How to Stop a Former Employee from Misrepresenting Your Company: Seeking Advice and Warning Notice Content

Please let me have your expert views and solutions for the following case:

Issue with Former Employee Representing the Company

We terminated Mr. S in June 2013, yet he continues to represent the company in the field and projects himself as an employee to the vendors. He is accepting orders and sending them to his line manager as well.

Seeking Advice on Communication Strategy

In this scenario, please advise on how to make him understand that his services have been terminated and that he should not continue to represent the company to anyone.

Request for Warning Notice Content

Can we send him a warning notice? If so, it would be greatly appreciated if someone could provide me with the content of such a notice.

Many thanks!!!

Regards,
Deepali

What does "He is also accepting all the orders and sending orders to his line manager as well" mean? Don't you have any official email ID to take orders? If yes, how can a terminated employee use an official email ID to accept the orders?

Handling Post-Termination Misrepresentation

Please provide me with your expert views and solutions for the following case:

We terminated Mr. S in June 2013, but he continues to represent the company in the field, projecting himself as still being an employee to vendors. He is accepting orders and sending them to his line manager as well.

In this scenario, please advise on how to communicate to him that his services have been terminated and that he should not represent the company to anyone.

Is it appropriate to send him a warning notice? If so, could someone provide me with the content of such a notice?

Thank you in advance!

Regards,
Deepali

Steps to Ensure Proper Termination Process

When we terminate an employee or when an employee resigns, we ensure the following on the last working day:

1. Ask the employee to return all business cards.
2. Request the employee to hand over any company property such as manuals, project information, Excel sheets, company ID card, etc. If the company has provided a mobile phone, that should also be returned. If the person uses only the company's SIM card, it should be handed over as well.
3. Instruct the IT team to change the passwords for any email accounts to which the employee had access. Some companies block the email account, while others change the password to inform clients of a new email address.
4. Provide the termination/relieving letter.

If you believe you have completed the termination process correctly and the terminated employee is still misusing company data, provide a written reminder of the company's separation policy and the consequences for violating it.

Thank you.

Your organization will be well advised to issue a public notice through leading newspapers to inform all concerned that "Mr. So and So is no longer working with us and anyone dealing with him will do so at his/her own risk and consequences."

You may also issue a warning to your staff who are accepting and processing the orders obtained by the said person and passed on to them.

Regards,
U K Munshi

Also, you will need to inform all customers (and new ones if you get orders through him) that this particular employee has been terminated and they should not deal with him. Make sure they are given the contact number of the other employee who has taken over the territory from him. You also need to check if any customer has made payments to him which you have not received.

This is not a desirable option. Just because a company has surplus money to splurge on publishing public notices in newspapers, it does not mean that they should indulge in an act amounting to maligning a person. Would it be OK if an aggrieved employee names the company in a public or online forum, or if he has the money to put up a notice in newspapers that he has left the company?

Warm regards.

Effectiveness of Advertisements in Public Notices

A related question on the effectiveness of this medium I will ask is: Does anyone read or bother with such adverts? Do the concerned customers read them? I do not remember reading any such advert in the last 5 years. Of the ones I read years back, I don't think I remembered the name after 10 minutes...

There are some circumstances under which it is required by law. But this is not one of those. Instead, an individual letter/email to each customer would be better. By the way, why would the employee continue getting you orders after termination?

Dear Deepali,

It is strange that the ex-employee is diligently "accepting all the orders and sending orders to his line manager as well"; such services gratis is a rare phenomenon. Perhaps the company is not interested in his orders and is devising a commission/incentive plan as an off-roll entity.

Recommended Actions

The best option under such circumstances would be to send internal emails to the parties concerned in his territory/field, who have prior dealings with the company or from whom orders have been received. Indicate the change in the sales/marketing department and the contact details of the new person who has been assigned the responsibility.

Take it as a positive opportunity for customer relationship and service. You can draft your mail in the following manner:

"Dear XYZ (firm's name),

It gives us great pleasure to have been associated with you for quite a long time. Over the years of our relationship, we have tried our best to serve you by ............

We are happy to announce that we have made some changes in order to serve you better.

From now onwards, Mr. ......... (designation).... (contact details).. shall look after all your requirements ............. He will be the single point of contact for all your dealings with the company ......

We look forward to......"

Being vindictive towards an ex-employee will not serve any useful purpose for the company - apart from giving the message (in case of a public notice) of how vengeful the company is - it does not even spare its ex-employees.

Warm regards.

Public Notice for Safeguarding Organizational Interests

Public notice is essential to safeguard the interests of the organization. One does not have to use derogatory language in the notice; you need not explain the reasons. Simply state that he/she no longer represents you. A mere notice does not amount to maligning. It also does not matter if anyone reads it or not, but if the company is dragged to court by someone due to some misdemeanour of the ex-employee, a public notice will be the best evidence to disown any liability.

I am sure you are aware that such notices are equally advisable (and may be mandatory) in case one wants to have a court marriage or even for changing one's name.

Regards,
U K Munshi

I agree to the extent mentioned by you—to indemnify the company in case of any litigation or claim. Accordingly, the language should be drafted as such—polite, formal, and for informative purposes only.

You'll agree that many of such notices that one comes across are in a language that indicates as if the ex-employee is a convict-at-large or has committed a massive fraud or swindled the company. Under such circumstances, forget about getting another job; it is difficult for the employee to even face his family or friends.

Warm regards.

It's vague to me that he was terminated and is still sending your team projects from customers. If he is contacting your clients, he could direct those orders elsewhere for his benefit. I second Sawasta Banerjee's point about the payment. Why would he still continue to serve his ex-employer for no gains? Unless he is trying to revive his employment contract with your firm. Is there any reason why he would do this? Please speak to him and hear him out. High-handedness might not be required if you get to know his reason for being so persistent.

A new offer is difficult to land when someone becomes unemployed. You can always issue a notice and warning once you understand his reason in the first place. Wish you all the best!

Do you think putting a public notice protects or absolves you? This is a market where you have to cater to your customers. If a customer claims to have paid your former employee because they didn't know he had left and no one from the company informed them, do you think your having put an advertisement in the newspaper is going to help? You may win a court case on that ground, but the customer is not going to pay you. Plus, you will lose all future sales unless you are lucky to have a monopoly product. So, I still say, not a public notice but an individual intimation to each customer would be required.