Employee Termination Done Properly

Employee terminations are the responsibility of both managers and human resources. They are never easy, regardless of the reason for termination. Human resources and managers need to work in partnership to ensure the employee has been properly coached and taken through any disciplinary process your company requires. Terminating an employee without going through the proper disciplinary steps or without considering relevant employment laws puts your company at risk of being sued.

Mismanaged terminations can result in severe repercussions, including legal liability, damaged company reputation, and diminished employee morale. Gallup’s research reveals that poorly handled exits can lead to a significant decrease in team morale by up to 40%.

Many termination decisions are complicated. There may be state and/or federal leave involved, such as FMLA, or the employee may be in a protected class, or the ADA accommodation you put in place is just not working, and there is no other accommodation that can be provided without an undue hardship on the company.

• How and when to document performance issues
• The importance of following your company’s discipline policy
• Conducting a fair and impartial investigation
• The termination decision – what to consider
• A review of employment laws that may protect employees from termination
• Preparing termination documentation
• Scheduling and conducting a termination meeting
• What to do after termination

We will also review the meaning of at-will employment and what limitations there are around this concept.