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Avoid lawsuits with correct firing tactics

Posted on September 12th, 2011 Read time: 1 minutes

When it comes to firing employees, the onus sometimes falls on members of a company's human resources administration to provide impart the bad news. According to TLNT, many managers and HR workers tend to handle firing improperly, which could result in a lawsuit or a tarnished company reputation.

Author John Hollon notes that one of the worst practices when it comes to letting an employee go is not executing it face-to-face. The Wall Street Journal reports that it "sends a signal to prospective candidates that higher-ups don't know what (they're) doing," according to former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, who was recently fired by the company via phone.

Hollon writes that another bad practice is having a security guard accompany a recently fired employee out the door, TLNT reports. According to a study published in the Journal of Business Ethics called Preserving Employee Dignity During the Termination Interview, any praise given to workers during the process is lost when they are escorted from the premises. 

Finally, some managers like to have a third party in the room during an exit interview. This is viewed as disrespectful from the employee's perspective.  

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