Personnel Discipline and Termination
Not all hiring decisions turn out the way you planned. Sometimes employees need to be disciplined or even terminated. Discipline and/or termination are often an emotional step for both employee and employer. Regardless of the reason for termination, it is often seen as a sign of failure by both parties. So, an effort should be made to reconcile the problems. However, if reconciliation is not possible, termination may need to be used. Be careful to follow the legal requirements of this process.
For more information on this topic, see the links listed below of articles posted on related Web sites.
Discipline
- Disciplining Your Workers – CCH Business Owner’s Toolkit -- If you have any workplace rules or policies, there's a good chance that sooner or later they will be broken by one of your employees and that you may have to enforce those rules with some form of discipline.
Termination
- Firing and Termination – CCH Business Owner’s Toolkit -- As careful as you may be to select the best employees available and to manage them well, it's likely that, at some point, you'll have to fire somebody.
- Employee Termination – Small Business Notes -- Few supervisors and managers look forward to firing people.
- Firing Employees FAQ – NOLO Law for All -- Answers to some commonly asked questions about firing employees, from limits on when you can fire to severance packages.
- Illegal Reasons for Firing Employees – NOLO Law for All -- There are certain reasons that you can never use to fire an employee.
- Firing Employees with Employment Contracts – NOLO Law for All -- Employment contracts can limit your ability to fire employees.
- How to Say: "You're Fired!" – HBS Working Knowledge – Letting people go is never pleasant. It's an emotional time for the employer as well as the employee. But you can ease the process. Here's how to hand out the pink slips.
- Employer Liability for an Employee’s Bad Acts – NOLO Law for All -- If your employee hurts someone, you might be legally responsible.
Ending Employment
- When Workers Leave FAQ – NOLO Law for All – What you need to know when an employee leaves -- from final paychecks to severance pay to providing references.
- Final Paychecks for Departing Employees – NOLO Law for All -- You have to be ready with that final paycheck soon after your employees quit or are fired.
- Should You Offer Severance Pay? – NOLO Law for All -- In most circumstances, employers are not legally required to pay severance to fired employees. But you may want to consider it anyway. Here's why.
- What to Tell Prospective Employers and Your Workforce about a Former Employee – NOLO Law for All -- Here are some tips on what to tell your remaining employees -- and other employers calling for a reference -- about the recently departed.
