rule with regards to everything: follow company policy regarding termination and always do this to the letter. When all’s said and done, you will certainly want to walk away from this with a clear conscience and a tranquil mind.
Originally posted on January 3, 2008 @ 12:00 am