As an employer, you must conduct employee investigations before termination proceedings can begin. This is because failure do employee investigations before termination proceedings can lead to lengthy legal battles – and you might find yourself on the losing end.

Why are employee investigations before termination so important?

Conducting extensive employee investigations before termination is so important because a court can use all of your documentation, or lack thereof, if your employee decides to file a wrongful termination suit. If you do not have enough documentation or properly recorded documentation, you can not build a strong case to back up your termination decision. Remember, it is up to you to prove your case. Without the evidence documentation provides, you will have a difficult time doing this. As a result, you might find yourself paying damage charges or stuck with an employee that you don’t want to keep on board – or both.

How do I conduct employee investigations before termination?

Employee investigations before termination should be a team effort among supervisors. If you are a small business owner, you might be the only supervisor. If you are a Human Resources Manager, on the other hand, this responsibility may rest on your shoulders as well as on the shoulders of the other supervisors in your company.

Regardless of whom is in charge of supervising the employee, everyone responsible must be aware of proper documentation procedures. These procedures include documenting any problems that may have taken place with the employee. This should include a description of the incident that took place, the date it occurred, and the disciplinary action you or your supervisors took. As part of this documentation, you should have the employee sign paperwork showing that he or she read the report. If the employee refuses to sign it, have another supervisor sign pointing out that he or she witnessed your discussion with the employee.

What if I think there is a problem with an employee but can’t “catch him” in the act?

You may believe an employee is doing something against the rules or that puts him or other employees in danger, but have not been able to witness the employee engaging in these actions. If this is the case, you may need to hire an investigator. However sometimes you can handle the situation yourself. For example you might suspect the employee is taking drugs so you can have him or her take a drug test. To prevent having discrimination charges brought against you, however, you must give all of your employees a test. If the problem is a workmen’s compensation issue or a safety issue, you might have to hire someone to keep an eye on the employee and record his or her unscrupulous actions. Regardless of the problem, extensive employee investigations before termination are necessary if you hope to keep yourself free from legal troubles.

Terminating employees better and faster