As part of his work in employment law, Daniel Chammas is able to provide advice to clients on how to terminate employee contracts lawfully so they are not at risk of being sued for their decisions. This is an area where many employers struggle, not least because the laws surrounding the area are complex and constantly evolving. This means you need to have a watertight process in place that ensures all employee termination are lawful and carried out under a set structure that is applied throughout the company. The following are some useful tips to ensure this is the case.
Plan The Logistics Before terminating an employee you need to have a plan in place to ensure the process is conducted in a way that ensures the former employee maintains dignity. You will have to decide on where and when you want to conduct the process, in addition to putting great thought into how you are going to go about doing it. Ideally you will think of this in advance, so try to stay in the mindset that there is the possibility that you may have to terminate the contracts of any of your employees at any time so you are always prepared. Most importantly, your decisions in this regard should match company policy. Prepare Yourself Emotionally The emotional issues caused by an employee termination should not be underestimated. It is possible that the employee may react in a number of ways, often because of denial or refusal to accept the termination. Furthermore, the encounter can also take an emotional toll on the person delivering the news. As such, it is best to maintain a consistent tone to the meeting and containing any feelings that you may have about the decision to terminate the employee’s contract. Keep things professional and go by the book to ensure terminated employees are not left with the impression that their terminations are the result of anything other than purely professional reasons. Give Clear Explanations You will be expected to explain the reasoning behind the termination during the meeting, so it is crucial that you are prepared for this. Make sure that every point you make is backed by company documentation. In some cases you may need to guide employees through complex legal language in this documentation and you must be clear and concise when explaining from when the termination is in effect, if there will be severance pay, how much and any other important details. Review After the meeting you should take a moment to review. Consider areas where you could have done better and make a note of them to ensure you conduct the process as effectively as possible in the future. Remember that you can learn from everything that happened during the process. Daniel Chammas is an experienced attorney who specializes in employment law. Daniel Chammas is an experienced litigator who currently plies his trade as a partner with Ford Harrison, which is a boutique law firm specializing in national employment law in the United States. He has experience with jury trials and has demonstrated his abilities on a number of occasions, including a trial that dealt with the alleged misclassification of exempt supervisors. There are a number of techniques that can work well during jury trials and others that will cause the jury to disengage from what you have to say, offering the advantage to your opposition. If you are a new trial attorney, try to keep these pointers in mind to experience success.
Watch The Jury The jury will react to what you have to say, no matter how subtly. This should be obvious to even novice trial attorneys, but it is something that many tend to forget, especially when they are caught up in the heat of the moment. You will want to keep an eye on the jury at every point of the trial, but it is especially important when questioning witnesses. Here you will be looking for reactions to your line of questioning and the responses you have invoked, all of which can be used to determine the direction you take the case in later on. Structure Your Evidence In your opening statement to the jury you will have made a number of key points that you aim to prove or disprove. These points will likely be what stays in each jurors head whenever you start speaking and it is important that everything you do in the trial is aimed towards reinforcing those points. This means you need to structure your evidence, tying each piece into one of your main points. Remember that jurors have to take in an awful lot of information during the average trial, so being able to tie it all together means what you have to say will be easier to digest. Avoid Irrelevant Testimony The more complex the case the more relevant each piece of testimony needs to be. Fatigue will play a factor in jury trials and you may find that focusing too much on testimony that is not relevant to the points you are trying to make can make your jury disengage. Furthermore, most juries will want to do good jobs and justify the responsibility that has been placed in their hands. You may prevent them from doing this by tying them up in information that is not relevant. Project Confidence The moment you start showing signs that you are nervous is the moment that you lose the jury. Work on your body language so you can keep it under control. Stay cool and collected at all times and you may emulate the success of attorneys like Daniel Chammas. |
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