But don't make the firing effective until you can give the worker his check. However, when these fail, realize you may have to terminate the employee involved. If you don't have the power to change the small business's "no inform" policy, how can you still give a former coworker a reference without getting into trouble? He never gets a merit raise or a promotion.

If you don't know how to use escalating discipline or how to write a proper lay off notice, you need a copy of my book, "Employee termination guidebook." You can get it at my website: If this makes them angry, let them sue. And every court in the land recognizes the right of employers to fire for business needs. In other words, the way you dismiss the employee is much more important than the reason you layoff him. (This is rare by the way, so you don't need to be too cautious.) More importantly, don't say anything which may embarrass the jobholder when he hears about it later. In addition, you won't worry about a unlawful lay off suit blind-siding you and costing you and your small business a bundle. Knowing which reasons are improper is the key to avoiding a illegal dismissal suit. Just get your facts straight and create good solid evidence on why you fired the jobholder. In drafting the worker written warning, describe, in detail, why you are writing the notification. Go through the dismissal notification with emphasis on items in the discontinuance package. In other words, having a good severance package to offer a departing worker moves Hr into the realm of PR, making the effort put into the package all the more worthwhile.