The best advice for firing a subordinate for poor performanceis to do it in person with a companywitness (to avoid he said/she said-type evidence).The real work is in the preparation leading up to it.
When terminating a subordinate or poor work performance, in a perfect world, the manager has engaged in a performance management process that documents the company's efforts to identify the performance problem and assist the worker in reaching or re-reaching the expected performance standard. The typical process usually includes: (1) coaching and counseling – verbally identifying the performance problem and advising the employee on how to improve; (2) written warning – identifying the nature of the performance problem in a written warning that is presented to the employee, along with a written statementof the performance expectation the employee should strive to meet; and (3) a formal performance improvement plan (PIP) which includes a detailed outline of the performance problems, sets the performance standards, identifies the actions the manager will take to assist the under-performing employee, andadvises theworker that if the performance standard is not reached within a proscribed (reaonable) period of time, then discipline"up to and includingtermination" may be taken. It is important to actually tell the employee that their job is at risk so that if a termination occurs, they will not be surprised. It is also importantfor the manager tocheck in and assess the employee on a weekly or bi-weekly basis during the PIP period so that they know if they are on track or not, and have appropriate expectations as the PIP period draws to a close.
Once thecontemporaneous documentation demonstrating that the employer had a legitimate business reason for the termination is in place, and a termination decision has been made, advise the terminated employee of the decision to terminate them in private in a dignified way and (depending on the law of your state) present them with their final paycheck, includingaccrued unused vacation. The rule in California is that you have to pay the final paycheck,including unused vacation, at the time of termination. Ifyou delay thepayment of an accurate final paycheck, then the employer ispenalized one days' wages for every day the employee must wait for the paycheck, up to30 days (which is the equivalent of up to six weeks of pay). If the final paycheck is paid promptly,but it is"short" due to the employer's miscalculation, then the samepenalties applie until the balance is paid (up to 30 days).
P.S. While some people prefer not to give a reason for the termination, if the performance management process has been followed correctly, there is no question what the problem was (as it was already identified in detail inthe written warning and the PIP), and NOT telling the departing employee can often lead them to speculate and wonder if their termination was for a legally impermissible reason. Nobody needs that kind of speculation.
Disclaimer: This post does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
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