The Best Day To Discharge An Employee

Let me make it very clear, I do not enjoy firing employees. The whole process is very distasteful. As we all know however, it is necessary at times to let people go for rule violations such as theft, history of bad performance, or chronic absenteeism. Should you strategize the best day to release someone? The answer depends upon the situation. At times, it is necessary to take swift action and release an employee (after investigation) almost immediately. What about other situations where you have some time to plan how and when to release an employee?

When time is not a critical factor, I very much am in favor of Friday releases. Why? If you take action early in the week, those employees remaining will talk about what happened all week long. Rumors will fly. Others will think that they are next. A general feeling of uneasiness will permeate the workforce. If you take action on late Friday afternoon, many employees will be gone for the weekend and you have built an automatic cushion (Saturday and Sunday) against rumor formation and unproductive discussion.

One word of caution. Mix it up at times. If you have a lot of releases, don't make Friday the dreaded (and predictable) chopping block day. If you are like most organizations, you have very few discharges and they are spread out over the year. Friday will be your best day! You will still find it distasteful but it is your best option.

If you need some advice on almost any HR matter from experienced HR professionals, call us. We can help!