As an employer, you must conduct employee investigations
before termination proceedings can begin. This is because
failure do employee investigations before termination proceedings
can lead to lengthy legal battles – and you might
find yourself on the losing end.
Why are employee investigations before termination so
important?
Conducting extensive employee investigations before termination
is so important because a court can use all of your documentation,
or lack thereof, if your employee decides to file a wrongful
termination suit. If you do not have enough documentation
or properly recorded documentation, you can not build a
strong case to back up your termination decision. Remember,
it is up to you to prove your case. Without the evidence
documentation provides, you will have a difficult time
doing this. As a result, you might find yourself paying
damage charges or stuck with an employee that you don’t
want to keep on board – or both.
How do I conduct employee investigations before termination?
Employee investigations before termination should be a
team effort among supervisors. If you are a small business
owner, you might be the only supervisor. If you are a Human
Resources Manager, on the other hand, this responsibility
may rest on your shoulders as well as on the shoulders
of the other supervisors in your company.
Regardless of whom is in charge of supervising the employee,
everyone responsible must be aware of proper documentation
procedures. These procedures include documenting any problems
that may have taken place with the employee. This should
include a description of the incident that took place,
the date it occurred, and the disciplinary action you or
your supervisors took. As part of this documentation, you
should have the employee sign paperwork showing that he
or she read the report. If the employee refuses to sign
it, have another supervisor sign pointing out that he or
she witnessed your discussion with the employee.
What if I think there is a problem with an employee but
can’t “catch him” in the act?
You may believe an employee is doing something against
the rules or that puts him or other employees in danger,
but have not been able to witness the employee engaging
in these actions. If this is the case, you may need to
hire an investigator. However sometimes you can handle
the situation yourself. For example you might suspect the
employee is taking drugs so you can have him or her take
a drug test. To prevent having discrimination charges brought
against you, however, you must give all of your employees
a test. If the problem is a workmen’s compensation
issue or a safety issue, you might have to hire someone
to keep an eye on the employee and record his or her unscrupulous
actions. Regardless of the problem, extensive employee
investigations before termination are necessary if you
hope to keep yourself free from legal troubles.
Our
guidebook for employee termination. Step by step.
With termination form, letter and procedure.
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