The
sensible way to fire an at will employee...
A problem employee can damage your business in many
ways. He or she can slow down production, cause other
employees to become disgruntled, be a safety hazard,
or even cause legal troubles. Therefore, it is important
for you to either get a problem employee in shape or
to terminate him or her before it leads to more problems.
Having Production Slowed by a Problem Employee
You may not realize it, but a problem employee can
significantly slow down production. For example, if
the problem employee is routinely late arriving to
work, production may cease altogether as the other
workers wait for the employee to arrive. Or, even if
production continues, it may slow down as a less skilled
worker tries to take over. The same is true for an
employee who purposely works slowly, who abuses break
privileges, or who simply doesn’t pay attention
to his or her job and makes too many mistakes.
Causing Other Employees to Become Disgruntled Because
of a Problem Employee
If you do not take action against the problem employee,
this person can quickly and easily cause your other
employees to become disgruntled. First, your other
employees may believe you are discriminating against
them when you come down on them and do not come down
on the problem employee. And, by allowing the problem
employee to get away with his or her behavior, you
are setting a precedent that tells your other employees
it is OK to behave in a problematic way. Before you
know it, you will have an entire crew of problem employees
rather than just one!
Experiencing Safety Hazards Because of a Problem Employee
A problem employee can easily be a safety hazard for
your other employees as well as for him or herself.
If the problem employee is negligent, for example,
he or she may not properly follow safety procedures.
Even a chronically late problem employee can cause
safety problems as other employees try to pick up the
slack or to speed up and catch up on production when
the employee finally makes it in.
Experiencing Legal Problems Because of a Problem Employee
A problem employee puts you at an increased risk of
experiencing legal problems. Other employees may file
suit against you for failure to act on the problems
you are having with the employee. If the employee is
harassing other employees, for example, a court can
find you guilty of failing to discipline the employee
for his or her actions. In addition, if the problem
employee is violating safety procedures and hurts someone,
a court will find you liable.
So, while it may be difficult to fire an employee,
particularly if you have formed a relationship with
that person, you must consider your business and your
other employees. Do what is right and remove the problem
employee from your workforce before you are sorry you
didn’t.
Is
a problem employee making your life miserable?
Here's what to do...
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