What Not To Do When Terminating Employees?

Hiring the right employees is critical to helping your business grow.

And unfortunately, so is terminating individuals you believe hinder this growth.

Yet, there are rules when terminating an employee, and not following them could cost you a lot of money and potentially your reputation.

In this short guide, we’ve highlighted four things you should never do when ending one of your employee’s employment.

NOTE: This article is written without taking into consideration any laws or regulations in your local state - be sure to consult with a professional before terminating an employee. Do not take the content of this article as law or advice.

A Guide To Terminating Employees - What Not To Do:

Not Give A Valid Reason For Termination

If you don’t provide a clear and valid reason to your employee for the proposed dismissal, it could be considered unfair by the Fair Work Commission.

The main reasons for terminating employment include:

• Poor Performance: this could be due to a lack of diligence, interest, skills, or quality.
• Capacity: this has to do with the physical or mental ability of your employee to fulfil their duties.
• Redundancy: redundancy can be used if you no longer need an employee to fulfil the role, or your company becomes insolvent.
• Misconduct: if your employee behaves in a way that is against your company policy, their employment contract, or the law, you have a right to terminate their employment.

Before being able to terminate the employment contract, you must ensure you’ve followed a fair process, including stating the reason for termination and allowing the employee to respond.

Don’t Respect The Minimum Employment Termination Notice

The National Employment Standards outline the process employees need to follow regarding the employment termination notice.

As an employer, you need to give written notice to your employee and indicate the day of termination in writing.

But you can’t just pick a random date. You have to follow the minimum notice period based on how long your employee has been working for the company.

Here are the guidelines:

• Less than one year: one week's notice
• Between two and three years: two weeks' notice
• Between three and five years: three weeks' notice
• Over five years: four weeks' notice

Fire Your Employee By Electronic Means

No matter the reason you’ve decided to terminate your employee’s employment, you should never let them know over voicemail, email, or text. This is unprofessional, can upset the rest of your team, and cause a lot of animosity towards your business. And this can, in turn, tarnish your reputation.

So, always discuss the matter face-to-face with your employee in a private room. You should also allow them to express their feelings and give you feedback. If this can’t be done face-to-face, give them a call.

Fire Your Employee By Yourself

When terminating an employee’s employment, it’s also advised to have a witness in the meeting. It could be your HR or admin manager. If you fire your employee by yourself, and they decide to take you to court, it’ll become your word against theirs, which can make proceedings more challenging.

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