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Special Report! What You Must Know Before Firing Bad Employees
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As an employer, you must conduct employee investigations before
termination proceedings can begin. This is because failure do
employee investigations before termination proceedings can lead to
lengthy
legal battles – and you might find yourself on the losing
end.
Why are employee investigations before termination so important?
Conducting extensive employee investigations before termination
is so important because a court can use all of your documentation,
or lack thereof, if your employee decides to file a wrongful termination
suit. If you do not have enough documentation or properly recorded
documentation, you can not build a strong case to back up your termination
decision. Remember, it is up to you to prove your case. Without the
evidence documentation provides, you will have a difficult time doing
this. As a result, you might find yourself paying damage charges
or stuck with an employee that you don’t want to keep on board – or
both.
How do I conduct employee investigations before termination?
Employee investigations before termination should be a team effort
among supervisors. If you are a small business owner, you might be
the only supervisor. If you are a Human Resources Manager, on the
other hand, this responsibility may rest on your shoulders as well
as on the shoulders of the other supervisors in your company.
Regardless of whom is in charge of supervising the employee, everyone
responsible must be aware of proper documentation procedures. These
procedures include documenting any problems that may have taken place
with the employee. This should include a description of the incident
that took place, the date it occurred, and the disciplinary action
you or your supervisors took. As part of this documentation, you
should have the employee sign paperwork showing that he or she read
the report. If the employee refuses to sign it, have another supervisor
sign pointing out that he or she witnessed your discussion with the
employee.
What if I think there is a problem with an employee but can’t “catch
him” in the act?
You may believe an employee is doing something against the rules
or that puts him or other employees in danger, but have not been
able to witness the employee engaging in these actions. If this is
the case, you may need to hire an investigator. However sometimes
you can handle the situation yourself. For example you might suspect
the employee is taking drugs so you can have him or her take a drug
test. To prevent having discrimination charges brought against you,
however, you must give all of your employees a test. If the problem
is a workmen’s compensation issue or a safety issue, you might
have to hire someone to keep an eye on the employee and record his
or her unscrupulous actions. Regardless of the problem, extensive
employee investigations before termination are necessary if you hope
to keep yourself free from legal troubles.
Here's
how to conduct employee investigations before termination. Includes
firing procedures.
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