Quality of Work has Deteriorated
When an employee’s performance has deteriorated to the point that work is not getting done on time or at the quality expected for the position, even after warnings, it may be time to terminate that employee. Note that there could be an underlying reason(s) why the quality has deteriorated, including personal issues such as family, marital or substance abuse – as such, make sure to give the employee an opportunity to explain their poor performance.
Restructuring
A company may need to restructure a position, for example, to be more competitive or reduce costs.
Just Cause/Violation of Company Policies or Procedures
Generally, terminating an employee for “Just Cause” revolves around the following two questions:
(1) Can the employee misconduct be proven?; and
(2) Is the nature and degree of the misconduct sufficient to dismiss the employee?
Both answers to these questions must be yes in order to have the possible grounds to justify an employee termination for just cause.
New Employee/Probation
Many employment agreements typically give the employer an opportunity to terminate an employee during the employee’s probationary period (usually somewhere between 3-6 months), without notice and without cause. Make sure to know any responsibilities of terminating an employee through their probationary period. Ensure that the length of the probationary time period in your employment agreements reflect how long it will take for you to determine whether the person can do the job or not.
Insubordination
An employee who willfully disobeys their manager’s authority can be grounds for dismissal, provided that the manager doesn’t ask the employee to do something that would be unethical or illegal.
Financial Reasons
Your organization may have financial reasons resulting in the need to terminate an employee(s).
Incompetent Employee
In some cases, an employee may appear to be competent when hired but it may take some time before you realize that they are not.
Distraction to other Employees
It can be extremely detrimental to your organization when an employee distracts other employees from completing their work or creates a negative influence with others.
Unmotivated Employee
When an employee loses their motivation to do their job, it may be difficult to regain that, regardless of what you do or say. In most situations, an employee needs to be able to motivate themselves to complete the work.
Career Limitations
An employee may have reached a limit for their career in your organization. Perhaps you can’t provide the employee with an opportunity to move upwards in your organization. Consider possible internal restructuring or creating a position that may be more challenging for them. Although you don’t need to terminate the employee, if there’s nothing internal that you can offer that employee, you may want to encourage him/her look for higher career options outside of your organization, even though this might be detrimental to you or your organization overall.
To Improve Your Organization
Sometimes, terminating an employee will actually make an organization better, perhaps because the employee is slowing down work getting accomplished.
Other Considerations
– Consider giving the employee additional training before making the decision to terminate
– Review the employee’s employment agreement for any terms or conditions prior to termination
– Give proper warning(s) – typically companies will give verbal warning(s) first, then written warning(s) and, only after improvements don’t occur after both of those, termination
– Speak with an employment lawyer prior to termination to ensure that there is nothing else that may need to be considered from a legal perspective
– Document all performance reviews, meetings, conversations, warnings, etc. in writing in the employee’s personnel file in the event there is a legal issue later
– If the employee is a member of a union, there may be further considerations involved
– Don’t delay – it helps no one when staff know someone should be terminated, sometimes including the employee themselves, and management doesn’t act quickly.
Conclusion
There are many signs of when an employee needs to be terminated. You may have others to add to the list above. Don’t forget the old management principle of hiring slowly and firing fast. Enjoy the best HR conferences and training – at your desk
Note: This article is not intended to provide any legal advice and readers of this article are encouraged to consult with a lawyer for any legal advice pertaining to the points raised in this article.
