One of the biggest risk areas for businesses is employees. For a lot of companies, reaching their goals is going to require hiring employees, but it’s not as easy or as straightforward as it may seem. The right fit can be hard to find, and sometimes it’s hard to tell if an employee is going to be a good fit for a company based on interview questions and previous experience. It’s common for a business to have to let employees go for one reason or another, it may be that they’ve made a mistake that justifies being fired, or maybe they just aren’t a good fit for the business and everyone needs to go their separate ways. Businesses can set up a process that they follow when it’s time to terminate an employee, which will help limit risk and potential issues.
Whatever the reason is that an employee is being terminated, businesses should take some steps to protect themselves when they are terminating employees. Wrongful termination lawsuits have been on the rise for years and COVID-19 has just created more issues with employee termination than ever before. Here are some steps you can take to limit some risks when it comes to terminating an employee:
Keep Records
Keep records of employee performance, reviews, and the steps that lead up to termination. This can be extremely helpful in case of a dispute or lawsuit in the event of a termination. A strong paper trail that details any issues, how they were addressed and any lack of improvement by an employee will support a legitimate reason for termination if the question is ever raised. Communicate shortcomings to employees both verbally and in writing, if necessary. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to an employee that they haven’t been living up to the expectations you have for them.
Have a Legitimate Reason
Most states are at-will, meaning that an employee can be fired for any reason except an illegal one. Make sure you’ve got a reason for firing someone; if they don't fit personality-wise, or just don’t get along with the other workers, fine. Make sure you’ve documented that. Just make sure you’re not letting someone go for a discriminatory reason (sex, age, race, religion, etc.).
Don’t Do It In Public
Don’t fire an employee in the middle of the office or at their desk. People don’t usually like getting fired, and nobody wants to be fired in front of their co-workers. Go to a conference room or do it in a private online meeting. You want to decrease the chances that the employee will feel embarrassed and upset, which can lead to an outburst, making emotions run high, and you end up saying something you’ll wish you hadn’t.
Don’t Do It Alone
If possible, don’t fire someone by yourself, bring someone else with you. Not all companies are big enough to have an HR department or even a dedicated employee who handles HR, so if you don’t have those as options, bring in the person who does handle employee paperwork and issues. This will avoid some situations where it could become your word against theirs, and allow for the necessary information on next steps to be laid out by whoever handles employees for the business.
Get to The Point
You don’t want a termination to drag on. Make sure you have everything in order before you go into a meeting where you’re going to fire an employee. How will you handle the employee getting their personal property, how will you get any company property back from the employee, when will they be receiving their last paycheck, what benefits information do they need to know? Some of these are questions the employee will likely ask so make sure to have the answers ready beforehand. Let them know they are being let go, tell them the pertinent information mentioned above, and get out of there. It’s hard when you feel bad for having to do it, but don’t get trapped over talking or making promises to try and help them when there really isn’t much more you can do. Talking too much or trying to console a terminated employee can easily lead to you saying something you’ll regret down the road.
Post Termination
Make sure to get any company property back, including any digital information that may be stored on personal devices. Change any necessary passwords or codes. Have voicemail and email forwarded if necessary and contact any clients, suppliers or third parties that may need to know the fired employee is no longer working for the company (they don’t need details, just information on who the new contact will be).
Letting an employee go can be a nerve-racking and emotional experience, think it through beforehand, be prepared, and do it quickly. That will help limit some of the risks that come with terminating an employee.
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