According to Jury Verdict Research, the average jury award for improper termination is now at $536,927. Every company should have set ground rules and standards. If the worker fails to improve as the result of escalating discipline, you will have built a sufficient case to fire the jobholder without risk of facing a lawsuit. Here is a worker termination letter sample. You should also have at least two more people sign the agreement as witnesses and as representatives of the small business. Simply citing your worker with a notification of reprimand may upgrade your employee's work performance, but often it won't have a lasting effect. If the behavior remains poor, then it's time for formal escalating discipline that will likely lead to the difficult individual's separation. For example, you shouldn't disclose someone's sexual preference (even if asked) because normally this doesn't impact job performance. Employers: How To Protect Yourself During A worker separation. Any aggressive, physical violence toward a superior is undoubtedly gross misconduct. In particular, you cannot separate a worker because she is pregnant. For example, you can't layoff an employee for:

I must tell you that on the account of your misbehavior in the form of (state here either firm theft or misuse of firm property), your employment with (company name) will be fired right away. Just to let you know, I got his approval for this termination, and he's aware of all the circumstances.". However you can sack the employee for reasons outside their protective status.