Business

When Is It Okay To Fire An Employee?

When Is It Okay To Fire An Employee?

An office is a place where each and every employee is treated equally. And it is a place where everyone must follow certain rules and regulations.

Just because they have different positions, doesn’t mean that the rules are also different.

Every rules and regulation of the office applies to everyone, from the highest of position to the lowest.

And when someone tends to violate these rules, there is no choice but to terminate the employee.

However, firing an employee isn’t as easy as it sounds. In fact, it takes a lot of patience and consideration.

Sometimes there is also a chance of wrongful termination which can even lead to a nasty legal battle.

Therefore, to avoid situations as such, it’s important to be very careful and take properly calculated steps.

After all, it’s your business and reputation at stake.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t fire employees if you have valid reasons for termination.

Termination of an employee can be a long and hard process, but sometimes necessary.

And as a boss, you should be well informed about what is going around in your office.

As well as know how your employees are and behave at the workplace.

Having said that, it is also an employer’s job to make sure that the workplace is safe, secure, and interesting.

Below is a guide to know when it is okay to fire an employee.

When they have bad behavior.

Being in a workplace means you need to follow a proper code of conduct. You can’t walk around assuming that it is your house and therefore you can behave however you want.

However, you can’t just walk up to them and fire them directly, unless it’s a serious issue.

What you should do is give them warnings before actually firing an employee for bad behavior.

Since it is a behavior we’re talking about, people can change. And by warning them about their bad behavior, they might change themselves and become a better employee.

However, even after an ample amount of time, they stay the same, it is okay to fire them.

Violate the office’s rules and regulations.

As I’ve mentioned before, office rules and regulations are the same from employees at the top position to the ones at the bottom.

And violating office rules and regulations can mean immediate termination of an employee.

Sexual harassment.

One of the major issues in a lot of offices and workplaces is of sexual harassment.

Women employees are the biggest victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.

However, employees of all gender face such situation many-a-times.

Harassing anyone is absolutely unacceptable. Even more so when it’s a work environment and someone sexually harasses your employee.

This is a case where dismissing an employee immediately wouldn’t be a big problem.

Insubordination.

Being an employee means following the directions that your superior gives you.

When a manager, supervisor, or anyone above you ask or orders you to do something, it is your duty to obey it.

When an employee refuses to do the duties that are given to them, or when they’re disrespectful towards their senior, it’s okay to terminate them for insubordination.

Bullying.

Workplace bullying is a really serious issue that is sometimes overlooked. However, it can be a really big problem, especially when it comes to an employee’s mental health.

It’s important as an employer to make sure that the office is running smoothly without anyone bullying anyone.

But if in case it happens, you need to step up and dismiss the bully immediately.

Bad Performance.

At the end of the day, no matter how punctual or good-behaved your employees are, what matters is their work performance.

And if they can’t keep up with their performance, it is better to let them go.

A bad performing employee can put the whole office and its reputation at risk.

And as a leader and an employer, that would be the biggest red flag.

Therefore, it’s important to evaluate your employee’s performance every once in a while.

And if they don’t make it up to mark, you have every right to terminate an employee.

They’re apathetic.

Being an employee at a certain workplace means you have responsibilities to carry.

But if you can’t own up to your mistake and learn from them, maybe you don’t belong to that place.

As an employer, you have the rights to fire an employee if they’re not serious about their work.

If they don’t care about their responsibilities, the customers, the co-workers, and their seniors, it’s okay to fire such employee.

About the author

Priya

Talks to self, more than others. Watches "the Office" all night and quotes Michael Scott all day.
"I am Beyoncé, always."

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