Layoffs/Terminations/Firings

Employee Fired From Job For Being Too "Homely"… Sues and Wins!

A senior manager at a hotel chain in the Midwest takes issue with a female employees’ “Ellen DeGeneres” looking appearance, short hair, and lack of makeup indicating that she is “not attractive enough” to work at the front desk of the hotel.

The front desk role was actually a position that the employee was promoted into. Despite the fact that this employee received good performance reviews, she was eventually fired from her job. The employee sued the hotel chain for sexual discrimination, and won. You can learn more about the details of this extremely interesting discrimination case at “Legal Update”.

This is a great best management practices article on how not to treat employees in the workplace.

Dianne Shaddock is the Founder of Easy Small Business HR, Employee Hiring and Managing Tips. Through the Employee Hiring and Managing Tips podcast, blog, and weekly ‘quick tips’ e-newsletters, Dianne offers expert advice on how to make better hiring decisions, manage difficult employees, develop employee policies, motivate staff, and so much more. No stuffy, corporate HR policy lingo; but straight forward, easy to understand and implement advice for businesses just like yours. Stay ahead of the curve and go to Easy Small Business HR for more tips on how to hire and manage your staff effectively.

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Firing Employees: Do’s and Don’ts

If you manage employees, sooner or later you will be faced with making the very difficult decision to fire an employee for poor performance or some other work related infraction. The decision to fire a worker should not be taken lightly. Think about the following “Do’s and Don’ts” before taking a step towards ending a staff members’ employment:

Don’t:

Leave the task to someone who does not have direct supervision of the worker being fired. If you are their direct supervisor, you have the ultimate responsibility to deliver the “bad news”.

Why? Not only does it put the person who does not supervise the employee in an unfair and uncomfortable position of being the messenger of your decision, but it makes the affected employee feel dismissed, angry and resentful. Sit with your employee and be clear with them as to why they are being fired. If you have been communicating with your worker prior to notifying that they will be let go, (and I hope that you have), the fact that you have reached the point where they will be fired should not be a surprise to them.

Don’t:

Fire an employee on the spot unless the actions are so egregious that it requires immediate removal from the workplace.

Why? It is critical to be consistent with how you determine what acts of employee conduct or misconduct rise to the level of firing an employee. All businesses no matter how small should have basic standards in place that highlight your expectations relating to employee conduct or behavior in the workplace and the consequences of violating these standards. Firing an employee without having company standards in place that show that you have specific expectations of employees and their behavior complicates situations where an employee feels that they have been treated unfairly.

Don’t:

Leave the task to someone who does not have direct supervision of the worker being fired. If you are their direct supervisor, you have the ultimate responsibility to deliver the “bad news”.

Don’t:

Fire an employee on the spot unless the actions are so egregious that it requires immediate removal from the workplace.

If you don’t have any standards or policies in place, the best approach for firings involving less complicated work violation situations may be to give the employee a warning that their actions are inappropriate and then clearly highlight your expectations moving forward. Let them know that any future violations will result in termination. Document the date that the employee received this information and place a note in their file.

Be proactive and summarize your expectations of all employees in writing including the consequences for misconduct. Give a written document to all of your employees that highlight your expectations. Employees deserve to know what is expected of them, as well as the consequences of certain actions or behaviors in the workplace.

Do:

Fire workers who have crossed the line of what is considered egregious inappropriate behavior if you are absolutely certain based on the facts that the employee is guilty of misconduct. Behaviors that might require immediate dismissal if proven are:

Violence against others
Sexual harassment
Threats
Bringing weapons to work

Remember to be proactive and have written standards in place that highlight the company’s position on employee conduct and behavior. Be careful to fully investigate any complaints before making the decision to fire a worker. If you are not sure if a worker is guilty of any violation and you need time to learn more in situations such as the ones described above, suspend the employee with pay until you are able to research the situation and talk to all of the individuals involved.

Do:

Respect the privacy and confidentiality of everyone involved by meeting with your employee(s) in a private area; (it’s o.k. to have a management person present if appropriate as a witness).

Do:

Tell your employee the reason for the termination. Have a letter prepared briefly summarizing the reason for their being fired, the date of the firing and when their benefits will end, (if applicable).

Give your employee their last paycheck if at all possible when you notify them that they are being fired. If this is not possible, let them know when they can expect to receive their last check and that it will be mailed to their home.

It is recommended that you consult with an employment law attorney if you do not have a dedicated human resources professional in place to help you through these more complicated situations.

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3 Money Saving Strategies To Implement Now To Avoid Laying Off Employees

In this uncertain economy, many small businesses are forced to lay off workers in order to save money. Sometimes, laying off employees is the only alternative; especially for smaller businesses with slimmer profit margins.

Before taking such a critical step, carefully analyze whether there are other possible alternatives that will allow you to maintain jobs or at least minimize the number of employees to let go.

1. Trim Down or Curtail Unnecessary Expenses

Identify the expenses and company “perks” that you and your staff can reasonably do without that will not impact your business. Do you really need to buy a years’ supply of paper and pens when it may be more cost effective to monitor your inventory and replenish only what is needed?

Eliminate or curtail the amount of catered meetings. Instead of offering a full catered breakfast, provide just beverages. If your used to catered lunch meetings, switch to BBL, (Brown Bag Lunch) meetings instead. Employees are almost always willing to forgo these “amenities” if it will prevent layoffs.

2. Consider a Reduced or Flexible Schedule For Employees

Analyze whether it is feasible for your small business to reduce the hours of some or all of your workers. Consider the impact that the reduced hours could have on work productivity versus the potential cost savings as part of your analysis.

Other factors to consider when determining if a reduced or flexible schedule may be a consideration:

Can employees arrive later in the morning or leave earlier?

Are there times of the year that are less busy where it makes sense to close, or reduce hours of operation?

3. Telecommuting

Are there employees whose work can be performed at home? Potential savings include the cost of renting office space, as well as heating, air conditioning and electricity cost savings.

When considering telecommuting for employees, it’s important to set very clear expectations about the work to be performed while at home. Let staff know that your expectation is that they will be accessible by both phone and email during normal business hours in order to respond to work related questions or issues.

These strategies are a small sampling of some of the things that businesses can do to save money and jobs. Analyze what cost saving possibilities make the most sense for your business and your employees.

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Firing Problem Employees: Supervisor Guidelines

Have you ever hired the “perfect” employee only to discover that your perfect hire was a perfect disaster?

Are you faced with an employee who continues to make mistakes even after repeated training, or, with an employee who is rude to customers? Maybe you have experienced an employee who is consistently late for work despite your repeated warnings. Do you have the right to fire the employee outright?

In many states, workers are considered “Employees at Will” which technically means that you can terminate employment at any time, (or the employee can decide to resign or “quit” without giving you any notice. Check with the Department of Labor for your region to determine whether your business is in an “Employment at Will” state.

Regardless of whether your business is in an “Employment at Will” state, there are basic guidelines that you can follow when faced with the difficult charge of firing an employee:

Make your employee aware that you have concerns about their work or their behavior and why. Be specific about how their behavior or work performance affects the business, or their co-workers if applicable. Some red flags to look for: decreased productivity, consistent customer complaints, or not meeting deadlines. It’s also appropriate to let the employee know at this stage that the next complaint, or performance problem could result in their being fired from their job.

Document every conversation that you have with the employee about the concern(s). Include a summary of your employees’ explanation if any, what recommendations or next steps where discussed, and the date(s) of the conversation. Place your notes in a confidential file for further reference if necessary.

Write a brief summary of each conversation that you have with your worker in memo form and give it to the employee for their records. Keep a copy in an employee file.

If your employee continues to create problems in the workplace, meet with the employee and highlight that despite previous discussions, concerns, or warnings, there are still ongoing issues and that your only recourse at this stage is to end their employment.

Have your employee’s paycheck ready at the time that they are being notified that their employment has ended. Give the employee an opportunity to get their personal belongings. Retrieve any business property such as keys/access cards, or photo ID. Be prepared to change the access code or locks on the day of termination if necessary.

Establishing basic guidelines for what constitutes a terminable offense, is a best management practice that will help you to avoid any confusion or uncertainty with how to handle the process of firing an employee should you be faced with the difficult task.