Follow-up any commitments you made in the dismissal meeting including writing a notice of recommendation (if asked for). A sample layoff memorandum will ensure you cover important areas and stay within the dismissal law. As you now know, sacking a jobholder is not just saying 'you're dismissed'. If the troublemaker is a poor performer, you must immediately put him into escalating discipline and dismiss him when his productivity doesn't increase. Also, the management should always set a guideline for good ethics through their own professionalism and moral behavior. Then, you should notify the jobholder that you have placed paperwork in her or his employee file and this individual must sign the paperwork to show that he or she has read it. And if the insubordinate worker elects to buck the system, you are better-off without him or her.

Every firm should have set ground rules and standards, and every worker should have a hard copy which discusses offenses that may result in immediate suspension or termination. A conflict with one of your employees, for example, can cost you a valuable client because the difficult worker is misrepresenting you and the company. Even worse, this worker may ignore your previous attempts at discipline. We recommend face-to-face encounters, where the jobholder can leave with the respect of the business for having the nerve to tell her or him in individual. It proves you made substantial efforts to correct an unacceptable situation. These may include how the employee will empty her or his workspace and the company's need for the employee to leave the building immediately. If you're a small business owner, firing a high level worker may also be emotionally challenging because you have likely formed a close relationship with that person. Have the jobholder sign the notification. (We cover references in detail in Chapter 13.)