Is this how a firing should be done?

[Anonymous]

Terminating someone especially if you know their heart is in the right place is one of the hardest things a person can do, especially if you can see their own personal struggles and how bad they they need a job.

I would say a good employer has the most patience for someone they can tell is genuinely trying but if it’s not working out it’s just simply our not working out. Sometimes it’s not the big things but the little things that add up. Some people are just not good performers and they may try hard but it’s not getting done right. Meanwhile someone can do it almost perfect with minimal effort but they slack off on everything else. It’s a catch 22 most the time.

Unless it’s major such as theft, sexual harassment, or something like commuting a felony while on the clock. Most firings should be dealt with in the most sensitive or manner. It shouldn’t be yelling or screaming most of the time there are some exceptions where I’m fine with it.

I hope that we can part as friends but this isn’t working out, I can tell that you have tried and you can use me as a reference to any future place you put your name on to. But I’m sorry we are going to have to let you go, this is hard but we have (severance or whatever is offered) and I’ve done everything I could do to not get to this point. I wish you well”

[Oliverlogan263]

Damn dude, firing someone is never an easy thing to do, but it seems like you've really thought about how to handle it the best way possible in that situation. Making sure to do it privately and privately shows respect to the employee, which is important so they don't feel embarrassed. And like you said, coming at it from a place of understanding their struggles makes it way less harsh than just straight up yelling at them about everything they did wrong. I think offering that severance package and letting them use you as a reference is really big too. When someone loses their job it can be really tough, so showing you still want to help them out even after they're gone shows you've got their back, even if the job wasn't working out. Saying you wish them well in the future is also a nice way to leave things on good terms instead of burning that bridge, you never know if their careers might cross paths again down the line. Overall it seems like you really cared about being fair but also compassionate in your decision, which is the mature way to handle firing someone, even if it's not an easy conversation. Firing is never fun but at least this way the person still leaves feeling like you respected them as a person, rather than just thinking of them as worthless because of struggles on the job. Good on you for taking the high road, man - it'll reflect well on you and the company as a stand up place to work.

[Anonymous]

Firings should be done professionally. At the end of the day it comes down the profits of the company or the budget for employees wages. If they don't need you for whatever reason they should let you know with as much notice as possible and with whatever wages as severance you are owed.

Theft, sexual harassment, violence in the work place etc is a police matter and the employee can be given a letter of termination.

I learned early on from a previous job not to go above and beyond but to do your work, get the majority of it done before 12pm and then coast the rest of the day. Always look like you are doing something and never let your boss know you are finished because he/she will just heap more on you regardless. I got into trouble in my last job because I was always behind my work playing catch up, deadlines were missed. As it turned out I was doing 3 or 4 people's jobs, when they fired me and brought a new guy in, the other guy refused to do that much work and they had to hire another person and delegate the job out to others throughout the office. I learned my lesson. I do exactly my work, I meet every deadline, I've always got most of my work done by 12pm, I don't take on extra work, I always look busy when the boss is about and I don't take any work home and every performance review I get full marks and knock it out of the park.