Things can get complicated quickly if you are an employer that doesn’t understand the right procedures for terminating a current employee. It’s your responsibility as an employer to follow state and local employment laws when the time comes to move on from an employee. Failure to adhere to employment laws can lead to litigation and other undesirable consequences. That’s why we’ve put together the following article to help employers out that aren’t familiar with the right procedures for terminating employees. Below, you will learn about 4 big mistakes companies make when terminating employees. Remember that if you have any questions about employment law, you can always reach out to Derryberry & Associates LLP.

1. Not Paying Out Vacation Time


If an employee has accrued vacation time over the time they spent working for a company, they are normally entitled to receive a payout for that time upon their termination. If your company has an established vacation policy, make sure you pay out the accrued time to an employee you are terminating. It can be a lot more expensive to deal with litigation than simply paying out vacation time. This is a big mistake that is entirely avoidable, so make sure you take vacation time into account when you are terminating an employee.

2. Letting Emotions Affect the Termination

Letting an employee go can be a very emotional time. Some of the biggest mistakes are made during a termination that occurs in the heat of the moment. Make sure you don’t fall victim to this common mistake that people make when terminating their employees. Try to do everything by the book and avoid letting your emotions affect the way you handle letting an employee go. Making a decision to fire someone on the spot usually isn’t the best course of action, even if you think it is the right decision to make. Make sure you are controlling your emotions and terminating employees the right way.

3. Problems with Communicating the Termination


Whenever you are terminating an existing employee, it’s only natural that the other employees will want to know what’s going on. One of the big mistakes that companies make when terminating employees is telling their other employees more than is necessary. You can face claims of defamation if you reveal too much about termination to the other employees. Be professional whenever you are communicating a termination to your company. If you are facing scrutiny from your employees to disclose more information about termination, simply state that it is confidential employment information and move on.

4. Not Providing an Explanation

Perhaps the biggest mistake that companies make when terminating an employee is not providing an explanation of why they are being terminated. You owe it to your employees to let them know why you are moving on. After you decide that an employee needs to be let go, provide them with the reason in a concise and professional way. This is a common professional courtesy that should always be kept in mind.