Employee Termination

Our recommended employee termination procedure

Firing an employee seems as easy as saying “you are fired” but this simply is not the case. Besides personally telling this person in a termination meeting that you are firing them, you must complete a series of steps before reaching this point. These are all part of the employee termination notification process. By not following these steps, you will open yourself up to legal ramifications or problems reclaiming company property further down the road.

Employee Termination Notification Process

Step 1-Before you even sit down the employee to begin the verbal termination process, you must prepare an employee termination notification letter that officially tells them you have terminated them. This letter should be brief, professional and should clearly give the reasons for firing. The supervisor does not necessarily have to write this letter although they can. If the supervisor chooses not to write the letter, a Human Resources manager should do it. They have experience with outprocessing of employees.

Step 2-Before the termination meeting, you must review the employee's financial information. Find out exactly how much their final paycheck should be. If the employee’s last day is the day you are speaking with them, have that final paycheck ready for them to take home immediately. This will prevent the hassle of dealing with the employee in the future. It is also important to have unemployment information available, as well as information on ending dates for health benefits, severance package pay or overtime pay.

Step 3-Another important step to complete before the termination meeting is to check company records. Find out what company property the employee currently has. You will need to collect these from the employee at the termination meeting. This could be as simple as collecting an ID badge. But it may be more complicated like having them return a company car, cell phone or even a laptop computer that is at home. You may have to hold their final paycheck until they return these items.

Step 4-You must also send an employee termination notification to all departments involved in the employee's outprocessing. This may include the finance department or payroll, parking services, and security services. You must notify these departments in a timely fashion, before you fire the employee. They need time collect any items such as credit cards, parking passes, or outstanding debts from the employee. As well, the finance department must process any paperwork for employee refunds. Some of these might include an IRA, tuition assistance or a yearly bonus that they employee has not yet submitted.

What you must know before terminating any employee