Firing Employees Guide

How to beat bad employees at their own game. Firing procedures & more.

Firing an employee is a serious step and you should not undertake it lightly. A well written firing employees guide can help to ensure you take all proper steps to prevent any unfavorable action later.

First, it is important to understand that under no circumstances should you should approach a termination when you or the employee are too emotional to continue rationally. While a termination is always a regrettable and naturally emotional, it is far better to give everyone a day or so to cool off before beginning the termination. Of course, if an employee’s behavior is of a serious enough nature, you should suspend the employee until you can examine the circumstances.

How a Firing Employees Guide Helps Employers
A firing employees guide also helps employers to ensure they approach terminations fairly and consistently. Unfortunately, employers many times find themselves facing litigation about a termination because they failed to act consistently with all employees. It is important that you don't overlook offenses in some employees that result in discipline for other staff members. You should approach discipline in a fair, consistent manner for all employees to be effective.

In approaching termination, you should use progressive discipline. An employee who you fire could potentially have a case for wrongful termination if you fire him or her on impulse with no prior signs his or her job was in jeopardy.

A firing employees guide can guide you through the procedure of providing written notice about job performance. You must notify employees if they have breached company policies or if their job performance is not up to standard. Under most circumstances you give them a specific period of time during which they must correct the named problems.

This information should be as specific as possible. For example, you should give an oral warning to the employee the first time they are late and the matter discussed with them. Although this is an oral warning, you should record the date of the conversation and you should notify the employee the conversation is serving as an oral warning and following late arrivals to work will result in a written warning. You should document the date the employee was late to work and how late they arrived. If there are further problems, you should document these as well.

If progressive discipline including oral and written warning cannot resolve the problems with an employee, it becomes necessary to fire them. It is important that you gather all prior documentation on job performance and disciplinary measures. Once again, a firing employees guide can walk you through the procedure step-by-step to assure yourself that you not missed anything important.

Firing Employees Guide: Items to Cover

During a firing, you should cover why they will no longer be working at the company. Be sure to cover facts accurately. Avoid generalities and attacks on the employee’s character. You should tell the employee when the date of termination will become effective and whether any benefits will remain available. You should also give a written termination. You should send a copy of the termination notice to the employee by certified mail.

A firing employees guide can help employers ensure they take all steps to avoid problems later.

Why it's risky to wait when firing an employee