Don’t wait until behavior is already occurring. Be sure that all employees understand the rules and productivity expectations up front. These might include such things as failing to disclose arrest records, lying about past employment, failing a drug test, insubordination, excessive absence—and what constitutes “excessive”—and other issues that affect job performance.

There may be specific steps you are required to take to fire someone – even if the employee is not doing their job. Never undermine your employer and risk your own position by taking such actions without informing your own supervisor.

Sit down with your employee and discuss with them the problem. Ask them what they think is causing their performance to be substandard, and and offer suggestions for their improvement. Keep a written record of these conversations. Either have them sign a form that covers what was discussed, or send them a formal email, or both. If sending an email, ask your employee to reply to it when they’ve read it, both to acknowledge receipt and to give them an opportunity to respond in writing.

Retain a record of all disciplinary actions. Have the employee sign some sort of document outlining the conversation to cover yourself and the company. It should specifically state that the employee is not admitting fault, but has been told that job performance is not satisfactory. Outline specific improvements or changes required in order for them to keep their job, and give them clear deadlines when these improvements or changes must be seen. Set milestones. Don’t expect all problems to be solved immediately. By giving a timeline and some key goals attached to deadlines will help highlight any improvement (or lack thereof).

If you chose to hire another employee as a replacement, be careful about your recruiting efforts. If you’re dissatisfied with your employee, it’s possible they are dissatisfied with the job themselves, and are looking for similar employment elsewhere. If they come across their job description for your company, and know that you are planning to fire them, they could take offense and take retaliatory measures—anything from sabotaging clients to stealing company secrets.

Try something like, “Mark, I’ve called you in here because of your consistent failure to meet benchmarks set for your position. " Not, “So, Mark, how’s the family? Peggy is due any day now, right? Gosh, she’s a sweetheart. ” At the very least, Mark’s going to think you’re a real jerk when you follow that with “Well, I hate to tell you this but, you’re fired!”

You don’t need to delineate your reasons—if they need reiteration, they can be stated in a letter. The less you say, the better. “I know we’ve discussed the same issues a number of times. Despite repeated warnings and counseling, you really haven’t made sufficient improvements. " However if the employee asks for a reason, give them one. Unemployment insurance applications often ask the reason for the termination.

If you are asking them to sign any legal papers, allow them a few days to take the documents home and review them. Let your employee know if you will contest their unemployment claim. If you are firing the employee due to misbehavior, excessive absence, or performance failures, it may be within your rights to contest the employee’s upcoming claim for unemployment insurance, as such claims effect your company’s tax bill. However winning such battles isn’t always easy, and depriving an employee of needed unemployment benefits can turn what might be a genial separation into an angry legal war—or worse. Either way, let your employee know if you plan to contest their claim or not.

If you feel the employee worked in good faith, but simply lacked the skills necessary for the job or the right temperament for your company, you may offer to give them a recommendation regarding their reliability, their attitude, their teamwork, whatever parts of the job they were successful with. [15] X Expert Source Madison BoehmBusiness Advisor, Jaxson Maximus Expert Interview. 29 September 2021. Thank them for the work they performed well, and wish them good luck on their future endeavors.

It will help the former employee to know that it wasn’t personal, just business.