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Re: Need to lay off an employee, need advice May 6, 2008 1:02 AM
First, ensure that there is no employment contract (written or implied). Next, review your Employee Handbook. In CA, if there is no employment contract, the handbook should state that employment is presumed to be "at-will" -- which means that both you and the employee are free to end the employment relationship at any time for any reason so long as the reason isn't illegal. The at-will relationship doesn't make firing someone any easier, but it does reduce the landmines you have to avoid.
You say the employee doesn't suspect it, which suggests that you have not been telling this person that he/she has been underperforming, nor have you been documenting the performance shortfalls and the efforts you made to help the employee succeed. So firing this person for underperforming would be a surprise and therefore somewhat unfair -- and it may be perceived as unfair by the employee and by his/her coworkers (and probably by a jury, if the employee finds a reason to sue). So I would avoid saying that the termination is because of that, unless you have been saying it and documenting it for quite awhile.
Instead, I would call the person in (it is best to have another manager or HR person in the room to observe, if possible) and come directly to the point: "John, your job is being terminated, effective immediately. The company is cutting expenses and simply can't support such a large team anymore." Then briefly tell the person how and when he/she will receive the final paycheck and payment for any unused vacation or other benefits. Finally, discuss an arrangement that will let the employee collect any personal effects without humiliation and without risk to company property or resources (in other words, don't march the person out the door in front of everybody, but don't give the person unsupervised access either).
Be brief, but compassionate. Let the person ask questions or talk about what went wrong if he/she wants. Listen, paraphrase, and empathize -- but don't apologize, sympathize, or explain the decision to terminate beyond your initial statement. If necessary, just calmly repeat, over and over, "The company is cutting expenses and we simply can't support your job anymore."
Hope this helps. Good luck.
