It's Not Easy to Terminate an Employee
 Employee termination can often be the most difficult task a business owner or supervisor has to undertake. If an employee is very well liked, terminating that person's employment makes the termination even more difficult. Termination not only affects the employee, but also the employee's family and welfare.
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.
Scenario #1: Employee Termination during Economic Hardship
If your business is floundering due to economic shifts and uncertainties, unless employees are laid off, the business could fail altogether.
If firing one or more employees due to a poor economic climate, prepare an attractive severance package. The initial step toward creating a severance package should aim for "unforeseeable events" as the reason for termination.
Hire or enlist the help of a business attorney to help you draft a severance package. Some employees will opt for accepting the type of 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 include payment 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 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 all documented reports since the employee's hiring date. The "3 time's, you're out" motto stands clear in this case. 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.".
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."
During termination, the employer is putting the emphasis on the company "not judging correctly" while also offering the employee an attractive severance package. This pre-planning strategy shows the ethics of the company and concern for employee relationships.
Tasks to Ensure Security During Employee Termination
The termination of an employee must also take into account 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 termination.
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:
- All evaluations and reports regarding employee behavior and performance during employee termination need to be on hand during the termination process.
- Keep the setting warm with the focus being on the employee potentially offering better contributions in another work environment.
- NEVER attack on a personal level during termination.
- Offer an attractive severance package along with Letter of Recommendation.
- Enlist the help of a business attorney to fine-tune severance benefits.
Additional Resources:
Wrongful Termination Laws
State and National Labor Laws
How to Write a Termination Agreement
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