The Process Of Letting Staff Go Correctly And With Care

Letting staff go is never easy. It could be for multiple reasons such as global economic crisis,  loss of revenue leading to cuts in employees, the merging of business, or you deciding your business needs to run smoother with less rotating cogs in the gearbox. You may have built up a strong relationship with your staff and know them personally outside of work. Or maybe, you just need to fire somebody is no longer being a team player, but during the process, you want to make sure you’re protecting your company. Whatever the case may be, your business must follow the correct process to make sure the staff member leaves on good terms. Without going through these necessary practices, you may lose more than just an employee as those who have been let go unprofessionally, are viable to come back and hit your business with a lawsuit. The bottom line is to act with dignity and treat the employee with respect and value their contribution along the way.

Be absolutely clear

When you’re firing an employee, it’s best not to treat them like fools. Don’t lie to them or make excuses for why you’re having to let them go because most employees are clever enough to figure out you’re lying. Be absolutely straight with and give them the real reason why you have to let them go. Many employees will feel resentment at first, but you can explain to them in some detail as to why this is happening to them, you stand a good chance of separating on good terms. They may ask you for advice on what to do, which you should give them if possible. Let them know of all their special options with the business such as pension schemes, and the money they’re entitled to for working that week of month’s hours.

Following the law

As the business owner, you get to decide who works for you and what kind of position they will hold. However, you cannot fire people as you see fit, you must follow proper employment laws to not have a firing blowback in your face. During such a process of letting staff go, you could use outsourced HR services which can deal with large amounts of paperwork. They can also manage all the filings of staff members and the employment laws that are relevant to their contract in their online portal. You can access the files at any time, and ask such a service to manage all the records you have.

The Process Of Letting Staff Go Correctly And With Care

Leave on good terms

Before you fire the employee, you should work out how much value they have given to your business and could their services, and general attitude to your company be of use in the future. It’s tough to spot to be in, but you should try as best you can, to leave on good terms and show your appreciation for what they have done. This way you leave the door open and the possibility that sometime in the future, they may be rehired. Your business may be going through a cooldown period, so when the orders start to pick back up, you could hire some of the same people you let go. This is great because since they are familiar with your business and how it operates your training costs for that employee goes down and efficiency goes up

It’s never easy to fire employees, especially in circumstances that aren’t their or your fault. However, each time you do, treat them like an individual and follow the proper etiquettes to let them down gently. Protect your company at the same time by adhering to employment laws.

It's never a nice thing to have to let a member of staff go but at the same time, sometimes it is essential to do.  Here are some tips to help you let an employee go correctly.

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