Employment termination by an employer normally falls into one of these categories: redundancy, misconduct, or unsatisfactory performance (which may not always be the fault of the employee). The basic principles for dealing with all of these situations are essentially similar. Here are the three fundamental rules for proper employment termination: * Ensure you apply the correct legal procedures for your situation. The process doesn't always begin with the employment termination interview or letter, it can be deemed later to have begun as early as when the employee was first recruited. If termination is due to redundancy you should check with the relevant government department for employment as to the correct procedures and statutory requirements relating to pay and notice periods etc. Liaise as necessary with unions and other interested bodies to understand all of the facts, options and procedures. In the UK as of October 2004 there is a mandatory process for dismissing an employee which is also an example of best practice for other parts of the world in the absence of specific laws: 1. Give your reasons for the proposed dismissal to the employee in writing and give a reasonable period during which to consider the facts and the employee's response 2. Have a meeting with the employee to explain the reasons for the proposed dismissal and give employee the opportunity to explain their position. 3. After the meeting give the employee a decision in writing (whether to proceed with the dismissal or other action), and invite the employee to make an appeal and subsequently attend an appeal meeting. 4. After the appeal meeting the employer has to confirm the appeal decision in writing. 5. A manager with appropriate authority must attend meetings, and meetings must be at reasonable times and places; also the employer must not delay unreasonably any of the stages in this process. * Concentrate on the actual facts of the situation, and the clear quantifiable evidence that you have to support these facts. This requires good record-keeping to be a fundamental part of the process, and thus to also be a part of the management practices of the organisation. * Be scrupulously fair and indeed compassionate. Even in situations involving gross misconduct - remember you are interacting with another human being who probably has their own problems, presumably now made all the worse because their employment is being terminated. They don't require you to start being vindictive or spiteful and nor will any later review process look kindly on any instances of personally directed behaviour in the employer's handing of the case.