Here are five critical termination tips for employers
Do not terminate on the spot or in public
Oftentimes the supervisor terminates an employee when they are angry and state “that’s it, you are out of here-now!” On the spot terminations are not appropriate for employers because there can be many factors to consider before terminating an employee. Also the employee and employees around this incident may consider terminating on the spot as disrespectful (public humiliation) and encourages them to file charges with government agencies. Bottom line; suspend the employee before any termination to prepare the documentation necessary. Then bring the employee back in a private setting to review your documentation and conduct the termination. Also allow them to come back after work hours so they can gather their personal items.
Check with your Human Resources Professional
Human Resources professionals can help employers evaluate a number of factors before there is any termination:
- Consistency
- Have other similarly-situated employees been fired?
- Appropriateness
- Is this a significant enough infraction that termination is reasonable?
- Contract
- Is there a contract or agreement that terminating would violate? Or maybe an implied contract of good faith and fair dealing?
- Does the termination look like retaliation?
- Has the employee filed any formal complaints or law suit that the termination may look like a retaliatory action. Also did the employee complain about the supervisor who is terminating them prior to the action? Whenever a termination closely follows a protected act, there will be an obvious suggestion of retaliation.
- Has the manager documented any false claim or does not have proper documentation?
- Human Resources can review the entire file to ensure the manager is truthful. Some terminations are for poor performance and there is documentation that the employee showed good performance (past performance reviews).
Do not terminate without a reason on the basis of “At-Will”
Some managers believe they don’t have to give the employee any reason for termination and claim the “at will” doctrine. It’s true that unless there’s a formal contract of some kind, most employees are employees at will, and that means they can be terminated at any time for any reason or for no reason. And the flip side is that they can leave at any time. Although employers do have the “at will” prerogative, many terminated employees may have a reason for the termination such as their protected status—that is, their race, sex, age, FMLA, veteran status or disability. Now your company is in trouble; you have to explain why “no reason” is more likely than the illegal reason.
Give the employee an opportunity to explain
There should be an element of fairness in each scenario. The employee may have extenuating situations that resulted in their termination. Ask why the employee did what they did and determine if they are protected in any way. Also determine if they understood your policies and procedures. Hopefully the terminating situation is NOT your first conversation with the employee! Even with misconduct issues such as theft and drugs, ask your employee why it happened.
Be prepared for the termination
Many states require final payment immediately upon termination. Things like COBRA notification, references that will be given, etc. should be discussed with the employee. Also you need reiterate confidentiality standards and proper communications post termination. This allows the terminated employee to understand what is expected after leaving your company.
Reference: Bruce, S. 10 Sins of Termination (#1 Time to Prevent Lawsuits) HR Daily Advisor (7/14/2014)
