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Should I offer my employee a severance package if I might already have grounds to fire him?
Anonymous3 views2 answers
I'm pretty sure my employee is lying on his timecards in 15-30 minute increments. I was already preparing to offer a severance package because performance was mediocre and he was bringing other employees off-task and undermining my policies by putting me down to his coworkers, but I was also trying to document everything so I knew I'd been clear about expectations and that I was not just a bad boss. Now that I know he's lying/stealing, I'm worried he'll be vindictive. Should I offer the package to just be done/smooth out problems or would I lose the opportunity to fight a potential unemployment claim or wrongful termination claim if I don't tell him I know he's been lying? I really want the fastest solution but also don't want to set myself up for a bigger problem.
Ronald Robert ShepherdPersonal Injury LawyerMeridian, ID ·
You should most definitely formally document that your employee is padding his time and retain any evidence of that. If you release him with a severance package he could still possibly apply for an receive unemployment. If you terminate him for misconduct he would likely not be eligible for unemployment. The most important thing to do is document, document, document and keep good records and retain evidence of the conduct that supports your basis for terminating the employee. Whether or not you have an written or oral employment contract and/or a written employee handbook/policy manual and, if so, what they say should also be considered before making a final decision regarding how best to handle the termination of this employee's employment.
Best of luck.
Matthew Ace JohnsonState, Local, and Municipal Law AttorneyNampa, ID ·
Definitely continue to gather and track any information/evidence of the employee's misconduct. However, you will need to weigh a number of benefits and risks in choosing between these options you've suggested. There are a number of other relevant factors that come into play as well, such as the employment situation with this employee and any personnel policies and/or employment contracts. A consultation with an employment attorney would be a wise investment to identify and review the additional relevant factors to help you weigh the decision against what it is you really want to accomplish. That consultation should also help you better identify the financial impact to your business of the options (taking into account issues such as unemployment). It would also be wise for you to hire the attorney so they can at assist you in drafting the severance package (if you go that way) to make sure it protects your interest.
