- Prepare Paperwork.
Starting procedures requires right legal papers in place, so be sure that you have all necessary documents. This means that before staring the procedures, you need to get legal advice to be aware of rules and prepare necessary paperwork to support the case for employee firing, so that employees will never have an opportunity to end up the case in a court of law. Be sure that you act legally, follow your company’s policy, and no legal mistakes are made during the preparation of documents. For this purpose you can engage or hire an attorney specialized in employee firing cases.
- Compose Letter.
Composing a letter is the matter of your company’s human resource department. Provide the department’s head with legally developed paperwork and find out the deadlines when the letter should be composed. Alternatively you can request the department a template of the letter and try to create the letter content personally. In any way, before submitting your template letter, you should engage your attorney in checking this document, consulting you, and making any amendments if necessary.
- Offer Employee Benefits.
Follow this procedure only if your company usually provides employees with a severance pay or benefits. To check this option, you need to communicate with the personnel department head who will answer whether the standard severance package is provided for employees. Also you need to investigate the company’s policy and find out more about guidelines stated by the department. When all necessary information is collected, you make a decision whether you should mention about benefits when talking to employees for firing during the termination meeting.
- Make Announcement.
This step can be taken only after the previous steps are done (necessary paperwork is prepared, the letter of employee termination is composed, and the question about employee benefits is settled). Now you are ready to announce about employees for firing. Note that when announcing you should give reasons. For example, it could be economic crisis or disaster, a lack of employee proficiency, reduction in labor force due to tendencies on the labor market etc. Remember your reasons should be evident, explainable and legal.
- Make Additional Agreements.
Once announcement is made, your next step is to talk to every employee for firing during the termination meeting. If necessary you can ask your attorney to participate in the meeting. Discuss details of the upcoming termination and ask the employee to view your notice. Your major goal is to make the employee agree with terms. Your attorney will help you ask any questions and claims of the employee. Note that this employee may refuse signing your agreement – in this case you should be ready to meet with the employee’s attorney next time.
- Prepare Form.
Preparing this form is a formal procedure that requires former employees to return all things they used during their employment. Your termination form should have a list of all the items to be returned by former employees. Once these employees have retuned company property, they sign this form and submit to the HR department.