Employers: Approaches to termination packages

When I am asked to provide advice on a termination package for  employers concerning an employee that they wish to terminate, my first question obviously revolves the position of the employee that they wish to terminate. There will be varying degrees of approach depending on the seniority and position of the person to be terminated. Executive terminations will not be approached the same way as receptionist terminations.

There are certain approaches that you can take with terminating an employee, depending on how you view things.  You can approach the termination with an attempt to treat the departing employee fairly and with respect, while at the same time reconciling your own competing differences. This is a tactful approach that requires compromise on your behalf. The objective of this approach is to provide the departing employee with fair payment in lieu of notice and to avoid litigation. Another approach is to be more adversarial and minimize the payment in lieu of notice to be paid to the employee.  Normally you would take this approach if there is a lingering issues of cause that the employer will “hang” in the termination letter in order to dissuade the employee from challenging the termination. The problem is that if the employee visits a lawyer this approach nearly always backfires.   Another approach to termination is to develop a termination package ahead of time with the employee. This way both parties know what to expect upon the termination of the employment relationship.   This approach should obviously be done prior to the commencement of the employment relationship. The last approach that I sometimes recommend is to put your best offer out. Make it a fair offer in light of the circumstances. Make it a full offer that encompasses everything to the maximums so that if the employee takes this termination letter to an employment lawyer – that lawyer would not dare challenge it. Make it unchallengeable in that it becomes too much of a cost-risk analysis for the lawyer that they bring it to.

These are some of the theoretic approaches that we sometimes take, depending on the circumstances of the case.

I would strongly recommend that before you terminated any employee you consult with professional employment services in order to avoid litigation issues. Don’t take chances.

If you need to speak to an employment lawyer in Mississauga, an employment lawyer in Oakville, an Employer Lawyer in Milton, an employment lawyer in Burlington, or an employment lawyer in Hamilton please do not hesitate to give us a call at 905-639-8894.

I am not your lawyer. This is not legal advice.