Immediate Termination. Anyone seen that in your office? Pls share?

Question

My boss is going to terminate a problematic worker with 10 years of service in a few days time. He's still in the dark, I wonder how the situation be like on that day. Anyone had any encounter of the same situation before?

Answer 1

I would imagine problematic worker knows he/she is problematic. My boss recently terminated an employee in the same situation, and while she was extremely angry and tried to play the race card, it was best for everyone. Problematic employees know why they are terminated, just unhappy they aren't getting away with it anymore.

Answer 2

It can go one of several ways. Sometimes the employee has an idea, and is waiting to be put out of their misery. That is a rare situation. Most times the employee is shocked, upset, surprised, sad...they go through the full range or emotion.

Hopefully the manager will factor the following things into the situation:
- assess the situation and make an educated decision on what the reaction would be. for example, if there is a concern the employee can be violent, then you need to ensure security is present for the termination
- talk to the employee in an area that provides a lot of privacy
- let the employee leave without going back to their desk and packing things up. it can be embarassing for the employee and sometimes the employee can cause a scene. instead pack up the office for him or her and ship their belongings home
- give the employee an opportunity to resign so they can leave with their head high, and properly say goodbye to their co-workers
- hopefully the employee can receive some sort of outplacement assistance
- communicate to the rest of the team - once the termination is over, the manager should gather hte team together and talk them through what happened (not confidential performance info), so the rumor mill doesn't go nuts

these are never easy - good luck!

Answer 3

Usually there is a list of Immediately Terminable Offenses. From the companies prospective, your boss should make sure the employee falls within that category. Although you may be in an employment at will situation, the person being fired does have recourse if the situation isn't handled properly. Its not about not being able to fire them, its about following the right steps and procedures so that you don't suffer an unnecessary loss in the end.

Answer 4

Companies that I have worked for usually build a file on the problematic worker; and it usually takes 90 days to get info bad info in there to terminate. Also, if there's been a good performance review in the past year, there could be big and expensive problems for that company. Wrongful termination is bad and expensive, and is slanted towards the employee in every state.

Hopefully the problematic worker is up with your state's labor and employment laws.

Answer 5

Anyone in the right state of mind will get a rude shock to be told he is fired on the spot. A professional HR person should lessen the blow with a gentle touch. No matter how problematic the staff is, don't show anger.

If your boss anticipates the problematic staff will blow his top upon hearing the news, get your security staff on stand-by outside his office - do it subtly eg. ask them to appear only after the problematic staff enters your boss office.

Answer 6

Yes, about 12 yrs ago, I had gone to work just like any other day. Did my job and just before it was time to punch out I was called in the HR office and was fired because I would not come to work with a painted on smile. I had been injured on the job and was in so much pain it was hard to work with a smile on my face.

A few years ago my boyfriend and I were working in the same place and just as our shift started he was called into the office and fired for no reason.

In my state it is a right to work state and they do not need to give you a reason to fire you.

Answer 7

Yes,I worked with a person in my office who had been there for 22 years,and was fired due to not thinking they should have all of the rules apply to them after going through 4 CEO'S,and 8 managers.It took time,but they are long gone,with no chance of being hired back after that situation.

Answer 8

An at-will employee in the USA can be terminated at any time, and for any reason – or no reason at all – and the courts will generally not intervene to protect the ex-employee from allegedly unfair treatment by the employer.

Answer 9

It could become violent. I have only seen that happen on the news. But, I saw someone get fired on the spot and they were gone in no time. It didn't cause any trouble but better to avoid that situation if you can.