Employee Termination Strategies and Legal Compliance in HR Management

Dear Seniors,

We have a staff member who has been working with us since December 2008. Her performance is very poor, and she cannot get along with other staff members. She thinks that no one can take her out from the job. Due to her attitude and performance, no one wants to work with her. I have shifted her from one plant to another, and in the last six months, I have moved her to the office where I operate, but there seems to be no improvement. The management wants to terminate her, and therefore, I have tried all possible levels to make her understand, but without any success. She is around 45 years old with two grown-up kids. Now, the management has asked me to terminate her service. I have also issued warning letters, and I feel she will not resign as she has been trying to switch jobs but cannot find employment anywhere.

I need guidance from seniors to proceed further in terminating her services as there is pressure from management to do so since she cannot improve.

Regards,

Dear Friend,

Termination should be the last resort. I suggest talking to her one-on-one to help her understand the criticality of the situation. If the issue persists even after that, then organize a domestic enquiry. Alternatively, offer some benefits to encourage her to resign voluntarily, and resolve the case amicably.

Regards,
Kamesh

Dear Member,

Having clarification on the following points, one can answer your query:

1) Who is the referred employee? Does she fall under the definition of "workman," or is she in an executive cadre?
2) Are you in an industry? Do you have standing orders in place?

Regards,
Shailesh Parikh
Vadodara, Gujarat
99 98 97 10 65

Dear,

Please take the last three years' performance appraisal report. If the appraisals are average or below, taking this into consideration along with the memos issued, she can be terminated from the services by giving the notice period as per the appointment norms.

Regards,

Dear Friend,

Please refer to the appointment letter and company HR policy. In the appointment letter, it is clearly mentioned that if an employee's performance is not up to standard, the notice period for their release from employment on either side will be 15 days/30 days. Therefore, it is advisable that all actions taken for the termination of an employee should be documented in writing, including their performance and the notice period.

During this process, it is important to serve the notice period and provide a specific timeframe for the employee to improve their performance. If the performance does not improve within the specified time, termination should be considered, ensuring that sufficient notice is given.

Thank you.

If you have exhausted all options to improve her performance and yet have seen no results, I believe it may be necessary to terminate her employment. If she is classified as a workman under the ID Act, the termination process can be cumbersome but essential. If not, her termination will be governed by the terms outlined in her appointment letter and the certified standing orders, if applicable, of your company.

Dear Friend,

You can choose to opt for a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan). A PIP is a formal structured plan wherein objectives are set for a particular time frame and communicated to the employee. Failing to achieve the same, an employee can be terminated. Of course, it will have to be introduced as a policy and worked on accordingly. You would get a lot of detailed information about the same on the internet.

Regards,
Pooja

Dear Seniors,
Thank you all for your prompt replies.
We are an industry, but she does not fall under ID Act. Hence, as we have already issued warning letters to her, it will not be difficult for us to terminate her services.
Further, I will request her to resign, as giving a termination letter may be a problem for her to get jobs in future.
While giving last increments, we issued a letter stating Revised Company Rules for the old staff, which also included below points -
QUOTE -
The company shall be entitled to terminate your employment by giving one month’s notice, if you become incapable, in the opinion of the Company, to efficiently and properly carry out the duties allotted to you, whatsoever may be the reason of such incapability.
You will be required to give a minimum One month’s clear notice, if you wish to leave the organisation.
UNQUOTE -
Thanks once again.
Regards,

Let us first consider what legal action the employee can take against the management in case she is terminated. She may move to the labor court and plead for reinstatement, etc. She may even file a case of atrocity being a female, and if she belongs to SC/ST or OBC category, she may appeal to a human rights organization or file a case against discrimination.

How to obtain her resignation: Clearly, she is a middle-aged woman with grown-up children. If their age is employable, we could think of giving intense employability skills training and helping them enter the workforce so that they can contribute to the family income. This will ease the load on the female employee, and she would be more amenable to the suggestion of taking up a different career elsewhere.

Another alternative is to make her take the Strengths Finder 2.0 survey by Gallup. This will clearly bring out the real strengths of the employee in context. The report should be discussed with her confidentially with the objective of finding ways she can improve by first recognizing her strengths and second, getting the opportunity to operate from her strength areas. This is a surefire way of changing her behavior patterns for the better. Being a mature woman, she'd be aware of her responsibilities. There is a strong possibility that in her current or previous assignments, no thought was given to utilizing her asset strengths in a mutually beneficial manner. Asking for her termination is actually like hiding the management's inability to recognize and utilize talent. It seems that there has been no effort to match her talent/strength with the roles that were/are being assigned to her. The way she reacts to this callous treatment is only a facade of deep-rooted anxiety and angst in the concerned employee.

To terminate is very easy. But HR will get more credit if such lapses and stereotypical thinking are challenged and prevented at all costs.

Today, there is a dearth of IR skills in the HR fraternity. The incident at the Manesar plant of Maruti Udyog Ltd. is an example of this.

Dear Mr. Prakash,

Thank you for your reply. We have tried all possible methods to improve her performance by changing her job profile. The fundamental issue is that she lacks motivation to work and only engages in time-wasting activities. For instance, when assigned a simple task like typing a statement into an Excel sheet, she would rest her head on one hand while typing with the other, which demoralizes her colleagues.

I have had compassionate one-on-one conversations with her and have even attempted to address the issue by raising my voice, but there has been no improvement. It appears that she is quite obstinate. Additionally, she does not identify with any specific caste category.

Today, I spoke with her and informed her that she needs to search for a new job within the one-month notice period outlined in her appointment letter. I emphasized the importance of leaving peacefully. If she fails to comply, we will have to issue a termination letter, which could negatively impact her career. In response, she requested some time to consider the situation and promised to provide me with an update by tomorrow.

Regards,

Dear Alicia,

She is at fault, and nothing stops you from terminating her services. You have all the supporting data and a valid reason. At most, you can offer her outplacement and support during the job transition. She has not been accommodating in terms of behavioral issues. Insubordination is a significant reason here. However, is there any cause responsible for it?

Your employee's mental environment is definitely not your responsibility, but what have been your observations about her response? Why does she not change herself, even on the verge of losing the job? Why is she continuously so uninterested? Managing difficult employees is a skill. I suggest you consider that as you manage her transition to a new role.

Dear (Cite Contribution),

Thanks for your advice. Actually, being a public site, I did not want to discuss much on this issue. She has too many personal problems where she cannot adjust with her family members. I have tried my level best to accommodate her, but she is not showing any improvement. It is very sad to terminate any employee, but I have to consider both sides, i.e., the employer and the employees. I even get involved in their personal family problems if they require, but in this case, I could not do much as she is very adamant.

Regards,

Dear ALICIAGR,

My opinion in your case is as follows:

1) First, you have to document her termination process.
2) Issue memos and warning letters for all her misconduct.
3) Then issue a Charge Sheet to her, on which you have to conduct an inquiry.
4) For conducting the inquiry, you should appoint an inquiry officer along with a management trainee under the Standing Orders Act of 1947.
5) Proceed with the management witnesses' statements in the inquiry.
6) Give her a chance to produce any proof that is against the charge sheet issued by us.
7) The inquiry officer then submits the inquiry report to management.
8) Now, management is free to terminate her service.

With Regards,
Vineet Deshmukh

Dear Seniors,

Thank you all for your suggestions. After giving her the choice to either resign or be terminated, she has opted to resign. We explained to her that termination could negatively impact her future job prospects. Yesterday, before leaving the office, we had her submit her resignation, which she did. We have instructed her to stay at home during the one-month notice period with pay, so she can search for another job.

Thank you once again for all your support.

Regards,
ALICIAGR.

Dear Alicia,

As per my suggestion, and if you want to follow the company policy, you should firstly issue her a non-performance letter and give her one to three months to improve her performance. Then, based on her performance, you can take direct action.

Thanks and Regards,
Mahendra Patole
HR Executive