Question: What are some tips for conducting a termination meeting?

Answer:

Most people will never find terminating someone to be easy. But the more prepared you are for the meeting, the more comfortable you will feel and the more smoothly it is likely to go. Here are 10 suggestions for conducting a termination meeting:

1. Select two managerial employees to be present for the meeting (typically the departing employee’s direct supervisor and HR) and decide who is going to say what.
2. Be organized and have a plan for the meeting, which will help convey that you are confident that the right decision has been made.
3. Within the first few minutes, tell the employee she is being terminated. Don’t drag out the news or engage in small talk, make jokes or discuss business.
4. Explain the decision briefly and clearly. Less is typically more when it comes to termination messaging.
5. Through your words and conduct, the departing employee needs to realize that the termination decision is yours, not the indefinite “they” or “management,” and the decision is not open for debate.
6. Make sure the procedures used in conducting the discharge and exit are consistent with those used generally.
7. Provide for the return of Company materials, equipment, documents, and keys.
8. Establish a procedure to shut off computer, email and telephone access during the meeting. Don’t make the mistake of allowing the departing employee to get back on the Company’s computer or email system.
9. Be sure to arrange to obtain any passwords needed from the departing employee and promptly change the passwords, change locks (if needed) and attend to related security matters.
10. Ensure that the employee leaves employment with as much dignity and self-esteem as possible.

Question: What day of the week should we conduct an employment termination?

Answer:

There tend to be strong schools of thought on this issue. Some say never terminate someone on a Friday. The person then has all weekend to talk to family and friends, get fired up and decide to sue. And the person can’t be proactive and start job hunting over the weekend. In truth, if someone is going to get fired up and sue, that’s going to happen regardless of the day of the week. And, with as much job hunting and recruiting that goes on via social media, plenty of proactive job search efforts can be undertaken regardless of the day of the week.

Some say never terminate someone on a Monday. It’s not fair to bring someone in to start a new work week, just to show them the door on Monday. And firing someone on a Monday allows them all week to consult with an attorney. In truth, you could have done it on Friday and ruined the person’s weekend. And attorneys tend to be readily accessible, so putting a full week of business days in front of someone is not going to increase the odds that the departing employee consults an attorney.

All in all, a termination likely will never be well-received. There is not a “right” day of the week to do it. Proceed with the termination when you are ready. Being well-prepared to conduct a termination is critical. More on that topic in another post.

Question: We have decided to fire an employee, can we call it a layoff?

Answer: 

If you have (or can realistically craft) true business reasons for a termination to be a layoff, fine. Otherwise, using layoff in your termination messaging may create problems. You are better off sticking with the true reason for the termination or perhaps giving no reason at all.

This is a frequently asked question when it comes to terminations, even terminations of problem employees. It just seems gentler to call it a layoff, right? So what’s the problem with labeling a run of the mill termination as a layoff? If the reason given is not true, the door is left open for problems. Perhaps the “layoff” is masking a performance issue that should have been addressed. Does the employee’s personnel file reflect those performance issues? Will the departing employee find out later that you actually replaced him, which highlights that the reason given wasn’t true? You don’t want the “layoff” to appear to be a pretext (or lie) to cover an unlawful reason for terminating an employee. In short, harsh as it may seem, sticking to the real reason is often the best approach in terminations.

Terminating problem employees is part and parcel of running a business. There are many twists and turns in terminating an employee and it is easy to end up in a dark alley. I intend to devote my first several blog posts to addressing common termination questions and providing some tips to make this difficult task easier.

First things first. . .

Welcome to my blog.  Thanks for checking it out. I intend to share insights on this blog through my experiences advising businesses for the past twenty plus years. I will often post in the form of Q & As, through which I will address questions commonly posed and pragmatic answers intended to provide possible solutions to various issues in the workplace.  I hope you find the content useful.

Please note that the content of this blog, including the Questions & Answers are not, and should not be construed as, legal advice.  I will not provide legal advice without entering into a formal attorney-client relationship. The commentary in my blog entries are mine alone and not those of Patzik, Frank & Samotny, Ltd. or its partners.