When firing a worker, make every possible effort to maintain the employee’s dignity. It’s natural for a person being fired to feel resentment toward you and your business. Everything you do should be designed to minimize, as much as possible, this natural resentment. There are several reasons why this is to your benefit:

• It’s not good for your business reputation to have ex-employees speaking poorly of you and your business. If customers think that you treat your employees unfairly, they might think that you'll do the same to them.
• You'll also want to avoid, as much as you can, the possibility that a disgruntled ex-employee might sue you. Most lawsuits in this area are filed because of the employee’s feelings, not because the facts of the case are particularly strong. If you can soften the blow to the person’s ego, or at least keep from making it worse, your odds of being sued go down dramatically.
• Finally, some fired employees become so distraught that they threaten to harm (or actually do harm) their former boss, coworkers, or the business. Treating workers as humanely as possible minimizes the chance that this might happen to you.

If you need to fire or lay off someone, it should always be done face-to-face in a termination meeting, never by letter or over the phone.

Who should conduct the meeting? In general, the supervisor, manager, or owner who is most familiar with the employee and the reasons for the discharge should conduct the meeting. In many cases, that will be you. If you aren't the immediate supervisor, let him or her handle the meeting.

Who should be at the meeting? In addition to you (or the supervisor) and the worker who’s being fired, there are situations where you may want a third party to attend the meeting. If the person being terminated requests a witness, it’s probably best that you allow this, so that the person doesn't feel that he or she is being railroaded out the door unfairly. But explain that the person is there as an observer only, not to act as a representative or to argue on behalf of the worker.

You may also want to have a witness present if trouble is expected or if an objective third person is needed. However, a second company representative is sometimes seen as an attempt to gang up on the terminated employee. Use your own judgment in this regard.

Where to conduct the meeting? You'll want to conduct the meeting out of sight and earshot of any other employees, in a quiet place where you won't be interrupted. The meeting room should be in a location that doesn't alert other people to what’s taking place. Many advisors suggest that meetings be held on neutral ground, not in your office, and not in the departing worker’s office or workplace.

Privacy and neutral territory may be difficult to find in a small business, so consider holding the meeting in a nearby restaurant or coffee shop. Holding the meeting in a quiet public place has other advantages: it may be easier to avoid emotional outbursts on anyone’s part, and it will be easy for you to end the meeting by getting up and walking away (after picking up the tab, of course).

When to hold the meeting? Early in the day and early in the week are generally considered the best times to terminate an employee. Avoid Fridays and the day before a holiday or vacation. An employee who is let go on a Friday has two days to brood about his or her treatment by the company and to look for ways to retaliate.

In contrast, discharging a person early in the week provides an opportunity to focus on the future and begin looking for a new job right away. Also, the person who’s doing the firing won't have to leave for the weekend with the bad memory of a distasteful task on his or her mind.

For similar reasons, the discharge should be conducted early in the day. People are fresher, more rested, and better equipped to deal with adversity and stress earlier in the day. People tend to be tired and short-tempered later in the day, which may increase the chance for an unpleasant reaction to bad news. Also, discharging earlier in the day allows you to get back into the work routine and overcome any unwarranted guilt that may exist for having to fire an employee.

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