Five Mistakes To Avoid When Terminating Employees
Years of practicing employment law have taught me that although sometimes absolutely necessary from a business perspective, termination is the employment decision most likely to lead to litigation.
I have also learned the hard way that management often makes mistakes in terminations that make the defense of termination claims much more difficult.
A recent article points out five such mistakes. Avoiding these mistakes may sound like just common sense, but I must agree they are nevertheless often committed.
The five mistakes are:
- Withholding the real reason for termination because management wants to be nice.
- Failing to follow the employer’s written policies and procedures.
- Failing to document an employee’s misconduct in a personnel file.
- Withholding payment of employee wages.
- Failing to remind departing employees of confidentiality and/or noncompete obligations.
For details, see Law.com In-House Counsel: “Five Mistakes Managers Make When Terminating Employees”
You knew all that, right?
Great. Some things bear repeating, and this is one.
I would add one more mistake: Failing to have a termination decision objectively reviewed by an individual in HR or higher management who has not been directly involved with the employee or the incidents leading to termination. (I know this isn’t always possible, but strive for it.)
