Many of you may worry for Sherry. The firing of workers is an unpleasant task for any manager. See Tool #4 in the jobholder Separation Toolkit for a separation settlement template you can use. This will make the dismissal much less painful, since you are showing a personal vote of confidence in the jobholder (and showing the firing is due to financial issues rather than productivity). You must have this package ready for the jobholder during the lay off meeting. The firing is not a personal attack, but just a way to keep the well oiled machine that is your small business running smooth. The form includes prior warnings and the final incident which led to the layoff. Terminating a worker should be done with compassion and with the business in mind. o A separation contract you expect the jobholder to sign when accepting an increased severance package - Typically, a jobholder has 3 weeks to sign-up for this package. Or, if you can't dismiss for political reasons or the potential cost is too high, find an alternative to termination you can live with. You seldom want to layoff an older employee just because she's old. Since she failed to tell her employer the circumstances, the firm did not know the jobholder was covered under FMLA.

You also attended classes given by the business at no charge to you on topics of time management and effective department skills yet your productivity has not improved. Why prolong the agony of the business and the worker by conducting an exit interview? You should inform everyone you and the management team take sole responsibility for the company's decline and the layoffs. Our offer of extra severance benefits expires on [Frequently 3 weeks from date of notification.] To get these extra benefits, please sign and return the agreement to me by this date.