How to fire someone: before, during and after the meeting

Before you fire: decide, then check

Work through this the day before. If any item stops you, the meeting waits. Cutting a position because the work dried up is a layoff, with checks of its own: how to let an employee go due to lack of work. If it’s one serious act and you can’t check it today, don’t fire in the heat of the moment: send them home with pay and look into it.

• The reason, in one sentence. Write it down. If you can’t get it into one sentence, or the honest version is “I’m tired of him,” you’re not ready.
• The Check, again, today. It’s the two-minute list below. Run it fresh, even if you ran it before the final warning. A lot can change in a month: a complaint, a request for time off, a workers’ comp claim, a question about pay in the group chat.
• Consistency. If someone kept their job after doing what this person did, you need a difference you can write down that has nothing to do with who they are.
• The file. Read it the way a stranger would. It should show the problem, the warnings, the dates and the chances to fix it, and the final warning should say plainly what would happen next. Look hard for anything that cuts the other way, like a raise two weeks ago.
• Promises on paper. Check the offer letter, the handbook and any contract, commission plan or union contract for anything about notice, process or pay at the end.

Any yes on the Check, a file that doesn’t match the reason, a release you want signed, or a contract in the picture: get advice first.

Have it all ready the day before

• Final pay. What you owe and when it’s due in your state, including any vacation your state or your policy says gets paid out. If it’s due at the time of termination, have the check ready before you walk in.
• Benefits. If they have insurance through you, know when their coverage ends, and call your broker or insurer about continuation coverage.
• The paperwork. The termination letter, short and matching what you’ll say in the room, and any notice your state requires. The termination checklist puts it all on one page.
• Access. Every key, code, card, device and login, and who changes each one: usually during the meeting or right after it.
• Their things. Now, after hours, or boxed up and dropped off. Nobody should have to carry a trash bag of their stuff past the whole crew.
• Your second person, briefed the day before, there to take notes.
• Severance, if you offer it. If it comes with a release, your attorney writes it, nobody signs it in the meeting, and final pay never waits on a signature.

Final pay and separation notices

This is the part that changes from state to state. Federal law doesn’t require you to pay the final check immediately. Some states do, some allow a short window, and others let it wait until the next regular payday. Vacation payout, separation notices and deductions vary too.

Before you pick the day, look up when the final paycheck is due, vacation payout and any notice you must hand over, on your state’s official pages. If the page isn’t clear, call your state labor department or ask your payroll provider, and write down what you found and the date. If they worked in another state, check the state where they actually worked.

The meeting, minute by minute

Ten to fifteen minutes. If it’s running past twenty, something is being debated that shouldn’t be.

Before they walk in. On the table: two copies of the letter, the final check if it’s ready, any state notice, the property list, tissues and water. Your second person already seated.

Minute 0 to 1: say it. No small talk. Tell them in the first two sentences, then give the reason in one sentence, the one you wrote down:

“After the final warning on the 2nd, the ticket times didn’t get where we agreed they had to be. That’s the reason.”

Minute 1 to 3: let it land. Stop talking, and let the silence run. Every extra sentence is one more thing to argue with. If they ask why, give the same sentence again.

Minute 3 to 6: what happens now, starting with the money: the final check, or, if your state allows it later, exactly when it’s coming. Then the date their coverage ends, the letter and any state notice. If they ask about unemployment:

“You can apply. The state decides, not me.”

Minute 6 to 9: property and access. Go down the list, collect what they have on them, and ask them to sign it. Then their things.

Minute 9 to 12: questions, then end it. Answer practical questions, nothing that reopens the decision. Then stand up. If there’s something specific and true to thank them for, say it, and walk them out at a normal pace.

The words for each kind of firing: for performance, for one serious act, and for someone who’s been with you for years.

What not to debate, and what never to say

Don’t debate the decision (“I hear you. The decision’s made,” as many times as it takes), the history, other people, or whether it’s fair. They’re allowed to think it isn’t.

Never say anything about age, family, religion, where they’re from, something personal they told you, or a complaint they made, not even kindly. Skip “we’re going in a different direction” and “we need fresh energy”: vague lines make people fill in the reason themselves, and these can sound like age or background. And don’t promise a good reference, rehire, or that you won’t fight their unemployment.

If they get angry, lower your voice and shorten the meeting. If anyone is threatened, end it, get everyone safe, and call 911 if you need to. If they say they’re calling a lawyer, that’s their right: finish the logistics calmly and add nothing new (when they say “lawyer”). If they won’t leave, don’t touch them and don’t block the door.

When the unemployment notice arrives

A week or two later, the state unemployment agency may send a notice. Answer it on time and truthfully. The date to answer by is printed on it, and it’s usually soon. Give the same reason you gave in the room and wrote in the letter, attach what it asks for, and write it as if the former employee will read it. Whether they get benefits is the state’s decision. Don’t contest a claim you don’t believe in, and never contest one to punish someone.

Telling the team, and reference calls

Tell the crew yourself, the same day or first thing the next morning: who’s no longer here, as of when, and who’s covering what. No reasons, nothing that runs them down, and no rule that nobody can talk about it (how to tell employees someone was fired). Write it down before you say it, on the free team announcement. If someone asks whether they’re next, don’t promise their job is safe:

“If anything about your job ever changes, you’ll hear it from me first, in person.”

For reference calls, confirm dates and job title, nothing else, for everyone. In the meeting, say so instead of promising a good reference:

“If anyone calls, our policy is to confirm your dates and your job title. That’s all we give out.”

The week after

• Day one. Every code and login changed or closed, final pay delivered on time, their name off the schedule, your insurer or broker told, and the meeting written up and filed with the letter.
• If they get in touch, keep it short and polite, in writing if you can, and don’t reargue the decision. A letter from a lawyer or an agency goes to your attorney before you answer it.

Most owners feel worse than they expected, even when it was the right call. That fades. Then write down one thing you’d do sooner next time. For most, it’s the first conversation (how to discipline an employee).