Is it real difficult to fire an employee?

Question

I've been trying to fire an employee who performance is unsatisfactory. However, my HR manager told me that I had to give written warnings to the employee before we can fire him. I followed the policy but everytime the employee would just denied those mistakes and complained to the HR manager that I had treated him unfairly. I was told by my HR manager that if an employee complained about he had received "unfair" treatment at work, the employee may use this reason to form a union and that will create lots of troubles to the company. Simply saying, the HR manager is just asking me to tolerance this employee to avoid him to bring more troubles to the company. I asked the HR manager if we could just fire this employee with compensation (like 2 months's wages), but the HR manager told me eventhough we compensated him, the employee can still sue the company for "wrongful dismissal" and it will create even more liability to the company. Is this true? Anyone lawyer here can give me advices?

Answer 1

sounds like you already have a Union in place if unable to fire someone

most employees here in the States are "at will" employees {meaning no reason has to be given for an employee to be let go}

you need to have in place- weekly or monthly work performance evaluations for all employees ( to prevent a harassment or discrimination suit)

with the written stipulation that 3 unsatisfactory evaluations within _______ amount of time is grounds for dismissal

complete thorough written documentation is the key

Answer 2

Written warnings are evidence that you communicated a breach of policy or conduct to the employee on a regular basis and the problem never corrected itself. If your state is an "at will" employment state then the following applies..

At-will employment is a creation of American law that defines an employment relationship in which either party can terminate the relationship with no liability if there was no express contract for a definite term governing the employment relationship. Under this legal doctrine any hiring is presumed to be "at will"; that is, the employer is free to discharge individuals "for good cause, or bad cause, or no cause at all," and the employee is equally free to quit, strike, or otherwise cease work.

Which means..

The employee can complain about unfair treatment but if you have evidence that the employee for example was excessively tardy or absent, did not make sales quotas or did not meet set guidelines then you are within your right to terminate said employee. That employee is holding your company hostage and you should also fire your HR manager for being a little punk. The HR manager is no law expert so please talk to your legal team if you're a large corporation, or consult with an attorney. Pretty much any state ,if that employee is fired, then they cannot collect unemployment and that employee probably knows this.

Plus the union line is true for some businesses but unions just cause problems ask GM and Ford why they're losing money...unions. Companies that are nonunion meritocracies are thriving while union seniority rules businesses are going under. Don't let one slacker do that to your company.

At-Will employment is your key.

Answer 3

Most business have a policy for progressive disciplinary action.  To fire someone on the spot with no warning would only for something really egregious.  Progressive disciplinary action starts with a verbal warning.  You have documented poor work performance, absences, etc and you bring the employee in for a counseling session.  They are told what they have to do to be satisfactory.  The second step is a written (even though the verbal is technically written as well for legal reasons).  Again they are brought in with what has been wrong and what they have to do to be sucessful.  If still unsatisfactory they are brought in for probation which means they have so long to turn this around...again this is documented.  The final step is termination

Answer 4

I would suggest documenting every thing this employee did that was unsatisfactory and have proof to back up your accusations. Create a timeline and list each occurence. After a short period this problem employee would've created enough problems to deserve discipline. Keep track of all disciplines given to him. If this employee continues to be a problem, then you would've built up a strong enough case to fire him. Good Luck.

Answer 5

Perhaps if you just talk honestly with the employee without the 'officialness' of a written warning, then maybe he/she will be more open and willing to cooperate??

Answer 6

You said in your question a couple days ago that you had already given written warnings and then that your HR managers said to “tolerate” the employee.  This is absurd!  You do not need to “tolerate” bad employees.  Who is getting the bad treatment here?  Your employee, or YOU?

Only one employee cannot form a union, and if you already have a union, then I suggest you run away yourself because unions suck the life-blood out of companies by over-paying lackluster employees (like the one you have) and making it near impossible to can them.

Talk to your boss, and not the HR manager.  HR managers are all about helping employees, hiring employees, and shuffling paper; and not about building efficient companies.  Your boss wants an efficient division, and they would likely take your side and fire the employee, and tell the HR person where to go!

But, strongly suggest to your boss to get a lawyer for your company so that this employee cannot cause a stink.