As a mother of a three year old, I rarely get out to the theaters to see an adult movie. In fact, if one were to review my ticket stubs they would find The Princess and the Frog and How to Train a Dragon (in 3D of course)! On occasion, my husband and I get a movie date night at home. Given that part of my job at Midwest Staffing Group Inc. is consulting with clients about avoiding legal risks in terminating employees, Up in the Air was a natural choice for a rare movie night.

In case you haven't seen it, the movie's about Ryan Bingham, a character played by George Clooney. Bingham is a professional outside terminator who travels around the US letting employees go. He spends the majority of his time in airports and remote US cities while earning frequent traveler perks. All of this changes when Natalie a recent college grad, played by played by Anna Kendrick joins the company. She has an idea to decrease extensive travel costs by doing terminations by video. She's assigned to go on an in-person tour with Bingham to see how terminating is done live, to improve her video product.

Throughout the movie, we see numerous firing scenes where some employees cry, others are angry and others are shocked. In my experience in HR, this is quite true to life. Overall, the movies about more than the painful duty of ending someone's job, it focuses on the “human aspect” of the termination. For nearly all companies, termination is still very much a part of their business. Up in the Air highlights not only the legal but the human risks associated with terminating employees. The movie reminds us of some key aspects to keep in mind when terminating an employee:

  1. Pre-termination Planning- ensure you are aware of the risks before hiring and throughout the course of employment.
  2. Begin before Hiring- Employment applications should provide an opportunity for applicants to fully disclose their past work history and reserve the right to terminate an employee for falsifying information. Secondly, the standards for working at your company should be made clear during the interviewing process and upon hire to avoid any surprises. Lastly, your employee handbook should have language that clearly states your companies at will employment policy. If the position requires a written employment contract, ensure that it is appropriate for the position.
  3. Decision to terminate- If a manager decides that an employee should be terminated, this decision should be reviewed by at least one person before the final decision is made. The review should look at all of the facts leading up to the decision along with a review of the employees file.
  4. Letting the employee know- Telling an employee they are terminated is never an easy job as the movie demonstrated. Usually the employee’s manager and a HR representative will attend the meeting. The meeting should be prepared for in advance and focus on the facts including the decision to terminate, reasons supporting the decision, the date the decision is in effect, review COBRA and any other relevant separation information, a review of any non-competes, policies on references, and informing the employee who they can contact with any issues.
  5. After the termination- the employer should prepare a brief explanation about why the employee is no longer with the organization to avoid rumors. Any reference requests should be dealt with in accordance to your organizations policies and procedures.
  6. Be aware of the legal challenges- An employer should be aware of several legal challenges with terminations including but not limited to contractual claims, tort claims, claims of constructive discharge, and claims based on federal state and local legislation. Prior to the termination, the employer should have reviewed the termination case for any red flags that might arise with the termination.

As in the movie, terminating an employee is never a simple task and it’s something that every manager and HR professional should take seriously. While it’s important to follow the steps in the process, I have also learned that it’s just as important to not remove the “human” out of human resources and be aware you are dealing with a person, not just a number.