5 keys to avoid lawsuits when firing people
You have to fire someone. Alright, now this is a sticky subject. This is a difficult, awkward subject for any employer to approach. Unfortunately, it is also an absolutely necessary one. There is a lot of fraud in the world these days. A lot of people looking to take advantage of someone else and make easy money in the process. As an employer, your job is difficult enough without worrying about lawsuits. You always want to avoid even the possibility of a lawsuit when firing someone. Of course, a person can file a lawsuit anytime he or she wants, even if you've been very careful and done everything as appropriately as possible. But you want to protect yourself. Here are 5 tips on how to avoid lawsuits when firing people. Pay attention to these 5 tips on how to avoid lawsuits when firing people so that you can focus on your job and not be distracted and possibly ruined.
1. If a person is performing badly, let them know BEFORE you fire them. That is, let's say you have an employee, Dan, who's just behaving abominably at work. He's late, he's gossipy, he's sloppy in his duties and what's more there's proof that he's been stealing from the petty cash drawer and gambling on illegal cock fighting on Saturdays. In other words, Dan's bad news. Well: you've got to confront Dan on these things as soon as you become aware of them. It doesn't work to simply talk about it behind closed doors, wait until Dan does something really blatantly stupid, and then call him in and say, "That's it, Dan, you're gone." This is one key to really avoiding a lawsuit when firing people. Because Dan can say: "I had no idea, it came out of the blue, now look at me: I'm stuck with a wife and a quiver full of children and how are we supposed to eat?" etc.
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2. DOCUMENT everything. That is, keep track of things in a way that you can show evidence of your responsibility later. So, Dan's late to work? So, Dan's stealing from the petty cash drawer? So, Dan's sexually harassing other employees and making racist comments and drawing dirty pictures on the men's room wall? Well, you've got to write Dan up. Keep a file of these things. When you call Dan in, have him sign something that says, in essence, "Yes I got called in on this day for such-and-such." Then, you see, you can prove to a judge that you weren't acting irresponsibly, you're not making this stuff up. This is a great step to keep in mind when trying to avoid lawsuits when firing people.
3. Make sure that the firing is in accordance with the contract you and Dan signed when he was first hired. I know that this seems like an obvious one. It may even seem like a silly one: "What, you mean there's stuff in the contract about firing people?" Well, yes, there generally is. If there's one thing that people are obsessed with these days, it's fairness. You've got to be fair to everybody, even the people who make serious mistakes. So, be aware of Dan's contract minutely. Pore over it to make sure that you're firing him in accordance with what it says there. If Dan can prove that you somehow screwed things up regarding his contract, it won't matter what you tell a judge, you'll be in serious trouble. Yes, knowing your contract is a crucial step in avoiding lawsuits when firing people.
4. Don't just rate Dan's performance at the workplace-rate everybody's. I can't stress enough how important this step is when trying to avoid lawsuits when firing people. If you only rate poor Dan, it'll look as if you've been picking on him. In other words, if you call Dan in and say, "Look, Dan, your performance is frankly poor," and you don't rate your other employees performances exactly as regularly, a judge and jury are going to think that you've been unfairly picking on Dan. Keep track of all of your employee's performances, and document, document, document. It'll save you a lot of time, agony and money!
5. Finally, it sounds as though Dan's a pretty shoddy character, and it's highly possible that, as Dan's boss, you'll come, over time, to actively dislike him. You can't let this show in your reports, ratings, etc. In other words, it's performance, always performance, over personality. Don't let your bias against Dan show through. You don't have to be told why that would impress a jury the wrong way. Keep things professional, and you'll avoid lawsuits when firing people. Focus only on actions; what has Dan done, what has Dan not done? Leave Dan the man out of it altogether!
