Reasons for Dismissal – Best Practices for Employers to Avoid UI Claims
Reasons for Dismissal – Best Practices for Employers to Avoid UI Claims
Reasons For Dismissal
For employers, the decision to terminate an employee is not an easy one. Depending on the situation, an employee’s termination could come with the risk of facing an unemployment hearing. Of course, there’s not a guarantee, but you can avoid issues with terminations that can result in potential litigation. By using this list of best practices, any reasons for dismissal could be discussed or reviewed prior to termination.
Review the Employee’s File
To properly facilitate a termination, you need to provide sufficient documentation from the employee’s file to substantiate the reasons for dismissal. Documentation examples include written warnings, performance reviews, attendance records, employee complaints, etc.
Know Your Company Policies
It’s wise to know your company policies well. These policies may be in writing or could be an unwritten policy that you have established in the past. Be sure that these policies remain in your Employee Handbook so that an employee would surely have read and acknowledged the reasons for dismissal. Be sure to consider policies which may limit your right to terminate, such as:
- Progressive discipline policies
- Employment at-will policies
- Arbitration policies or Internal dispute resolution
- Termination policies requiring “just cause”
Immediately Terminate Dangerous Employees
When it comes to terminating an employee who has been violent or has threatened violence, you must handle it properly. Failing to terminate a dangerous employee could result in harm to other employees and lead to employer liability. Also, termination of an employee who has sexually harassed others may be necessary to maintain compliance with sexual harassment laws.
Hiring a third-party to assist with managing the unemployment process and reasons for dismissal makes sense. At Industrial U.I., we help our clients protect their business from litigation. Contact us today for more information on our services.
