An employee leaving the company, even if it is on good terms, is bound to cause some anxiety. Having a plan in place to deal with these situations helps to reduce that anxiety. Here are some tips to help you get started:
If an employee quits or voluntarily resigns:
1. Ask the employee to provide you with a written resignation and keep a copy in the employee’s file. This can be done through email or another method. We have a Voluntary Resignation Form you can use. Whatever method you capture the resignation make sure you keep your process consistent. Accepting verbal resignations creates an opportunity for the employee’s story to change.
2. Schedule an exit interview with the employee. You may be able to gain some valuable insights from an employee who is leaving voluntarily. Only schedule an exit interview if you actually plan to take their feedback into consideration. Otherwise, it is not worth wasting your time or the employee’s time.
3. Review the Final Pay by State document to understand when the employee must receive their final paycheck.
4. Notify your Payroll Specialist at Helpside as soon as possible that a final check needs to be processed to ensure compliance with final pay laws. You can do this by completing the Offboarding Request located in your manager portal. Set the appropriate expectation for the employee, so they are not surprised by the final pay timing.
5. If an employee gives you prior notice of their resignation, allow the employee to work up until their resignation date or pay the employee out for that time to prevent having to pay future unemployment claims. For a resignation to remain voluntary the employee should be the one to pick their resignation date.
If you are firing or terminating an employee:
1. Commence drafting a Termination memo. This allows you to consider whether you have followed the progressive discipline process and issued previous warnings using the Corrective Action Report. The memo is for internal use and should not be provided to the exiting employee.
2. Consider possible issues with discrimination (age, gender, pregnancy, etc.) or unemployment claims that could come from terminating the employee. If you have followed and documented the progressive discipline process, this is less of a concern. Feel free to discuss with an HR expert at Helpside to better understand the potential risks by calling (801) 443-1090 or emailing humanresources@helpside.com
3. Prepare for the conversation by reviewing the Involuntary Termination Meeting Guide.
4. Notify your Payroll Specialist at Helpside immediately that a final check needs to be processed to remain compliant with final pay laws. Delays in providing payroll data to Helpside may result in a $50.00 per check express fee in order to meet state date deadlines. You can do this by contacting your Payroll specialist directly and completing the Offboarding Request found in your manager portal.
5. Conduct the termination meeting.
6. Communicate with other employees about the termination