Do you know how to handle firing an employee without getting burned?

Terminating an employee is something (unfortunately) that almost every company has dealt with at one point or another, and it is one of the hardest tasks for a supervisor or HR manager. A termination meeting is often a high stakes event for a company, and handling a termination incorrectly can have legal or other consequences. Below is a discussion of five points raised in a recent article from The HR Specialist entitled “How to Avoid the 5 Classic Firing Mistakes,” which gives some guidance and advice on how to best handle a termination meeting. According to the article, those five points are:

Keep your cool. Termination meetings are not only stressful and emotional for the employee being terminated, but also they are often stressful for company officials involved as well. It is helpful to keep calm and keep the tenor of the conversation professional to avoid any blow ups or inadvertent statements. Termination meetings should usually be conducted in a private setting.

Avoid surprises. It is often recommended that employees get regular feedback, both written and oral, about their job performance. This helps to reduce any surprise when a decision to terminate is made and also provides support for the company’s decision.

Watch what you say. It is recommended that the personnel conducting the meeting know what they are going to say in advance, and if they have any questions, have their statements approved by legal counsel in advance. This certainly ties into the first point about keeping calm. It is awful for a statement made in the heat of passion during a termination meeting to haunt the company in litigation later. To this end, companies should ensure that that there are at least two people from the company in a termination meeting to try and avoid a he said/she said situation.

Not to be too kind. I would rather characterize this as be honest. It is important to address an employee’s performance deficiencies head on to avoid confusion about the reason for termination.

Keep quiet. It is in the best interest of the company to avoid discussing the termination of an employee with other employees. Discussion of this nature serve only to sow discord, and statements of a manager could come back to bite them later.

Terminating an employee is tough, but often a necessary part of business. Preparing for a termination meeting is crucial to avoid putting the company in a tough position down the road.

If you have any questions about this or other employment law related issues, you should contact the attorney of your choice.

This story was originally published May 23, 2017 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Do you know how to handle firing an employee without getting burned?."