Impending Layoff

[DavidA]

... That would throw a big wrench in what you could and could not do. You have to protect yourself and the business.

Its sad that, in this situation, those are the steps needed to protect yourself and your business. It is a stressful time and then add the bad news of losing a job on top of that and who knows how this employee may react. Even trust worthy people may prove themselves otherwise under this kind of pressure.

 

[benaround]

I really care about this guy and his family, this is really tearing me up.

Yet, you will be able to look him in the eye for the next 6 days knowing you are going to

lay him off, and not say a word to him about it ?

I have an idea, tell him first thing tomorrow morning, then he will have 6 days to get a job

and maybe not have to lose a weeks pay, that would be 'caring' for a person and their

family.

Everyone wants a better world, as long as they don't have to partisapate. jmo.

 

[BAHTAH]

Friday is the day

Friday is the day

Well, being a small shop I had not had to deal with this. Our budget indicates I am going to have to lay off a journeyman that works with me. I find that I have to make cuts to my salary and this layoff is the only way I can make the numbers work for the next 3 months. I really care about this guy and his family. Do I tell him immediately even though I am waiting till Monday which is 6 days away for the actual termination or do I just drop it on him Monday? This one is really tearing me up.

If your employee is a good journeyman then he probably already knows since he may be reading these postings. Our company always lays off or terminates employment on Friday because if the employee has a grivence he has until Monday to cool down. We have even helped former employees get their contractors license so they can be in the same boat as the rest of us.

 

[BigMac333]

Layoffs suck!!

Layoffs suck!!

I too, just recently got laid-off. 15 years with this company and started as a friend, which later I realized is hard to do so cut that to a minimum. I knew it was coming just didn't know when. This was a large shop, non-union, 40+ guys most of the time, and they trusted me enough to let me know on Tues. that come Fri. it would be the last day. How much do you trust this guy?

 

[petersonra]

Do it Friday afternoon, well before normal quitting time, and pay him for the rest of the day.

He has to know work is in short supply, and so do the other employees.

You have to worry about the effect on them as well, and letting him come to work for a partial Monday just to be laid off seems pointless and cruel if it is not necessary.

 

[SparknMike]

Something I haven't heard anyone talk about is the other employees.

Do you think he will be quiet for the next week? Do you really want someone who is facing a difficult time ahead to be sharing their downward spiral with the other employees? It will hit the other employees hard enough without having to face it daily. It is important that the people that are left in the company are in the best spirits to continue business.

Telling him early assumes he has integrity and will not do something immoral or illegal. I have had to clean up the problems created by outgoing employees, it isn't fun. All of these employees were good people but lacked restraint knowing there could be no repercussions for their actions. My SOP now is when an employee is aware they are leaving the company in the near future they are made aware that their last day will be the planned day or the first day they start causing trouble. So far I haven't had any problems since creating this policy, and everyone has understood by the time I finished explaining why the policy exists.

If you really trust him then tell him now and give him the benefit of the extra time. That should come with an explanation that he isn't to tell anyone. A small severance package (maybe a week) could be used to give him an incentive to play by the rules.

 

[augie47]

magictolight....
everything go o.k. ?

 

[jmellc]

I agree in some cases to wait til Friday, for the slowdown and theft reasons. That can be legit with guys you don't know very well or haven't had with you for long. This guy has been with you and been part of your ups and downs. I would tell him asap so he can start calling around and conserving his money. I've been hit with a few layoffs and I'd like to know ASAP. If a boss is straight with me, I'll work as hard for him the last days as I did the first. And I won't pilfer him. I may need him again, he may need me again. And, I have to sleep at night.

 

[Article 90.1]

Two other thoughts. One, when I used to work on a lot of big projects, we would know when there were going to be layoffs. I think that management used this to keep everyone straight, those who didn't care slacked off anyway. Those that did care made sure they kept their noses clean.

Two, in thinking deeply about the OP's situation, how about this (this may be a bit late, though). "Bill, you have been with us a long time and you have been a good team player, we appreciate it, we have looked at our 6 month outlook and there is just no way that we can keep you on the payroll. Bill, this decision has not been easy for me, but Friday will be your last day. Do you have any creative ideas of how we can keep you on, are there any projects coming up that you know about, that we may be able to go after...?"

Well, the wording didn't come out the way I had meant it, but the idea is, see if the employee is interested in helping to be a solution to the lack of work. You never know who they know and what ideas you might be able to dream up. If I had an employee that I had no work for, but didn't want to loose or starve, I'd ask him if he was willing to cut lawns, paint, or whatever (while on payroll) to keep him going. I'd also ask the employee if they were willing to reduce their work hours as a temporary approach; some people would rather work 30 hours a week, then collect UI.

So how did it all turn out? Based on your demeanor on this forum I'm going to assume that you both acted like gentlemen and that the employee understood.