Is it still possible to sack someone quickly?

Charlie Wood, an employment lawyer, explains that business owners can still dismiss ‘bad’ employees quickly provided the right steps are followed.

I was recently contacted by a distraught business owner who’d recruited a key team member a few weeks earlier. Very quickly it had become clear the new recruit was a ‘bad apple’ and it wasn’t working out.

For example, alarm bells rang when they failed to turn up for their first day induction meeting. Over the following weeks, they attended only one of several scheduled meetings, failed to respond to emails and phone calls from teammates and clients; and went absent without leave on numerous occasions.

When their manager was able to make contact, the employee initially provided credible reasons for their behaviour – a missed train, a sick child, illness – and was given the benefit of the doubt. However, after eight weeks of increasingly implausible excuses, the owner decided to take action and seek advice.

Legally exiting an employee

Initially, she contacted an HR consultant who advised her that the matter had to be dealt with very sensitively, that a certain process had to be followed, and that it would take around six months to legally exit the employee.

These were the very reasons the business owner was distraught when she contacted me.

She explained that her company is small and couldn’t afford to ‘carry’ someone who was damaging its service to clients and negatively impacting team morale. She told me that her business is known as being a great place to work and hadn’t had any employment issues in over 30 years of trading.

I was unsure about the advice she had been given.  Of course, due process has to be followed to avoid potential issues further down the line. However, this was a clear case of an employee not working out, still being in their probationary period, and the business needing to consider a short service dismissal.

Swift and robust action

The company was fully within its rights to exit the employee in a swift and robust manner. Given the employee had less than two years’ service and had no protected characteristics (for example, age, race, disability) I advised the company how to carry out the dismissal.

They simply needed to arrange a meeting with the employee, explain the reasons why the relationship wasn’t working out and then dismiss with notice. 

Employment law doesn’t always have to be complicated and in these circumstances, it certainly wasn’t the case that it would take in the region of six months to manage the employee’s exit.

Of course, I would always advise anyone considering a dismissal to take advice beforehand to ensure the right process is being followed.

Employers don’t want to make rash decisions and dismiss employees without giving them a chance – however, at some stage, a business decision does need to be made about whether the employee is suited to the role. 

The client was incredibly relieved and I took her through the steps that were required.  The employee was off the payroll within two days, leaving her free to start the recruitment process again.  On which note …

Recruitment agencies

The employee had been placed through a recruitment agency.  When contacted about the situation,  they showed no interest in helping or intervening and even less in rebating their fee.

When challenged, they insisted that they had taken out references on the recruit and that these were all positive.

Once everything had settled down, the business owner contacted the now ex-employee’s previous two companies.  She discovered that they had experienced identical issues and had nothing positive to say about the individual.

If you appoint a recruitment agency, make sure you fully review their terms and conditions, and either ask to see the references they have taken out or take them out yourself.

Charlie Wood is an associate at legal practice SAS Daniels LLP, where he advises businesses and individuals about a wide range of employment matters. He can be contacted on 07394 563018.