Continuing employee hygiene
problem? Here's the next step
Letting an employee go may be fraught with many problems
and correlating legalities. Even “at will” employees
who understand that they may lose their job at any
time may have legal recourse if your reasons for firing
an
employee are invalid.
Therefore, it is well to review some of the reasons
for firing an employee. Some of these include:
*Misbehavior or rudeness toward clients or customers
*Drunkenness or substance abuse on-the-job
*Theft of company property
*Frequent and unexplained absences from work
*Entering false information on records
*Gross insubordination
*Incompetence or failure to respond to training
*Fighting or other physical aggression
*Sexual harassment
*Verbal abuse
*Using company property for personal business
Document Your Reasons for Firing an Employee
In each these cases, the well-informed employer will
have clear documentation the employee understood company
policy. Also, the employer should document evidence of
misconduct and keep it on file with a written summary
of the termination. Even when firing an “at will” employee,
the manager must exercise care in wording the reasons
for the termination. For example, the employer should
not claim “downsizing” when he or she plans
immediately to hire another employee to perform the same
job.
It is not enough merely to suspect that an employee
has violated a company policy. The employer should never
fire an employee on a whim or out of resentment. Management
should remain calm and collected during the entire process.
The reasons for firing an employee may be valid, but
handling the situation badly can cancel this.
When there are economic reasons for firing an employee,
consider several factors. The main question an employer
will have is, “Which employee should I terminate?” This
can become a sticky situation and there are many aspects
to consider:
*Which employees have the greatest longevity of service?
*Which employee shows the greatest productivity?
*All things being equal, which employee would recover
best?
*Is voluntary retirement a possibility?
*Which employee has the best attitude toward the business?
Reasons for firing an employee are as varied as their
faces. Even when the action becomes necessary through
no fault of the employee, both the decision making process
and the act of firing are not pleasant duties. It is,
however, no time to let emotions get out of hand.
Why
a bad employee is causing more problems than you
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