Self help the menegment - Nelson B.
ISBN 0-471-70545-4
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In this chapter, we’ll consider that most permanent form of employee discipline—termination—what they are, and how to do them the right way. We’ll explore the difference between a layoff and a firing and take a close look at the importance of documentation to support your actions.
DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF TERMINATIONS
There is more than one kind of termination—they vary depending on the situation. To begin, there are two major categories of employee termination: voluntary and involuntary. A voluntary termination is a termination that an employee performs of his or her own free will. An involuntary termination is a termination carried out against the will of the employee. In the sections that follow, we’ll consider each of these categories in detail.
Voluntary Terminations
As you read this, you might wonder to yourself, “Why would someone go through a voluntary termination?” Actually, employees have a variety of
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different reasons to want to terminate their own employment. Employees often quit their jobs when they find better promotional or pay opportunities with another firm, or when they get tired of being stuck in dead-end work situations or enmeshed in personality conflicts with their manager or other employees. Employees also terminate voluntarily because of emotional stress, family needs, moves to other cities or states, and a wide variety of other personal reasons.
The most common reasons that employees voluntarily leave are:
• Resignation (unencouraged): When an employee decides to quit his or her position with no prodding or suggestion to do so from his manager or other leaders in the organization, this is considered to be an unencouraged resignation. While an occasional unencouraged resignation is to be expected in any organization, when there is an ongoing trend for employees to voluntarily resign, you should quickly act to find out why. If a particular store is experiencing high turnover, for example, this is a clear warning of problems, which could include anything from a bad supervisor to inadequate staffing to poor work conditions.
• Resignation (encouraged): When an employee is asked to leave the organization by his or her supervisor or other leaders in the organization, this is considered to be an encouraged resignation. Encouraged resignations are often used as face-saving measures for employees who are about to be fired. It’s a win-win—the employer smoothly eases the employee out of the organization while the employee gets to appear that the termination was all his idea.
• Retirement: Retirement—when employees reach the end of their career and decide to terminate their employment once and for all— is something that we all dream of. As people live longer, as Social Security becomes less reliable, and as the cost of living continues to climb, retirements are being deferred to increasingly older ages.
MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES
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Involuntary Terminations
Voluntary terminations are easy; involuntary terminations—those carried out against the will of the employee—are not so easy. The majority of involuntary terminations fall within two different categories:
• Layoffs: When an organization’s owners or management team decide to terminate employees for financial or other (usually) cost-cutting reasons, this is considered a layoff, also known as a reduction in force. A common example is the company that loses a number of key contracts—along with the revenue that would have come from them—and that has little choice but to reduce payroll and related personnel costs (often the greatest expense for most organizations) through layoffs. Layoff policies differ among different organizations; in some, the last employee hired is the first to go—in others, employee performance (or lack thereof) determines layoffs. Most organizations give hiring preference to laid-off employees if and when financial health is restored and hiring again begins.
• Firing: The famous words “you’re fired!” are spoken when a manager decides that an employee’s performance shows no hope of improving or when they commit an act of misconduct (stealing, physical violence, etc.) that is so serious that termination is the only choice.
In the United States, companies have traditionally had the right to terminate employees for any reason whatsoever—including no reason—unless a contract between employer and employee expressly prohibits such an action. This termination-at-will rule, or “at-will” for short, has been significantly eroded—particularly in cases of discrimination against employees—as a result of court decisions, union agreements, and recent state and federal laws. At-will remains on the books in some states, and a number of companies require prospective
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employees to sign a statement confirming termination-at-will when they are hired.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1991, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and others prohibit terminating employees because of their age, race, gender, color, religion, national origin, and other specific reasons. Ignore these prohibitions at your peril—the mere appearance of discrimination in the termination process can get you into some very serious trouble.