c r o s s+r o a d s

Pitfalls When Terminating Employees

Last year, I blogged my reflections on integrity to express my observation how the corporate world value this trait vis-a-vis our dynamic and competitive world. I find it interesting how this character trait has taken the backseat in lieu of other "important" matters.

I came across an article about Five Mistakes Managers Make When Terminating Employees, by E. Michelle Bohreer and Todd J. Zucker, posted in Law.com. The first in the list, not surprisingly, is integrity related:

Withholding the real reason for termination because management wants to be nice.

When it comes time to terminate an employee, the termination meeting often includes managers with whom the employee interacted on a friendly basis during the term of employment. Such managers might be inclined not to hold the employee accountable for the misconduct that prompted the termination, or they simply might not want to cause the employee unnecessary embarrassment or emotional upset. However, it is important not to sugarcoat the reason for firing.

Employers who subscribed to this practice may now be embarking on a road of more employee deviations. Former employees whose termination was sugarcoated and in some cases, financial assistance is extended, will share their luck with colleagues who are still on-board. Demoralizing good employees in the process and encouraging more disorder. In the future, management will be hard pressed in implementing its own guidelines.

Employers who have taken this option believed that peace is much better than going thru the process of litigation, if terminated employee decided to file a case.

This will lead us to the other termination related errors as discussed by E. Michelle Bohreer and Todd J. Zucker.

• 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 non-compete obligations.

These mistakes can be avoided if Managers will follow management guidelines on employee discipline, and national laws on employment or labor code. If the above mistakes are avoided, management need not fear of losing a litigation case. But again, employers still have the option on how to handle termination cases. An integrity question– to upheld the principle of right or wrong, or prefer a less turbolent and perhaps a cheaper path.

Whoever says to the guilty, "You are innocent"— peoples will curse him and nations denounce him. Prov. 24:24 (NIV)

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posted by ASKSonnie @ Thursday, May 11, 2006