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Firing an employee- telling someone that they no longer have a source of income--is one of the toughest things an employer can come across, and definitely the saddest. The decision might not be that formidable, but breaking the news surely is. And yet it still needs to be done, especially if you have someone who's "poisoning the well" and bringing the entire business down with them.

The consequences of employee attrition via employee firing are to borne by the organization at a whole; the business, current man force and the terminated employee. Employer needs to ensure that the company’s manual of actions on how to fire an employee sends a powerful message to the remaining staff - either positive or negative. However, at the same time, jeopardizing the company's success, department's success, or employees' success, to retain an underperforming employee is wrong.

If termination of the employee ensures overall organizational wellbeing, then the decision mustn’t be delayed. The emphasis should be on ethical execution of this decision.

The urge to take this decision should be driven primarily by the inability or reluctance of the employee to improve his performance, it is only then when the employer would want to start a progressive disciplinary action. Certainly, if the supervisor has done his or her job, past records of warnings and the employer has sufficient performance counseling records and disciplinary action forms then firing the employee becomes more legitimate and authentic.

The process being a rigorous one, should advisably be conducted in pre-planned stages.

PRE-TERMINATION

The pre-termination requisites need to be kept in mind while executing this decision. This phase should primarily be concerned with the following steps:

• Reviewing employees’ files for post-employment obligations. These can range from non-competition agreements to confidentiality agreements. If they exist, one should make a copy of the agreement to give to departing employees to remind them of their obligations.
• Get IT involved. Partnering with someone in IT to sever employees’ computer access while the termination meeting is taking place shall prove to be a good idea.
• Carefully choose a location and time. The best time to meet? Near the end of the day.

And consider conducting the meeting in employees’ offices or in a conference room. Why? Some employees may want to engage in an extended argument about their termination, and it’s easier for employer to leave employees’ offices or a conference room than to make workers leave the office.

DURING AND POST- TERMINATION

Assuming this person is an "at will" employee--someone who doesn't have an employment contract that guarantees employment for a specified time period--here are tips to help one remove the bad apple cancer from the business with a "zero to low" risk of being sued for wrongful termination.

• Fire early in the week and never on a Friday. Assuming the employee doesn't turn things around for the better, fire them early in the work week. Never fire someone on a Friday, because then they can "stew about it" over the weekend and come into work the following Monday ready for a fight, or even worse.
• Make it short, sweet and to the point. Employer shouldn’t get caught up in the employee's emotions. Ensure the presence of another employee during the meeting in case the employee threatens retaliation. Then the employer shall proceed with the following steps:

1. Tell the employee that they're being terminated and when they'll be expected to leave the office.

2. Explain that the firing is "for cause," but avoid going into detail about the grounds for termination. You don't want to start an argument. Just point out that the employee did not attain the goals you wanted them to reach in their latest "performance review." If the employee objects or becomes defensive, say simply "I'm sorry, but my mind's made up."

3. Explain how much severance pay (if any) shall be provided and what other benefits they'll be entitled to after they leave your employment.

4. Explain to them what you'll say should anyone call and ask you for a job reference. Be sure you've spoken with an employment law attorney first and have agreed on the exact wording.

• Do not let the employee linger. Unless there's an urgent reason to keep the employee around for a few days, tell them that they're to leave the business premises immediately, after a short stop at their desk to pick up any personal items. Escort the employee to the door, so the employee doesn't have the chance to steal any company files, trash any computer data or change any computer passwords without your knowledge
• Ask for a release, and give the employee an incentive to sign it. If the employee is a minority, a female or is over the age of 40, ask them to sign a release of liability. Keep the employment law attorney draft handy before the "exit interview"--it should take only about an hour of the attorney's time.
• Reassign the terminated employee's job duties promptly. As soon as the employee leaves the premises, call your other employees together, tell them that the employee is no longer working for the company (but avoid giving details), and reassign their duties to other employees. That will prevent a "rumor mill" from starting and will inoculate the employees against any negative phone calls or e-mails they may receive from the terminated employee.
• Get the job done. There's only one thing worse than firing an employee who's likely to get emotional, angry or violent, and that's not firing them. Holding onto an employee who's not performing or wreaking havoc with your business poisons your workplace in two ways: It allows the harmful behavior to continue, and it sends signals to other employees that they can get away with similar behavior.

Employer must try to give their best to not to leave any scope of misapprehension. Despite being cautious managers commit following mistakes while terminating employees;

• They don’t explain why. If you’re looking to get sued, sugarcoat the reason you’re firing someone — or over-exaggerate. Either way, you’ll have a hard time pleading your case to a judge.
• They ignore precedent. Consistency is key. If you’re new to the company, learn how the company has handled similar terminations in the past.
• They don’t treat departing employees well. Just because you’re firing someone doesn’t mean you can’t treat them like a human being. It can only help your reputation if you treat a fired employee with dignity and respect. Plus, it’s the right thing to do.

These tips are no short of golden mantras to make the hefty decision of firing an employee less grueling for both the terminated employee and the employer.