Firing someone is one of the hardest tasks for any HR manager. It’s not that easy to tell someone you’ve been working with for some time that their services are no longer needed. You need to follow the appropriate procedure and have somehow to fire someone over text examples.
Doing it hastily may lead to nasty situations for everyone involved. It may even lead to legal issues that may negatively impact your business. Avoiding all this requires knowing how to fire someone nicely without getting into an uncomfortable situation.
In this article, we’ll show you how to fire someone who is not a good fit for your business.
How To Know It’s Time To Fire Someone?
Before you fire someone, you must do it at the right time. Doing it at the right time ensures that you keep a strong reputation in society and avoid legal issues. When not happy with someone on your team, you can ignore the issue or take immediate action.
Ignoring the issue will only lead to frustration on your part and an overall decline in productivity. It will ultimately affect your bottom line and encourage the wastage of resources. The more time you take without finding a solution, the more frustration.
By the time you decide to fire that employee, the situation is likely to end in bitterness and more losses to your business.
Here are ways to tell it’s time to fire someone.
Low Performance
Before using a how to fire someone script for poor performance, you must have followed the appropriate procedure. This must give them a chance to improve and meet your standards. Failing to do this may lead to legal battles for fair dismissal. Firing an employee is always the last resort after other measures have failed.
Employees who fail to meet the standards outlined in their employment contract are considered to have underperformed. According to the law, any dismissal must be fair and after the employee has failed to improve when given a chance.
Some of the things you can do before firing an employee for poor performance include:
- Ensuring that the employee understands what you expect from them
- Giving the employee the necessary support and training
- Making the employee aware of their poor performance
- Giving the worker enough time to improve before considering dismissal
It’s essential to understand how to fire an employee for poor performance. It avoids ending up getting sued for unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal. Unfair dismissal is when the reason for firing an employee was false.
You may also have fired them without a warning or allowed them to avoid getting fired.
Wrongful dismissal is when you breach the terms of the contract with the employee. Perhaps you didn’t give them enough warnings or fired them without the agreed probation period elapsing.
Here are some fundamental steps to take when dealing with poor performance:
- Handle the issue right away
- Have a meeting with your team
- Identify reasons for the low performance
- Give employees chance to improve
Poor Conduct
Ensuring a safe and welcoming environment is among the roles of a business owner. However, some employees can engage in general or gross misconduct. Gross misconduct is when an employee’s behavior is inappropriate and negatively affects work, office, and colleagues.
Understanding the type of proof of conduct before firing an employee is essential. Gross misconduct requires immediate action. You must understand what qualifies to be gross misconduct and the best practices to handle the issue.
Common forms of gross misconduct in the workplace include:
- Physical violence
- Serious insubordination
- Theft or drug abuse
- Gross negligence
- Breaching confidentiality
- Harassment and discrimination
- Unethical relationships
You can respond to poor conduct in the office by giving a verbal or written warning. Afterward, you can put the employee on probation or suspend them for a particular period. Firing is the last resort for misconduct.
Justification when firing someone for misconduct requires being sure that:
- The poor conduct actually happened
- You gave the employee chance to respond to the allegations
- You acted consistently and fairly
- The offense was enough to warrant a dismissal
No-Showing
An employee who doesn’t show up for work without authorization is said to be Absent Without Leave (AWOL). There’s no minimum time that an employee can spend away from work without permission. Being AWOL may mean being some hours late for work or not showing up at the workplace.
Examples of employee no-shows include:
- Failing to report to work during contracted hours
- Not requesting annual leave
- Failing to return to work after an annual leave request has been declined
- Not providing documents to support approved medical leave
Employees may fail to show up at work for various reasons that may seem trivial. However, others may be genuine and require the employer to be lenient. These include personal or family emergencies such as death or sudden illness
Understanding how to handle employees who fail to show up at work is part of management. Ensure to have an open mind and not jump to conclusions.
Here are the steps on how do you fire someone for not showing up.
- Try contacting the employee
- Send a recorded letter to their home address
- Arrange a disciplinary hearing
- Dismissal
Legal Issues
Some employees commit offenses beyond gross misconduct. These include forgery sharing proprietary information, or dishonesty in their application. This type of misconduct goes beyond being gross and requires intervention by law enforcement.
You must document everything to get an appropriate proof before dismissing the employee. However, understanding how to politely fire helps avoid situations that may cause you problems later.
Not Enough Work
It doesn’t make sense to have a big team when work is low. Not having enough work may result from the entry of more competitors or poor marketing. You may also not have enough work if it’s not the right season.
In this situation, you must make the hard decision to let some employees go. Choosing who to fire and who to keep may depend on how long they’ve worked for you, their overall performance, and their role in the company.
Knowing how to fire someone over text will protect your business from losing money to unproductive employees.
How To Politely Fire Someone?
After understanding when to fire an employee, you must also know how to do it politely. Letting them go with kindness is very important. They may not have done anything wrong such as when downsizing.
Additionally, doing it wrong may lead to negative reviews on job-hunting sites like Indeed. A negative review may make it hard to get new hires in the future. To avoid such a scenario, here are the best ways how to fire someone nicely over text.
Choose The Proper Time And Place
Dismissing someone from work is hard enough so don’t let the time and place make it harder. You must understand the best time and place to fire an employee. A great idea is to have a how to fire someone nicely template to make the job easier.
The best day is midweek, usually on a Wednesday. It gives the person time to seek legal advice or to begin searching for a new job. They also get two days to discuss how you’re going to fill the gap before the new week comes.
Mondays make people feel they wasted their time appearing at the workplace. Tuesday firing leaves the person feeling like you squeeze a day’s work out of them. Fridays are bad because people don’t get the appropriate time to take the next steps.
Choose a quiet private place just in case the person becomes upset or begins crying. Consider how to fire someone nicely example such as treating the person with respect and dignity through the ordeal.
Keep It Short And To The Point
Firing someone is not a pleasant experience regardless of the reason. Therefore, ensure to keep the moment short and to the point. Be clear with your reasons and buried with the interaction. Stick to the facts and avoid attacking the employee as a person.
Avoid saying this when firing an employee:
- This is hard for me.
- We’ve decided to let you go.
- I’m not sure how to say this.
- We’ve decided to go in a different direction.
- Compared to……, your performance is not up to standard.
- You’re doing a great job but we’re reducing the team.
- I must escort you out of the building. Someone will collect your things.
During the interaction, be polite but not too cordial. Maintaining an emotional distance is necessary throughout the conversation. Remain calm and firm to avoid getting rattled by the person’s emotions.
Communicate clearly and behave professionally. Don’t get into arguments regardless of how the person reacts to the termination.
Don’t Humiliate The Employee
You must help the employee leave with dignity after firing them. Don’t fire them after returning from lunch with their colleagues. Keep the process private for legal and legal purposes. Avoid discussing, mentioning, commenting, or sharing the person’s termination letter on social media.
Escorting the person out of the door is uncomfortable and encourages office gossip. Ensure that the person leaves quickly, quietly, and without any company equipment.
Don’t Give The Employee False Hope
Managers must be careful when letting an employee know they are dismissing him. Be firm and strong throughout the process. Don’t weaken when firing an emotional person to begin insinuating that there’s still hope just to ease the tension.
The person will get the impression that the decision isn’t final and you’re not serious about firing them. Or you’re willing to help them find a new job. You’ll be pressured to come clean or give in and try to find them a new job.
Ensure that the employee understands that your decision is final. Direct the conversion to terminate their employment to avoid getting the wrong ideas. Confront the person with respect, concern, and kindness but be firm in your decision.
Write A Reference Letter
A good way to fire somewhere nicely is to write them a reference letter. It will help them in their search for a new job. Before writing a reference, ensure to stick to your company’s guidelines. Regardless of your reason for letting the person go, focus on their accomplishments and highlight their achievements.
Discuss how the person achieved success while still part of your team. You can also write about their appropriate skills and qualifications. The letter must not be more than a page with three or four paragraphs.
Other important things to include in the reference letter include:
- Person’s work history
- Maintain a positive tone
- Examples of how the person achieved success
- A brief explanation of why the person was laid off
All Things Considered
Firing an employee is inevitable sometimes. It’s the last course of action if the person fails to perform up to your standards or commits gross misconduct. When firing them, you can do it politely without humiliating them. You can also write them a reference letter to make finding their next job easier.
The success of your business depends on how you manage your team. The use of job management software such as Feld Complete is a better way to run your business. It streamlines job scheduling, reporting, communication, and creating new jobs. The mobile app will have you manage your team at your fingertips.
