Firing an employee is never an easy decision to make. However, almost every employer has gone through the tough and enviable task of firing an employee in their career. Unfortunately, employee layoff can land one into a sticky situation, at times, even litigation, if you do not do it the right way.
One needs to follow a few general tips to give your company the best opportunity to legally and amicably part ways with the employees. We communicated with some legal experts who have helped us compile a list of some tips to fire the employees the right way to help you with it.
Firing employees – Checklist
An incredible way to ensure that while firing the employees, you are following a proper legal procedure is by drafting the termination notice and the policies much ahead of time, says Daisy, a legal expert with a platform that offers the best online accounting courses. You need to ensure that your staff has adequate access to the employee handbook. This should list out the expectations, discipline, and discrimination policies. So, what is the best way to fire the employees? Let us find out.
Educate the team
While you fire your employees, it is of prime importance to ensure that, in doing so, you do not break any employment laws. Further, you should confirm that all your supervisors and workers understand and are aware of all the policies and procedures. They should also be mindful of the necessity to the violations or warnings.
Determining the offence
You should predetermine what misconduct, performance failures, or broken policies can justify the termination, if and when it is beyond the scope of a general layoff, says Isla, a lawyer with a platform that offers several online java tutors for college and university students.
Document and investigate their office
In all practicality, the termination process will be different for every employee. It primarily depends on the offense conducted by the employee.
For instance, if an employee is a poor performer, you can review their file and see if there were any warnings given to them. See, it is not right to fire an employee without adequate warning. Please give them a warning and a chance to improve. If they do not show an improvement in their performance, then you can fire them. This will require a proper performance improvement plan, along with a series of comments and disciplinary warnings in their annual review report. However, if an employee is a threat to other employees’ comfort or safety, you ought to perform an investigation of misconduct against them.
Consider the legal protections and the employment laws
At all times, you must be aware of all the legal protections, which the employee has. Do ensure that at no point in time, you discriminate or retaliate. It will violate the law if you fail to accommodate an employee guarded under the Americans with Disabilities Act. There also needs to be retaliation against the whistle-blower.
Make someone review the employee file
Before deciding to terminate the employee, the file of the employer must be reviewed by others, such as the legal team or any trusted advisor, says James, who is a manager with TAE, that offers online programming homework help services. It is vital to ensure that there is adequate documentation in the file that explains the termination to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the local unemployment commission.
Plan what you are to say
It is vital to prepare a comprehensive plan of what you will say and won’t say in employee termination. Moreover, during the termination, there should be two company representatives present. So, you need to predetermine who will speak and what needs to be said.
Terminating the employee
Ensure that your conversation is precise yet accurate. Communicate to the employee that it is their last day in your organization. Further, let them know the reason why they are being fired. It could be because of their performance or because of any other issue that may have been discussed previously. Do ensure that you do not give them a lengthy list. However, at the same time, you should not just relay a single item if the termination is because of several issues or violations. Never give the employee unnecessary hope that they may be re-hired in the future.
Collect all the company property from them
You need to take back all of the company property, such as the laptops, phones, key, and others, that you may have given to them during the course of their job. In case the employee has access to any proprietary, confidential, or sensitive information, you can escort the employee as they gather all the personal items before leaving.
Escort them out
As an employer, you should always walk the employer out of the building, says Janice, a legal expert with EduworldUSA that offers ‘Do My Paper services. When you think the employee will be angry and loud, you can have a police or security standby. However, that is an infrequent occurrence.
Issue any final notifications, payments, and documentations
Usually, most states have deadlines, which the employer needs to adhere to for finalizing the whole process. There is a stipulated time by which the employee needs to get their final paycheck. Establish policies on whether your employee ought to be paid for the time they have served. Ensure that the entire documentation is done adhering to the legal boundaries.
