Can I fire an employee who has performance issues and just 6months of employment, and not get sued?

Question

What is the best way to let a non-performer go?

Answer 1

yes... pay them severance and tell them they are no longer required

Answer 2

In most states employment is "at will" so you can fire anybody for any reason you like. To protect yourself you need to DOCUMENT the non-performance and the fact that the employee has been warned a few times. The fact that the employee has only been around for 6 months makes it a lot easier. DON'T be afraid to do what needs to be done because of the fear of being sued .. it's NOT going to get any better. It is unlikely that you are going to get "sued" if you have clearly documented the non performance and warned the person (even if it was only verbal and documented in the employees file without a formal piece of paper to the employee warning them).

The fact of the matter is that in most cases a fired employee will go to the department of labor rather than "sue" you, and THEY will write to you to have you explain the REASON why the person was let go. This is usually to determine if the can draw unemployment insurance. Provide all the facts and documentation (copies) and you should be fine.

It is very unlikely that the person will try to sue you, BUT keep in mind ANYBODY CAN SUE ANYBODY, even if there is no basis for the lawsuit. If this person wants to sue you for some reason they will do it no matter what you do. GET RID OF THEM NOW if they are not performing and you do not believe they will improve or you DON'T WANT them there anymore .. let them go! If they want to sue you they are going to have to be willing to hire an attorney to do this on their own dime .. they are just not going to do that. An attorney WILL NOT take a case on contingency if they don't think they can win it and make good money doing it .. if you have the facts you will be fine.

BY THE WAY, get as much documentation of the non performance as you can just in case. Have customers, collegues, co-workers, etc. documents their knowledge of the facts. If the person made some errors that cost your company money then document it ..

I WOULD NOT give severence pay more than just 1 week. You don't want to give them a chunk of money that they can use to hire an attorney. Also since they are not performing why should you feel any responsibility towards helping them make it in life...they don't care about their job, why should you care about them ... Just be nice and tell them you are sorry, it's not working and so you are going to have to let them go and you are going to pay them for the week and they can leave today ..that's it!!

Good luck!

Answer 3

I think you should do the right thing by protecting yourself first. Type up a job evaluation form explain his performance and lack of performance. Have him read it, sign it and date it.
Warn him if there aren't any improvements in the areas you address with him, you will have to let him go. Now give him time same 2 to 4 weeks (do not mention the time period of improvement you are allowing) If by the 4 week there is no improvements call him aside and then fire him. During those 4 weeks monitor his work performances so you can address him in 4 weeks with them. Have him sign a paper why he was fired. You are then covered for any attempt on his/her side to try and sue you.

Answer 4

Of course you can fire any employee who has performance issues, but you'd have to do it step by step. You must give him warning first. If problem persists, you give him warnings in writing and ask for his/her acknowledgement. Then if he/she is fired because of the problem, you have done nothing wrong, it's his/er own fault. The government never stipulate employers cannot fire employees for legitimate reasons, only communist countries do that. One major concern is between the time you give out the first warning up to the time of letting go. Since the employee knows you are unhappy with the performance, you have to be extremely careful with this employee.

Answer 5

Documentation is the key. Is there a written job description? Is the employee performing to that standard? Have they been counseled, and the specific shortcomings and plans for improvement been written and signed by the employee and supervisor? If not, start a plan of action that the employee and employer can agree upon. If the person can come up to acceptable standards, maybe they don't need to be fired. If they don't, they have agreed to the requirements, and by not meeting them have agreed to their termination.

Answer 6

Yes, tell them, "I'm sorry but, the trial period is over and you just don't seem to be a good fit for this company."

You can fire an employee for any issue that is not based on prejudice. If he has performance issues then you need to make a list of what these points are. You don't have to use it unless he asks for your reasons or files for unemployment. You want the list for two reasons.
1. Are your reasons for firing him valid ones, are they more than you don't like him or simple prejudice. This is more for your own peace of mind and to confirm to yourself that the decision to terminate this person is a good one.
2. If he wants specific reasons for getting fired. You will want to phrase it politely, but if it is something like they are chronically late or take too much time for lunch then you just have to say that.

If an employee is fired for cause then the employer doesn't have to contribute to their unemployment payments, and they will not receive any unemployment checks.

Answer 7

Anyone can be sued for anything. But a better question would be how could you fire the employee without risking them successfully winning against you in court. Another point that I notice that hasn't been addressed is the suggestion to have other supervisors occassionally rate the employee. Consistancy from one manager to the other will help your evaluations from being considered personally biased.

Answer 8

Yes. Most companies usually have a trial period of some sort for employees. Of course, the employee should be made aware of this up front. Is this the case in your company? You state how can you do it without getting sued? Is there something else going on? Do you have some sort of standards? If the employee is aware of what is expected of them, there shouldn't be any reason why you should get sued. Unless of course, it is for another reason. Hope this helps.

Answer 9

Yes, go ahead and fire. Why should you get sued? Makes no sense to me... The best way to let a non-performer go is to tell them you are under pressure from your boss etc and that you have to group all employees under 4 categories: Good performance, good attitude.
Good attitude bad performance. Good performance bad attitude. Bad performance bad attitude.
Ask him to group himself. If he is being honest, then likely he will group himself in the latter two quadrants.
Tell him people in there are to leave in 3 to 6 months time unless they improve.

Answer 10

It all depends on your state laws and the employee guidelines you have in writing in your company. If you have nothing in writing then that is going to be strike one against you. If you don't DO IT NOW.

Document all the employees performance issues in their file, do this for all employees. Also give the empoyee something in writing something stating the reason for dismissal. The more writin information you have in their file the better. As long as you can prove in writing they were wrong and you have just cause then even if they do sue you should be fine.

Answer 11

Depends on what state you live in. They all have differen laws. In ohio a person can be fired without just cause. What does the application say where they sign? Most say that this is not a contract for employment and that you can be fired at any time for any reason. But again you might wanna see how your state handles these things.