Script 28 · from the Firm & Fair Playbook
What to say when you fire someone for performance
Decide first. Then, in private with a witness, say it in the first two sentences:
“I’ve made a decision, and I’m going to tell you straight. Today is your last day.”
Then the one documented reason, in one sentence, and the same sentence again if they ask why. If they argue:
“I know you don’t agree. The decision’s made.”
Then the final check and the letter. It’s short and kind, and it isn’t a debate.
The situation
Shawn has picked and packed orders in your warehouse for a year and a half. His mis-pick rate has hovered around three percent all year against a target of one and a half, while the rest of the floor runs under one. He had a documented conversation in May, a written warning in June, and a sixty-day plan with weekly check-ins that ended September 30 with him at 3.1. Every step told him what the next one would be, and this is it.
Before you talk
- Decide first, then meet. The meeting delivers a decision. It’s short and kind, and it isn’t a debate. For everything around it, from the day before to the week after, see how to fire someone. These are the words for a performance firing. For one serious act or someone who’s been with you for years, they change.
- One reason, the documented one. The plan numbers. Nothing else goes in the room or in the letter.
- Final pay. Check when your state says final pay is due before you pick the day. In some states, final pay is due the moment you end the job. The Playbook shows where to look, and covers any separation notice your state requires.
- Have ready: the termination letter, performance version; his final check, or the date it will be paid; any notice your state requires; the separation checklist; and the return of property list (scanner gun, badge, key fob, locker key).
- Access. Decide who shuts off his door code and logins, and when: during the meeting, not before.
- Who, where, when. Your office on a Tuesday afternoon, near the end of his shift, with Hector, your floor lead, as witness. Ten minutes.
- His things. He can clear his locker with Hector right after, or you’ll box everything for pickup. His choice.
- Run the Check below one last time. It matters most here. Any yes, even a maybe, stop and get advice before you schedule the meeting. Besides the usual lines, look for any reason besides the numbers that someone could believe, like a run-in with you or a remark you made, and anyone else with numbers like his who kept the job.
The first words
You“Shawn, have a seat. I’ve made a decision, and I’m going to tell you straight. Today is your last day.”
“Your plan ended September 30. The target was one and a half percent, and you finished at 3.1. We’ve been working on it since May, and I’m ending your employment.”
What they’ll say, and what you say
They“Give me one more month. I’ll get it down.”
You“I know you tried. I saw it on the check-ins. The decision’s made, and I’m not going to reopen it today.”
They“Can I still get unemployment?”
You“That’s the state’s call, not mine. If they send me questions, I’ll answer them truthfully.”
They“Will you give me a reference?”
You“If someone calls, we confirm your dates and your job title. That’s our policy for everybody who’s worked here.”
The Playbook’s full script also covers the questions about the scanners, his last check and saying goodbye to the crew, the line to close on, and what to do if it turns: if he bargains, asks “Why really?”, gets angry or cries, if something new comes out, or if he says he’s getting a lawyer.
Never say
- “This is really hard for me.”Why: It is, and it’s still his day, not yours. He’ll remember you asking for sympathy while you let him go.
- “Honestly, the numbers were just the last straw.”Why: “Last straw” says there were other reasons. Now he’ll want to hear them, and so will anyone who reads your file later.
Write it down the same day
- Tonight, while it’s fresh: the time, the room and who was there; what you said, the decision and the one reason; what he said, in his words, including anything about a lawyer or the state, written flat; what he got (letter, final check or its date, any state notice) and what he gave back; and anything still out: a missing fob, a locker he didn’t clear, a forwarding address.
- **Then work the separation checklist line by line:** access shut off, payroll told, final pay figured on the final pay worksheet and kept in the file.
- Tell the team yourself, the same day or first thing the next morning, before the group chat writes its own version: what to tell your team.
Before any write-up or firing: the Check
Trouble often starts with something reasonable done at the wrong moment: a write-up the week after a complaint, a firing right after a request for time off. The Playbook has you run the Check first.
Before you act, has any of this happened?
- They complained about something at work recently.
- They asked for time off, or for a change in how or when they work.
- They told you about something personal that may need time off or a change at work.
- There’s a workers’ comp claim.
- They were a witness in someone else’s complaint.
- They’ve talked with coworkers about pay or working conditions.
- The timing could look like payback.
- It’s a layoff, and you’re choosing someone 40 or older.
- Someone could believe the real reason is a different one.
Any yes: stop, and get advice before the next step.
A tip from the Playbook: many business insurance policies include an HR or legal helpline. Find out whether yours does now, before you need it.
The Firm & Fair Playbook
This is part of Script 28 in the Firm & Fair Playbook. The full script has every beat, what to do if it turns, what never to say, and what to write down the same day.
32 conversations, word for word, 18 templates with a filled-in example each, and Quick Cards for your phone.
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See what’s insideQuestions owners ask
Can I fire an employee for poor performance?
In almost every state, employment is “at will”: you can end it for any reason that isn’t an illegal one, unless a contract or a written promise says otherwise. What matters later is what the real reason was, and a dated trail of conversations, warnings and a plan answers that far better than your memory can. Run the Check before you schedule the meeting. Any yes, even a maybe, stop and get advice first.
Should you tell an employee why they’re being fired?
Yes, in one sentence: the documented reason, the one you wrote down. If they ask why, give the same sentence again. Don’t add others. Vague lines like “it’s just not a fit” make people fill in the reason themselves. If the state asks later, give the reason you gave in the room and wrote in the letter, in the same words.
What should you never say when firing someone?
Anything about age, family, religion, where they’re from, something personal they told you, or a complaint they made, not even kindly. Vague lines like “we’re going in a different direction” or “we need fresh energy” make people fill in the reason themselves, and these can sound like age or background. Not “this wasn’t my idea”: it’s your decision, so own it. And no promises you can’t or shouldn’t keep: a good reference, rehire, or that you won’t fight their unemployment.
Related
- How to fire someone The checks the day before, the fifteen-minute meeting, and the week after.
- Letting someone go for one serious act A shove, a threat, a confirmed theft. Check the facts first, then one short meeting.
- Letting go someone who’s been there for years Fourteen years, then a final warning. A careful, generous exit that still holds up.
- Telling the team Someone’s gone as of today. The team hears it from you before the group chat does.
- Termination letter template Performance, conduct or position eliminated, each in Word and PDF with an example.
Free
Take Script 1 with you.
The complete first conversation as a PDF to keep, and the full contents of the Playbook. Then four short emails over eleven days: two more hard conversations, the four moves behind every script, and what’s in the full Playbook.
Not legal advice. Practical wording and process guidance for business owners, written for workplaces in the United States. For a specific situation, talk to an employment attorney licensed in your state.