Navigating Employee Termination: How Do I Handle Lack of Evidence and Notice Period Concerns?

I played the role of HR in terminating one of our employees because he was involved in financial irregularities and was a poor performer. He was caught red-handed a couple of days ago, and yesterday it was decided, and today the letter was handed over to him.

Concerns About Evidence and Notice Period

My concern is that I don't have written evidence, and I am trying to collect all of it. Regarding the notice period, is he eligible? Things went so fast that I was not able to handle them efficiently.

This is the first time I have done something haphazardly. I am feeling bad as I am doing this after a year. I need your advice to be on the safe side as he is not a workman.

Regards

In your post, you have combined two issues: financial irregularities and poor performance. Both merit termination from employment, but the connotations differ in each case.

Financial Irregularities

"Financial irregularities" are serious misconduct, and you should have ordered a domestic inquiry. This misconduct overrides "poor performance." However, in your post, you have not mentioned anything about the inquiry. I hope this does not backfire on your company in general and you in particular.

Evidence and Termination Grounds

In the second paragraph, you mentioned that you do not have written evidence. What evidence do you have? On what grounds did you terminate that employee? Have you obtained any statement from the employee? Please provide this additional information so that other members can give their opinions.

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

Before taking any legal action, please check the following:

1. Consult the appointment letter.
2. Discuss with a labor lawyer.
3. Check how the company is protected by the legal action taken against the employee.
4. If nothing is mentioned in the appointment letter, consult with senior HR professionals.

Otherwise, it may bounce back to the company.

Thanks,
nabolbona

I have earlier mentioned he was caught red-handed, but no documentation was done. He has agreed, and I have asked employees who caught him to collect all evidence. We have evidence in our IT system only to compile them.

I agree this was not done properly because this decision was made in a hurry by the management. We are ready to pay the notice pay as per the employment contract. I have experience handling these kinds of situations.

Keeping your experience in handling such situations apart, the action described has been taken in a very casual way. Whether it is caught red-handed or white-handed without following proper legal procedures, your actions will not stand the test of legal scrutiny. The opportunity for displaying "natural justice" is not present in your case, I presume. It appears there is ample scope to take you to court. Whether you pay the notice or not, you shouldn't be surprised if the court orders reinstatement with back wages and interest. On top of that, you said there is NO evidence. This is crazy. A normal person who lost a job would not stay silent. How long did he serve with you?

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need further assistance.

In such circumstances, such as financial mismanagement, taking bribes, theft, etc., which are considered very serious issues, you may ask the employee concerned to submit his/her resignation. This is the most comfortable way to separate an employee without causing any legal complications in normal cases. Poor performance, I believe, is not a major concern, as there may be certain poor performers in every organization. A few poor performers are also required to support the best performers.

In the event of terminating any employee, you may conduct an inquiry (if they are below the managerial cadre), create documents, and keep all supporting documents to address any potential legal issues at a later stage. You should pay their notice period and retrenchment compensation, which is 15 days' salary for each completed year if you terminate a person. HR jobs are like that. Sometimes they are very pleasant, and sometimes you have to act in this way. Don't worry about anything. You are professionally correct. All the best.

Regards,
Balakrishnan

I appreciate your views and suggestion. The decision is made and cannot be reversed. Management should not be scared of the consequences of taking strong steps. We have all evidence recorded in our IT system. We have followed natural justice as we are paying notice pay in lieu of notice days mentioned in the employment contract. Financial irregularities are serious misconduct, and the company is not liable to pay notice pay against it. He lost his job for his deeds, not us. We have zero tolerance for this. I am not doing this for myself.

You have managed the process well this time. However, please consider setting up the process for Separation. You will find many documents and process flows shared. They can be your point of reference. Before you finalize, validate every step with a lawyer. Operational processes may appear to be simple and transactional, yet they need to remain unchallenged in the court of law.

Wish you all the best!

Thank you, (Cite Contribution), your suggestion is right; I admit this time it was all in a hurry, decided by the management. I have asked the same of management. Now, I am preparing the disciplinary and exit process for the company.

I once again thank you for your valuable input.

If you were caught red-handed, what stopped you from recording the same in writing? You could have obtained a written statement from him stating that "I have done misappropriation of funds due to ________ reason. In the future, I will not do anything wrong that goes against the company and its policies. Hence, I seek sincere apologies for the act I have done." Furthermore, from his section head, one more statement may be obtained stating that his subordinate has been involved in some financial irregularities, which is against the company's norms.

With this simple paper, you could have started creating the records. Furthermore, as advised by Ms. (Cite Contribution), you can start processing the Separation Policy for your company, which will guide you as well as inform others on how and when to process the separation papers.