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Ten Things Not to Say in a Termination Meeting

By Ruth Kraft posted 04-24-2014 10:39 AM

  

JUDGE RUTH’S TEN THINGS NOT TO SAY IN A TERMINATION MEETING

 

While many managers find disciplinary meetings difficult to handle, hands down, discharging an employee is even worse.  They go into these conversations tense and uncomfortable.  There is definitely an art to discharge and it has been mastered by very few individuals. Even HR professionals who have conducted mass discharges can become overwhelmed by the magnitude of the effect that an employment separation will have on the life of the employee and his or her family.  Is it possible to say anything right?  It certainly isn’t easy but there are things that will make it even worse.  Here is Judge Ruth’s list of the top eight “nots” in discharging a worker.

  1.  This is hard for me too.  Perhaps, but you have it a lot better than the person you is being discharged.  It does depend on the context on how well you know the individual.  If you have a relationship with a worker who is being laid off due to a lack of business and not for performance related issues, , then you are free to extend a personal offer of assistance, whether in updating a resume, reaching out to contacts, etc. 

  2. Don’t promise to stay in touch if this is only lip service.  Never make any statements that you don’t intend to do.  If you do promise to check in on a former employee, mark your calendar and follow through.

  3. This is a corporate decision that I don’t necessarily agree with.  If you feel this way, then you should try to persuade the powers that be that the discharge should not take place before their decision is made. However, once the employer has made a decision, it is your job to represent it to the best of your ability, not to undermine the decision.

  4. We’ll send your final pay in a few days.  In some states, including California, final pay must be made at the time of discharge.  In New York and other states with wage theft acts, you may not deduct the cost of unreturned goods from the final paycheck.  Be specific and in compliance with your state law when discussing pay, including whether accrued vacation and/or sick days will be reflected in the final calculatsion.

  5. You will receive COBRA information in the mail but I don’t know anything about it. This is a personal pet peeve.  You should know the rules and, honestly, the failure to convey any instructions about COBRA terms at the time of separation will result in confusion and anger.  If your health insurance policy states that coverage ends on the date of separation, rather than at the end of the month, state this clearly to the employee so he or she will not be under any misapprehension as to the terms of the insurance. 

  6. We should have told you this sooner…I hear this frequently when an employee is terminated for poor performance.  The employer wasn’t happy but didn’t issue performance reviews,  written warnings or engage in progressive discipline.  Employees want fairness, although they may not be happy about the criticism.  You should give workers the opportunity to know what is deficient and give them reasonable opportunities for corrective action.

  7. Your complaints, particularly to a government agency, forces us to question your loyalty to us.  Retaliatory termination can be the basis for a lawsuit, including punitive and liquidated damages.  It is prohibited  by federal and state labor laws so, whatever you say, don’t say that!

  8. You violated our policy when you asked other workers about their hourly rate of pay.  Again, the National Labor Relations Act considers such an inquiry to be protected and a policy which is at odds with the Act is illegal.  All of my employment manuals, which restrict what workers can say in social media specifically contain a disclaimer with respect to the NLRA.  If your manual doesn’t include such a proviso, it should be revised!

  9. We need new blood/We are looking for someone with a fresh perspective. Age discrimination, anyone?

  10. I don’t have to give you a reason.  Technically, that’s true.  But then you are giving the worker’s imagination free rein to consider reasons that might violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, etc., etc.  Give an accurate, supportable, succinct explanation.  And, the reason for discharge should be memoralized on a progressive action form, which should be signed by both you and your employee as documentation.

Once the separation has occurred, you can expect the former employee to apply for unemployment insurance benefits.  Your answers to the state’s initial questionnaire and telephone inquiry will be crucial in determining whether he or she will be eligible for benefits.  Ideally, you should contact me prior to the separation so I can make sure that you have all your ducks in a row but definitely, you should not complete these forms without counsel in instances where you wish to contest the entitlement.   Judge Ruth Kraft, Chair of the Employment Law Group at Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum, can be reached by telephone at (516) 747-6700 ext. 326 or by email to RKraft@Kirschenbaumesq.com.

 

 

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04-24-2014 03:41 PM

Thanks for the information, Ruth. As small CPA practitioners, we are trained in tax and accounting. We often don't know the right thing to do with employees especially when it comes to firing them.