Question
Write a report on the approach taken to termination of employment in your own organisation. You should briefly explain:
– The differences between fair and unfair dismissals with examples for each
– The importance of exit interviews to both parties
– The key stages to be followed in managing redundancies.
Answer
Employee Management-Fair and Unfair Dismissal
Under certain circumstances, an employer may dismiss employees lawfully. In small businesses, the Fair Dismissal Code guides the entire dismissal process (Praveen & Cullen, 2013). Small businesses are defined as those with less than 15 employees. In this case, the employer is required by law to provide a valid reason for the dismissal of the employees. The employer is required to inform the employee of the reason for the dismissal. This can be done either verbally or preferably through writing. In cases of serious offences such as theft, the employer may dismiss the employee without prior warning. Large companies in the U.S. operate on an employment-at-will policy. Nonetheless, this does not give such companies the right to unfairly dismiss employees. Fair dismissal may be given to employees on the grounds of low performance and violation of an important employment provision. Low-performing employees should be given the chance to improve, failure to which may lead to dismissal.
Unfair dismissal occurs when an employee is forced to resign in an unjust, harsh or unreasonable manner (Praveen & Cullen, 2013). Unfair dismissal may constitute dismissal from work that is either illegal based on established employment laws or is unethical. Under the employment at-will policy, an employer or employee can break the engagement at any time. However, this must be done as per the outlined laws. During dismissal, the employer should not under any circumstances violate the rights of the employee. The unfair dismissal law may however be at times complex. Unfair dismissal may be deemed to occur when an employer dismisses an employee based on race or ethnicity. The law prohibits racial discrimination at the workplace, hence this may constitute grounds for a legal charge against the employer. The employee is also allowed to join trade associations to fight for their rights. It is thus unfair to dismiss an employee who joins a trade association (Praveen & Cullen, 2013).
The importance of exit interviews to both parties
Exit interviews are interviews conducted on employees leaving the organization voluntarily. They are often conducted to establish the reasons why employees are exiting the company (Churchill & Frankiewicz, 2006). Exit interviews involve probing the employee the reason for leaving the organization. As such, the person conducting the interview should use sound interviewing techniques and keenly listen to the feedback provided by the employee. Exit interviews should established what the employee liked or disliked about the organization he/she is leaving. It should also reveal details concerning the organization the person is joining. Important details to establish about the other organization include compensation, responsibilities accorded to the employee in the new organization and the motivating factors. An exit interview may take approximately 30 minutes. Some organizations conduct exit interviews on the last day of the employee’s stay at the organization. However, the best time to conduct the interview should be a week after the employee has left the organization. This gives the employee time to calm down.
Exit interviews are important to both the employee and the management. To the leaving employee, exit interviews serves as an opportunity to highlight weaknesses in the management (Churchill & Frankiewicz, 2006). It also ensures that the employee and the management maintain cordial relations. To the organization, it’s a chance to establish the reasons why employees are leaving. This gives the management the opportunity to solve issues in the organization before losing a lot of employees. It is important to note that it is expensive to hire new employees. An exit interview can thus highlight weaknesses in management. The management is able to gain useful information which may be used to improve the work culture, processes, workplace ethics, employee morale and other issues in the organization.
The key stages to be followed in managing redundancies
Redundancies in the organization can lower employee morale and lead inefficiencies. Redundancies refer to overlapping of company activities or other processes in the organization (Secord, 2003). Redundancy may lead to unnecessary duplication of effort and thus lead to waste. The following stages will be followed in managing redundancies in the organization.
- Establishing the human resource needs for the organization – the first step in managing redundancies in organizations is to conduct an analysis of the business in order to establish current as well as future employee requirements of the organization. This includes an analysis of skills inventories, staffing requirements, and other contingencies.
- Audit assessment of the current workforce – an audit assessment of the current workforce can help the management identify specific needs of the organization in terms of skill requirements and also in skill matching. The available skills should be matched to the current business requirements to ascertain possible attrition rates.
- Head count analysis – a head count analysis can help identify the supply and need requirements in the organization. Once presented to the management, the plan should help in determining a number of things. For instance, the management can determine whether it would be appropriate to reduce recruitment, dismiss temporary staff, reduce overtime, retain employees, and other decisions.
References
Churchill, C., & Frankiewicz, C. (2006). Making microfinance work: Managing for improved performance. Geneva: ILO.
Praveen, K., & Cullen, J. B. (2013). Business Ethics. New York, NY: Routledge.
Secord, H. (2003). Implementing best practices in human resources management. Toronto: CCH Canadian.
