He needs to be terminated...do I have cause?

Here's a crazy tale: An employee can get drunk at a party, knock out a client and drive into a co-worker's vehicle as he is fleeing the scene.  In addition to that, you can have multiple witnesses and you still don't have cause UNLESS...

1.) You have a record of repeated behavior (written, with his/her signature agreeing to past behavior and the consequences of it - a good rule of thumb is at least 3 written warnings)

2.) You have offered him "help" for alcoholism and he has denied treatment (in writing)

3.) You have a policy that outlines expected behavior at events and the consequences of behavior

And even then, a judge may see it differently. Ugh.

You can take your chances and still let the employee go with cause. However, the minute he or she goes to a lawyer, they will come back and state that you not only need to provide minimum notice in terms of termination pay, you also need to provide additional monies.  It can then escalate into hourly invoices from lawyers and depending if you come to an agreement or not, court (and more hourly lawyer invoices).

So what should you do?

I would not want an employee who shows no control to be a representative of my company either.  That said, here is the simplest thing to do:

A.) Make sure your employment agreements have a termination clause that outlines you can terminate for any reason by providing termination pay (which is at minimum the provincial standards, but could be more)

B.) Terminate the employee without cause, which means you do not specify why you are letting the employee go. All you need to say is, "Your services are no longer required."

C.) Provide the amount stipulated in the employment agreement. At the very least, it needs to meet the minimum standards in each province.

In Alberta it looks like this:

• one week - for employment of more than three months, but less than two years
• two weeks - for employment of two years, but less than four years,
• four weeks - for employment of four years, but less than six years,
• five weeks - for employment of six years, but less than eight years,
• six weeks - for employment of eight years, but less than 10 years, and
• eight weeks - for employment of 10 years or more.

Depending on the province you are in, this changes. So be sure to make sure your employment agreements reflect the right termination clause dependent on the province.

Now all of this said, the employee may be entitled to more based on age, position, how easy it would be to find an additional position etc. Therefore, a common practice is to add an additional amount called "Severance Pay". This is up to each organization what amount they would want to add, but common practice is double. That said, you are not required by law to offer anything.

Once again, I'm not a lawyer.

But I've been there - in these exact situations, mulitple times. If you create an internal process and follow it consistently, you protect yourself. If you choose to go down the path of straight termination with cause, and provide no notice to the employee, you've had fair warning, and should expect a call from a lawyer.

Sure, some employees do not have any idea what their rights are - but it just takes one that does.

http://www.elevatedhr.com/