Employee Termination is Hard
 Employee termination can often be the most difficult task a business owner or supervisor to undertake. If an employee is very well liked, terminating that person's employment makes the job even more difficult. You realize that the termination not only affects the employee, but also the employee's family and welfare.
However, as a business owner, it is vital that all employees are contributing to the business and take an active interest in its continued growth.
If an employee is late to work on a consistent basis or is not taking an interest in being a team player, then his or her salary is not gaining benefits towards the company's goals and ideals. In other words, the employer is throwing money out the window as an expense where benefits are not being realized.
In today's economic climate, more employee terminations and employee turnover are taking place. In one respect, “being fired” can be better termed as “laid off” due to a struggling economy. Even in larger businesses, it is still difficult to fire an employee---even good ones---and many companies have planned extensive termination packages in order to make “letting go” a bit easier on the conscientious as well as the pocketbook overall.
Scenario #1: Employee Termination during Economic Hardship
If your business is floundering due to economic shifts and uncertainties, the public is becoming somewhat numb to the fact that unless employees are laid off, the business could fail altogether.
If employee termination includes firing one or employees due to the economic climate, prepare an attractive severance package. The initial step toward creating a severance package should aim for “unforeseeable events” as the reason for employee termination.
Hire or enlist the help of a business attorney to help you draft a severance package that could be offered on a volunteer basis during employee termination. Some employees will opt for accepting the severance package that includes first notice when their positions open again and they can reapply.
Severance packages can include a Letter of Recommendation, a month's severance pay, and pay for vacation time not used by the employee.
Scenario #2: Employee Termination for a Specific Reason
If your business has tracked employee performance such as with regular employee evaluations, you might have ample cause for employee termination that needs only documentation.
The collection of documentation over a period of time showing that an employee has lacked in performance after repeated warnings is a must and even one instance of the following is grounds for immediate dismissal with documentation:
- Theft of property.
- Sexual advances toward another employee or customer.
- The sale of proprietary information.
- Harassment/Battery
You and your business cannot set yourselves up as targets for any illegal grounds for employee termination and this is why it is imperative to be able to have and show the employee documentation including sufficient data including all documented reports since the employee's hiring date. The “3 time's, you're out” motto stands clear in this case.
In addition, the business owner and/or immediate supervisor must go into the meeting with not only ample documentation of the employee's track record and performance evaluations, a severance package can also be offered to deter hard feelings.
Employee termination must be based on fact; not on innuendo or rumor.
Scenario #3– Taking the Blame for Employee Termination
 Many times an employee is hired because he or she is likeable and seems like a “perfect fit.” 30-day review processes take place to ensure that the employee is or isn't the “perfect fit” that an employer anticipated.
This scenario can go both ways: perhaps the employee, too, has realized that the position has not been working out. Some employees will have the courage to explain their unhappiness but more often than not, it's up to the employer to “see the fruits” of production or lack thereof.
Terminating an employee in this situation has its benefits. The employer can simply say, “I'm not sure you're happy here and I think I may have hired you into the wrong position.”
This avenue is somewhat easier because there are options.
During employee termination, the employer is putting the emphasis on “not judging correctly” while also offering the employee an attractive severance package. This preplanning strategy shows the ethics of the company and employee relations.
Tasks to Ensure Security during Employee Termination
The termination of an employee must also take into account the possible the possible jeopardizing of proprietary knowledge and access to company files.
Keys and badges must be turned in and all passwords changed the day of employee termination. These steps, above all, require forethought as an employee could use company records in the future and jeopardize the security of the company and the public.
This instance is where a business attorney must help draft termination of employment documents, especially in the case where the company uses sensitive government or public records that could be compromised due to an employee's termination and subsequent conflicts with it.
Important Points to Remember with Employee Termination:
- Documentation must be in hand: all evaluations and reports regarding employee behavior and performance during employee termination.
- Keep the setting warm with the objective being that the employee could offer better contributions in another work environment during employee termination.
- NEVER attack on a personal level during employee termination.
- Offer an attractive severance package along with Letter of Recommendation.
- Enlist the help of a business attorney to fine-tune severance benefits for employee termination.
Additional Resources:
Wrongful Termination Laws
State and National Labor Laws
How to Write a Termination Agreement
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