Human Resources managers or small business owners may
find themselves unprepared when they decide they must find
out how to fire employee personnel that is under contract.
This is a difficult task because there are many legal issues
tied up in one small contractual agreement. But this is
not necessarily an impossible task.
The first item to consider when figuring out how to fire
employee personnel under contract is to decide if firing
this employee can wait until their contract expires. The
contract may expire within a few weeks or even a few months.
Can counseling with a supervisor or HR manager resolve
the contractor's tardiness, lack of quality work or lack
of quantity work? If so, the company may benefit simply
by making the most of a bad situation. Sometimes it is
easiest to wait out the contract and then not to resign
it.
The most difficult part of counseling a problem employee
under contract might be that person's attitude. They may
feel this contract or unionization prevents you from being
able to fire them. Instead of their behavior getting better,
counseling only makes their behavior worse. Because this
often happens once an employee is aware of problems between
the supervisor and themselves, you must carefully document
all discussions on the problem. Not only should you follow
all procedures for disciplinary action or warnings, but
you also must write everything down. Keep a written record
in the employee’s file.
How to Fire Employee Personnel Under Contract When This
is the Only Alternative
As a manager or supervisor, you may feel that an employee’s
actions warrant immediate dismissal or firing them before
their contract expires. In this case, you must review the
contract carefully before even approaching the employee.
It is best to involve Human Resources and your chain of
command.
If the contract states the employee’s problems warrant
termination, then you need to carefully craft a termination
letter to highlight this portion of the contract. You must
do this before sitting down with the employee. The letter
should carefully explain, with evidence or documentation,
the events that lead up to firing the employee.
Unfortunately, there are binding contracts or unionized
contracts out there that make it nearly impossible to fire
an employee, even if he or she is not producing quality
work. This may make it necessary to find legal counsel
who can help you decide if it firing is even a possibility.
There should be specific guidelines written in the employee’s
contract stating reasons disciplinary actions the company
must take before firing the employee. Once you have fulfilled
these guidelines and the employee still refuses to change
their work habits, proceeding with termination is the only
outlet, whether a contract exists or not.
The
smart way to fire employee
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