what process does your company follow to fire ppl?

Society Business and Career
1

recently a colleague of ours was fired suddenly without any prior notice at all. she was just called in to a meeting with the manager and the director and told that her services would not be required by the company anymore. its in our job contract that employees dont have to be given any prior notice if they have to be fired.

according to our management she was given several warnings that her productivity and work efficiency were low thru out the past yr.

according to her she was never given any real warnings.

it seems like a case of miscommunication, since those ‘warnings’ were more like the manager jus telling her to improve her work or try to meet her deadlines. but it wasnt like she was given an official warning letter at any time.

the management had serious issues with her while she thought that some things were problematic but overall everything was OK.

her firing came as a rude shock to the rest of us though. not just did we lose a colleague and friend, and the way her services were terminated left her feeling puzzled, upset and stranded, but it meant that basically we have zero job security in the company.

the management said that it had been giving her chances for one yr and it was a painful decision to have to let her go but it needed to be done for her sake as well as for the company’s.

we were talking with our manager and asking her to implement some kind of system where the employees, if found performing deficiently, should be given some official warnings, perhaps placed on probation, and then be fired if they fail to meet the minimum standards. a process thats more like a strike 1, strike 2, strike 3, probation, fire, and each step is marked by the issuance of an official letter to the employee. this way atleast the employee and the management can be on the same page regarding where the employee stands in terms of performance and how close they are to being fired if its not good.

the management is going to look into this but our company doesnt have a proper HR dept yet so i was jus wondering what kinda processes do other companies follow in these situations, when they find someone not performing well and eventually when they fire someone, perhaps we could also use some of those ideas.

thanks..

irem

2

I have never seen people getting fired outside their honeymoon period, so I don't know. Layoffs is another thing where most of them worked for as long as a couple of months before being out the door.

3

ahmadjee whats the "honeymoon period" and also, what process is followed in layoffs?

4

First 3 months is usually the honeymoon period where you can be fired at short notice.

For layoffs, they called people in and told them about the layoffs due to down sizing for budgetary reasons & not because of performance. All the people had a choice to work till the last day which was about a month away or they could leave right there, right then. Some people left right away, some worked till 5 o’clock the last day.

5

hmm ...i c..

6

irem, maybe it was not the best way to fire an employee, but unfortunately thats what happens in many cases. Management may or may not give a reason. Good companies follow the due process, that is verbal and written warnings. However, many companies do not. Consequently, even though it might be tough on her and other employees, but many companies exercise the "employment at will" clause that means they do not have to give any advance notice to fire.

7

jayzee...hmmm i c...

thanks for the info

ahmadjee thanks for the info btw

8

Jayzee is right..Firing someone is a sensitive subject and most companies to protect themselves from confrontation typically (what they do at my office), is have a one on one meeting with the person, and then document it with a memo. Basically a written record showing it took place and what was said. IF the problem continues, another takes place, to show a pattern and justify firing the person..