Handling Employment Terminations Professionally

Imagine three people sitting in an office. One of them is not sure why the meeting has been  called. The other two, who are the owners of the company, and are feeling anxious, are about to  execute a very difficult decision.  

Prior to executing the decision however, these owners explored the reasons for poor  performance. There was an exploration into whether the employee’s failure to meet expectations  was related to a disability and a workplace accommodation was required. When this proved not  to be the case, time was spent performance managing the employee through, coaching, providing  additional training, communicating and documenting their concerns to the employee. After these  efforts were exhausted, the time came to end the employment relationship.  

In this article, we focus on  terminations. Terminations are one of the most challenging tasks that owners/managers must  perform. Due to the level of discomfort in communicating difficult information, many managers  delay or avoid having this conversation. While informing an employee of your decision to terminate his or her employment does not get easier with time, keep in mind, that as challenging  as the conversation is for you, it will have a significant impact on your employee. You can ensure  that you handle the termination in a considerate, professional manner, in compliance with  employment legislation by following these practices.  

Good Business Practices When Terminating the Employment Relationship 

• Be certain that your decision to terminate employment is not based on any of the  protected grounds (Age, Ancestry, colour, race, Citizenship, Ethnic origin, Place of  origin, Creed, Disability, Family status, Marital status, Gender identity, gender  expression, Record of offences, Sex, Sexual orientation) under the Ontario Human  Rights Code. 

  
  

• Consult your legal counsel where possible or a designated human resources  professional. 

  
  

• Ensure that the termination letter contains information pertaining to the employee’s  entitlement to notice and severance in accordance with the Employment Standards  Act of Ontario, 2000 (ESA), benefits coverage and any other provisions under the  terms of the employment contract.  

  
  

• Hold the termination meeting with the employee and another member of your  management team in a private meeting space. 

  
  

• Keep the termination meeting professional, respectful, and brief. (Stick to the script) ∙ Provide a copy of the termination letter to the employee.  

  
  

• If a settlement offer, in excess of the ESA minimums is made, provide the former  employee with a reasonable amount of time to consider the offer and seek legal and  or financial advice prior to acceptance. 

  
  

• Offer your former employee time to gather his or her thoughts after hearing the news  that the employment relationship has terminated.

  
  

• Remain calm and respectful during the meeting, your former employee may get  emotional.

• If required, offer the former employee a taxi drive at the company’s expense if the he  or she is not able to drive. 

  
  

• Provide a means for the former employee to obtain any personal items left in the  workplace (couriered to place of residence or pick up after hours) 

For more information on how to transition employees from group to individual benefits at the end  of the employment relationship, contact Mike Stapleton at Black Brick Capital Inc (416) 428-7728 or by email at Mike.Stapleton@freedom55financial.com .  

For guidance on terminations or other human resource matters, contact Marcella at Marcella  Kowalchuk Consulting Inc at mpkowalchuk@gmail.com or (519) 941-8344.