Termination of employment

Involuntary termination

The classic definition of terminating someone's employment is being fired, or in technical terms involuntary termination. In the workplace, an employee may be fired for many reasons:

    * Work performance that fails to meet a given standard, especially over a period of time.

    * Chronic absence.

    * Constant or gross insubordination, or other inability to properly relate (i.e., get along) with co-workers and/or customers.

    * Inappropriate conduct or misconduct.

    * Engaging in illegal activities on the job (such as embezzlement).

    * Any other failing as deemed appropriate by a workplace manager or supervisor.

In the United States, most states have adopted the at-will employment contract that allows the employer to dismiss employees without having to provide any of the reasons listed above.

In some cases, an employee's off-the-job behavior could result in his losing his/her job (e.g., a drunk driving arrest, especially if the employee's principal responsibilities require driving). At some businesses, a security officer may escort a "fired" employee from the workplace to the parking lot upon his/her dismissal.

Synonyms for being "fired" include sacked, released, discharged, and dismissed, and coloquially canned or axed. One euphemism for being terminated is being let go.

Effects of termination

Rarely is a decision to fire an employee arrived at lightly, or is it as dramatic as portrayed on television (such as with the WWE, when Vince McMahon "fires" an employee as part of a storyline) or in the movies.

Depending on the jurisdiction, a supervisor and/or workplace manager must keep extensive documentation of employees — including records of disciplinary action, evaluations, attendance records, and correspondence from supervisors, co-workers and customers. Often, these items can be used in determining whether to terminate an employee considered for such an action. In some cases, certain disciplinary records, evaluations and relevant information must be expunged from the employee's file after a specified time period.

Often, an involuntary termination is part of a "progressive step" process, meaning the employee will have been warned for his/her work performance and/or conduct and given an opportunity to improve before more severe measures are taken. However, immediate termination may be enacted for severe cases, such as fighting, on-the-job sexual harassment or other zero tolerance offenses. Often, workplace managers require giving an employee due process, giving the worker a chance to show why he/she should be allowed to keep his/her job; they may also be required to give a terminated employee the option to appeal his/her firing.

In addition to the risks and resulting consequences involved with involuntary terminations, there is the matter of unemployment benefits. In the United States, these benefits are financed by companies; a firm's unemployment costs increase with each worker laid off or fired. Therefore, more common are de facto firings, which are classified as "voluntary" termination.

To be fired (or any of its synonyms), as opposed to being laid off, is generally thought to be dishonorable and a sign of failure. In some cases, it may hinder the now job-seeker's chances of finding new employment, particularly if he/she has been fired several times. However, in today's society, getting fired is also highly common. Most Americans will be fired at some time in their life and not always because of any moral failing or lack of a work ethic.

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