Tips for an Unpleasant Task: Terminating Employees

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Tom Crane

Mike Maslanka, who pens a blog oriented toward employers wrote a helpful post on terminating employees.  Mike is well read on management and leadership techniques.  He suggests the following:

1.  Conduct the termination meeting at the employee's work space or office.  He explains that the manager can get up to leave after completing the difficult task.  The manager can "escape" when the meeting concludes.  And, going to the employee's space also suggests some level of respect for the employee.

2. It may be unethical to keep an employee in a position in which they are not a good fit.  You, the manager, owe it to the employer to not retain folks who do not fit.  It is as much a strain on the employee as it is on the employer. 

3. Be patient.  The manager has had time to adjust to the new reality, the employee has not.  Give him/her time to digest what you have said.  They say a termination should never be a surprise.  But, truly, it almost always is a surprise on some level.  No manager should schedule an appointment immediately following a termination meeting. 

4. Allow the employee to retain some dignity.  As Mike explains, that means different things to different people.  To Mike, it means do not show false empathy.  Do not say "I know how you feel" unless you have been fired yourself before.  The best thing you can do is simply allow the employee some time to compose him/herself.  Silence is golden and respectful. 

5. Mike also suggests you look at yourself.  Ask yourself how and why you hired the wrong person. In the Army, we conducted "after action reviews" after every major training exercise.   The goal was to analyze the good and the bad.  Every termination, just as every major employment issue, should result in some improvement to the organization. 

If every employer followed these tips, lawsuits would decrease dramatically.  See Mike's post for more information.  

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Worker Loses Appeal for Unemployment Benefits

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Tom Crane

Frequently, employees call me and tell me with breathless excitement that the employer is violating some law, the caller knows it and then they pause.  They seem to expect me to say, "well, then, ignore them" or "well, ok, then tell them to jump in the lake."  ....  No, we cannot say those things. 

I sympathize with the caller's plight.  But, unless you have a court order in hand, or unless they are asking you to perform an illegal act, you have to do what the employer says.  Period.  

We see this in a case described by a pro-employer blog, Texas Employment Law Update by Russ Cawyer: Uranga v. Nationwide.  This is a decision rendered by the state court of appeals in El Paso. The employee worked for Nationwide from 2003 to 2005.  The employee claimed he was not paid overtime; he believed the employer was acting in bad faith to build a record to fire him; and that he was about to be paid off.  So, he quit.  Meanwhile, the employer had been trying to meet with the agent to discuss perceived performance issues.  On three occasions, the employee failed to appear for these meetings. The employer then came to understand from others that the employee had stopped coming to the office for two months and had removed the computer equipment.  Mr. Uranga apparently quit.  He applied for unemployment benefits.  But, Nationwide argued that the employee had abandoned his job.  

The El Paso court found in favor of the employer.  The supervisor sent a letter to Mr. Uranga saying he had abandoned his job.  There is no mention in the report of Mr. Uranga formally quitting.  There is no indication that he objected to the letter from his supervisor.  Yes, even when you believe you are being treated unfairly or unlawfully, you, as an employee, need to tell your employer that you are quitting.  

If an employee quits for good reason, s/he might receive unemployment benefits.  But, here, Mr. Uranga could not even show that he notified the employer that he had quit.  Apparently, there was no letter, no memo, no note.  And, he missed a few meetings with his supervisor.   These are all good reasons for termination.  If he felt he was owed overtime pay, then he should have filed a complaint with Department of Labor or Texas Workforce Commission.  You cannot just ignore a boss you believe is violating the law or mistreating you. 

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Be firm, be tough, but don't embarrass

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Tom Crane

 It is always tough to fire an employee, no matter how much s/he deserves it.  But, speaking for the employee, it is can be much more difficult if the employer employs little or no finesse.  When to terminate employment is a big part of the equation.  Michael Maslanka gives some excellent advice, suggesting earlier in the week is better.  Over the years, I have heard from many employees, "I would have let it go, but then they did X to me."  What they mean is that often, they suffered some pretty clear discrimination or violation of some contractual right.  But, the employee did not become angry enough to see me or someone like me until the employer did something that was pretty insensitive.   A common tactic is to fire the employee on the spot and escort him/her out of the office.  That is huge.  That is when employees go see a lawyer.  

I appreciate the need to secure computers, files, etc., but employers should consider very carefully when they find it necessary to embarrass a worker in front of her co-workers.  I have some friends who run a chain of mom and pop sandwich shops.  They are very smart.  They do not have college degrees.  But, they understand this well.  They always fire someone with two weeks notice, unless a clear case of theft or its equivalent is involved.  Be firm, be tough, but do not embarrass......

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