1. What is the first step for the manager to take before the firing?
2. What reactions may a manager find when firing an employee today?
3. How many persons should be present during the actual firing of an employee?

Firing an employee is one aspect of management that most managers hate. Despite all the literature about effective management and motivation, there are still times when an employer has to fire an employee.

Firing is a bit more complicated than might have been the case 70 years ago. At that time, it seemed that all a boss had to do was say: “Charlie, at the end of today’s shift, you’re through here at Murkeeville Car Markers. I’ve put two extra weeks of pay in your pay envelope.” In those days, Charlie didn’t know that he might be able to pursue legal action. Charlie might not have had a union to stand behind him and possibly get the firing decision overturned.

However, Charlie could make things tough for the boss by any number of emotional reactions to being fired. (The same reactions are often replayed today.) Charlie could have broken down and cried, punched his boss in the nose, spread malicious lies about his boss, placed a bomb in company headquarters, or taken any number of other possibly bizarre actions.

Today, an employee, in many cases, will sue an employer over what the employee believes to be an unfair discharge. And very often, there is considerable merit to the employee’s case. Firing an employee is not a routine matter that a manager handles with ease. Because of managers’ lack of daily experience in dismissing people, many firings are bungled badly. And when the fired employee and his or her attorney look over the chain of events involved, it may become clear that established procedures were not followed.

Firing procedures vary from company to company, but here is a list of good suggestions gleaned from the experiences of several firms and their employees.