"Terminating an Employee Respectfully" by David B. Ritter

David B. Ritter is a partner in the Chicago office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP and a member of the firm's Labor & Employment Law Department. He represents management nationwide in virtually all areas of labor and employment law, including employment discrimination and harassment claims, non-compete, trade secret and restrictive covenants and employment torts.
With nearly 30 years of experience representing public and private companies, Mr. Ritter has counseled clients in service and manufacturing industries ranging from healthcare to logistics and financial services. He defends employers faced with claims under Sarbanes-Oxley, and routinely represents clients before governmental agencies including the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Department of Labor (DOL), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and similar state agencies.

[@TheButterygoodness]

Had I been treated respectfully I probably wouldnt have sued their asses off

[@YahushaisYahuah]

They wasn't gentle to you

[@MisterMikeTexas]

"We're moving in a new direction" is a common "reason" given, and "You don't fit the culture" is also commonly used.

[@lotusdestiny5121]

I think the surprise factor makes all the difference. When you haven't given the employee any warning of poor performance or haven't told the employee that termination is the next step, you can expect some very bad reactions. Planning a dismissal, preparing your notes, coming in with documentation of poor performance that you can refer back to is very good and respectful

[@sharpshooter188]

Surprised factor makes it very difficult for an employer to fight your attempt to gain unemployment. Whenever an employee makes a claim and wins, it will make the unemployment tax rate that the employer has to pay go up. Thats why many have the write up system. So that they have documented proof that you've been screwing off or what have you and won't have to pay extra taxes later on.

[@nicoleswantonmalson5930]

GREAT video. Thank you so much for the information putting my fears of the process at ease.

[@MisterMikeTexas]

I remember a termination over 20 years ago in our IT department. We had a PC and printer tech who was good at his job and supervised several employees. He'd been with the company over 5 years. He was one who spoke his mind and didn't pull punches. One morning, our group, which included my supervisor and me, was summoned to a nearby conference room. We sat by the speaker phone for about 5 minutes, then our Austin-based manager called us. He informed us that effective immediately, Paul Jones [Not his real name] is no longer an employee of the company. That was it. We were then released to return to our desks. Later, my supervisor commented that "Paul" had made a lot of enemies over time, and the jist that I got was he pi$$ed off the wrong manager in the chain of command. A few years later, I heard the rumor that "Paul" tried to get his manager, who he disagreed with, down in Austin terminated, and it backfired on him. It's possible. But, I have the feeling "Paul" wasn't exactly treated with dignity and respect on his way out the door. I don't know whether or not he saw it coming.

[@stroxer]

And the moral of the story is

[@Sfbaytech]

Helpful. Thanks!

[@rashabelgrade]

This is an example of how sloppy lawyers give advice to sloppy bosses on how to be sloppy.

[@commonsenseking6386]

Branigan Robertson explains why employees sue their employer very well.

[@effend446]

5:00 If you're going to do the termination meeting before the start of a shift, you might be better served calling the employee to break the news (don't bother coming in), then schedule a meeting for a later time. You'd actually do the terminated employee a favor in saving gas and especially if s/he has a long commute to and from work. Otherwise, it would be better to sever ties at the end of the work week/or end of the month/quarter. Then you start the new work week/month/quarter with a clean slate. 5:20 If possible, it's also a good idea to have a security guard present in case the termination meeting gets confrontational.

[@user-uk9er5vw4c]

thanks

[@Darthflips]

Employment lawyers are ruthless lol

[@katiemaguire9073]

Finding out from the parking lot attendant is no fun.

[@thalitatrasfereti8830]

Starting with "I have bad news for you today" is the best thing to say? Am I the only one who doesn't like that approach? Does anyone have a better alternative? Tks

[@nsg286]

I was terminated yesterday. I don't know what happened all of sudden. I was trying to give my best. It has almost 4 weeks since I started my employment. Everyday it was really good for me. I thought every was going smooth. Fine in the morning after 2 hours of my arrival. I didn't even expect that what is going to happen in the next few minutes. I was being called to the meeting room. I thought it was a general meeting, but after a minute later I realized that it was employee engagement termination meeting in the presence of HR and legal team. To be honest no tasks were assigned to me. I was given only the project documentation to go through it. So, I thought slowly the organization may give tasks to complete, which did not happen at all, instead of that termination has taken place.

[@nsg286]

@@CrimsonThunderSB No it was due to issues in communication skills. It was happened in state agency. It was a contract job.

[@monabiehl6213]

I've known people getting terminated on their birthday. It might be a good idea to check the employee's birthday.

[@princessmarlena1359]

A lot of them fire an employee on their birthday on purpose, just to be assholes.

[@myonlinetelevision]

That happened to an employee in my dept.

[@Dally_Sparkles]

I was fired on the last Friday night before Xmas about 5 years ago.. I didn't do anything wrong they just predicted that they wouldn't have the work available in the following year.... So then it becomes 2 months of no work because businesses all go offline for Xmas then take another month to decide. Those were hard times. Fully self employed now and not going back, ever.

[@stangrim8156]

fedex fires at will

[@CharlesvanDijk-ir6bl]

Should be a redundancy, that's what I got.

[@rizwanlashari4381]

Yeah it was because of redundancy fact

[@waterbottle4782]

I too have been sacked right before Christmas and the Asshole of an employer canned me via telephone. I found out by checking my messages. :(

[@nightowl8936]

Now that you have money again, consider ordering a hit on your former employers.

[@pierre-rose7783]

Attn ! Please report to carousel ! You have been terminated !

[@philshaffer6219]

I was terminated from a Non-Profit Presbyterian Religious organization, I was a facilities maintenance staff. After 10 months of working there, they discovered I did not share the same faith as them (I am Jewish), Suddenly I wasn't doing such a good job, then terminated two weeks later. It wasn't the Pastor, he had not input on hiring/firing. It was the Facilities Manager.

[@ber9313]

Did you file a form 5 for eeoc discrimination? You get that from the Department of labor.

[@brandenburg2388]

I'm sure that it's a violation of civil right laws if a person is terminated from his or her job on the ground of religious beliefs......

[@sevenMOons666]

What do you do if the person you have a grievance against is a stockholder in the company and the individual filing that grievance is someone who’s worked in that company for four years? How do I fire this employee?

[@andrewbrendan1579]

Something I would suggest is that the person doing the firing not offer to shake hands when the firing has been done but leave that to the person who has been terminated if that person wants to make the gesture. If I had just become unemployed one of the last things I would want to do is shake the hand of the person who fired me. I can see how there could be a need for an escort out of the workplace though I would prefer to walk out alone. I think that when someone decides to fire an employee the person who made that decision should have the guts and integrity to be there when the employee is fired.

[@rangerpestcontrol4354]

This video was obviously taken before the T-Rex incident.

[@flournoymason8961]

When you fire a person make sure the former employee is guilty of the thing he or she is getting fire for. I got fired for racism after I referred to Black history week as African history week. I didn't say that because I was racist but because the black employees were wearing raditional African clothing and talking a lot about Africa itself. It was a mistake but not deliberate racism. I took the situation to the labor board and I got unemployment benefits. I didn't want to work there anymore so that wasn't an issue.

[@alimahamed6165]

😥😥😥

[@kennethweast8899]

I'm am 64 years old and was out for 6 month last year, I was out for a broken hip they hired someone to replace me. Now they want me to retire

[@rhynosouris710]

Make sure he knows how much cheaper his H1B visa replace is. Don't forget to spit on the employee as security frog marches him out the building.

[@nsg286]

You mean H1B visa holder is stealing the jobs in USA?

[@tracymoo5865]

Employee just a number to the employer.So,forget it,just move on with your life.

[@nsg286]

have you ever been terminated?

[@fajri8843]

Nope,you fight back,you don't have to go back to the company,but go see a lawyer, you can even gain financially out of it.

[@sharpshooter188]

Agreed. You are always replaceable in the job world. They do not care how your lack of funds will affect your life and will actively fight your attempt to gain unemployment benefits to hold you over. If you get canned just do what you can to find work and that's about all you can do.

[@alimahamed6165]

Wao your great men you better to became president.

[@traudlgoring]

i need to fire a lot of people for personal reasons, thanks