No one likes losing their job, so it is not surprising that employees are often “disgruntled” when their employer lets them go. While Virginia generally allows employers to fire their workers at will, different rules may apply to employees who hold a contract.
As an employer, contracts with your workers can make things challenging. However genuine your reasons to let someone go, you need to reduce the chance someone could accuse you of wrongful termination. Here are some tips:
1. Use clear rules and disciplinary policies
If you might need to let someone go for breaking the company rules, you need to ensure employees understand what rules they must abide by from the outset. An employee handbook can be a good place to outline rules. If you have a set disciplinary procedure, you could also explain it here. You should also reinforce this information in people’s minds over time.
An example: You insist no one smokes within 100 metres of a particular area for safety reasons. Yet video footage shows that two employees continue to do this despite reminders. If you have put that rule in the employee handbook and had all recruits sign to say they have read the handbook, it makes it harder for them to argue they did not know.
If you outlined a set of disciplinary procedures to employees, say, a verbal warning for a first offense and a written warning for a second offense — with termination as the penalty for a third offense — it reduces the chance they claim being dismissed for this is unfair.
2. Consistency in the application of discipline
Let’s say you fire Jose for continually smoking in the prohibited area, but give John, who was always with him, one more chance. If you do not have a good business reason for this different treatment, you leave yourself more vulnerable to accusations of discrimination. Jose might feel that his heritage played a role in the decision to fire him, when in reality, it has to do with him having a worse record in general than John.
Another example is if you have to lay off a group of employees. Think carefully about how your selection could look to others. If a group that shares a particular protected characteristic, such as nationality, religion or gender, appears to have been disproportionately targeted, they may believe the decision was discriminatory. Documenting how you made the selections before you break the news could help you combat any accusations that arise.
3. Rely on external, neutral guidance
It can sometimes be hard to see how things might look to others from your position on the inside of the company. An experienced legal team can help you understand how things could be interpreted, what you can do to reduce the chance of problems and how to deal with any that arise.