Dilemma over Firing an Employee
Owning and managing a business means wearing many different hats. But there comes a time when human resources issues should be outsourced to a knowledgeable HR expert. Among the trickiest issues to navigate and get right is terminating someone’s employment. It’s a dilemma that was faced by David Holland, the CEO and founder of Exela, a company that helps small businesses use technology to drive their business forward and succeed.
Prior to connecting with Gap HR, David had been handling the HR side of things with contract templates he had written, been given or downloaded from the internet. But when it came to letting an employee go he knew he needed some expert assistance.
“I was having a bit of difficulty with it and I needed advice on what to do and how to handle that situation.
“The person was a salesperson and whether he was resigning or being fired was unclear. He wasn’t meeting performance targets and a conversation was being had around a renegotiation of how much I actually owed him. A car allowance was the biggest issue.”
David fired the employee who then went to an employment tribunal. It was at this point that he engaged Gap HR to clarify his legal obligations.
“They told me quite frankly what to do and what I was liable for. ‘Do exactly this and it will all be settled. You do have some money to pay, so just pay it and move on rather than let it drag out’”. David followed the advice and the matter was resolved quickly.
Following this episode, he decided to enlist Gap HR’s help to instil proper HR processes and procedures. “You get to a certain point as a business where you just don’t want hassle. And if the quantity of people that you’ve got associated with the business is big enough, the probability is that you are going to get some hassle somewhere along the lines from one of the individuals. Now, if it’s all taken care of I don’t need to think about it.”
Gap HR reviewed and re-did all of Exela’s contracts of employment and wrote a 140-page employment handbook which is available for all members of staff to consult whenever they want to. Since the issue with the former employee, David has also turned to Gap HR to draw up contracts of employment for two apprentices and for advice on how to handle absenteeism. He knows that help is only a phone call or email away.
“Compliant HR services is not something that is a phenomenal gain to the business but what it does for a business owner is take away worry, stress and potential issues. It just mitigates the risk. It means that there is someone there who has done the work that I would never have got round to doing, and it’s all taken care of. So it’s very, very reassuring.”
David Holland
CEO & Founder – Exela