Chapter 15 - Employee Seperation Flashcards
Define employee relations and employee engagement.
Employee engagement is a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption. Organizational factors such as senior leadership, opportunities for learning and development, and company image and reputation are the primary influencers of engagement. Outcomes of employee engagement include improvements in recruiting, retention, turnover, individual productivity, customer service, and customer loyalty, as well as growth in operating margins and increased profit margins and revenue growth rates.
** Explain the costs associated with employee turnover ***
Turnover can be very costly for the organization. The costs can be organized into four distinct categories:
separation costs: separation interview, administration, separation or severance pay
vacancy costs:temporary workers, overtime, loss of sales due to vacancy
replacement costs:recruiting/hiring replacement
training costs:for replacement/formal & informal training
** Explain the concept of progressive discipline.
The principle of progressive discipline indicates that employers must have a clear policy in place for workplace violations, which increases penalties for repeated violations, and that to be legally defensible, that policy must be consistently applied and clearly communicated.
Examples of steps in progressive discipline
1. Oral warning 2. Written warning 3. Suspension 4. Demotion and/or transfer 5. Discharge
Analyze three core legal risks associated with involuntary turnover via layoffs.
A decision made by an employer: Dismissal or layoff
Employees who are dismissed without just cause must be provided with reasonable notice. This means paying them for several weeks or months in addition to the legally required notice period on termination. Failure to provide this can result in differing perspectives on how much reasonable notice the employee is entitled to, and this confusion can result in an employee-initiated lawsuit.
Additionally, if an employee feels that the manner in which the downsizing was executed or the decisions used were unfair, they may file a lawsuit for bad-faith damages.
If the judicial system feels that the manner in which the termination was conducted significantly violated the employer–employee relationship or was negative for the employee, additional punitive damages may be awarded.
Describe how risks from wrongful dismissal lawsuits can be minimized.
While employees have the ability to initiate wrongful dismissal lawsuits on their own accord, organizations can take a few steps to reduce their exposure to wrongful dismissal lawsuits. This includes establishing clear rules and regulations for just-cause dismissals, avoiding claims of for-cause dismissal when no cause exists, mediating potential lawsuits, and reviewing claims carefully.
***** Explain the six steps in the termination interview.
PGD LRI
1) Plan the interview
2) Get to the point
3) Describe the situation briefly
4) Listen
5) Review all elements of the severance package
6) Identify the next step
*** quitting
Voluntary, employee-initiated resignation.
procedural justice
Fairness of the process used to make a decision.
layoff
The temporary withdrawal of employment to workers for economic or business reasons.
employee opinion surveys
Communication devices that use questionnaires to ask for employees’ opinions about the company, management, and work life.
** constructive dismissal
When the employer makes unilateral changes in the employment contract that are unacceptable to the employee, even though the employee has not been formally terminated.
insubordination
Wilful disregard or disobedience of the boss’ authority or legitimate orders; criticizing the boss in public.
interactional justice
Fairness in interpersonal interactions, treating others with dignity and respect.
employee engagement
The emotional and intellectual involvement of employees in their work, such as intensity, focus, and involvement in his or her job and organization.
** What is involuntary turnover? What are reasons for it?
Employer-initiated termination of employment, such as dismissal or layoff.
Reasons for involuntary turnover: > unacceptable job performance > economic/financial pressures > new strategic direction > should be fair, after all reasonable steps taken to rehabilitate employment relationship through discipline have failed***
phased retirement
Potential retirees gradually reduce the number of hours worked per week over time.
preretirement counselling
Counselling provided to employees some months (or even years) before retirement, which covers such matters as benefits advice, second careers, and so on.
bad-faith damages
Reserved for extreme circumstances in which the employers was untruthful, misleading, or unduly insensitive to the employee in the course of a dismissal.
downsizing
Refers to an intentional decision made by executives within the organization that involves a reduction of the workforce to improve efficiency or effectiveness of the organization by affecting the work process. Often, the term “layoff” is used to define downsizing in research and organizations.
distributive justice
Fairness of a decision outcome.
punitive damage
Reserved for malicious or outrageous cases in which an employer engages in harsh and vindictive treatment of an employee, or if the employee suffered undue distress from not being given adequate notice of termination.
turnover
The termination of an individual’s employment with an organization.
termination interview
The interview in which an employee is informed of the fact that he or she has been dismissed.
wrongful dismissal
An employee dismissal that does not comply with the law or does not comply with a written or implied contractual arrangement.
dismissal for just cause
Involuntary termination of an employee’s employment.
Dismissal for just cause allows employers to terminate employment of individuals who fail to meet organizational requirements or abide by workplace expectations.
retirees on call
A program where retirees can continue to work on a part-time or as-needed basis post-retirement.
** What is voluntary turnover? What are reasons for it to occur?
Employee-initiated termination of employment, such as quits, retirement, or resignation.
Reasons for voluntary turnover: > Bad hiring practices > Lack of recognition, compensation > Difficult managerial style > Toxic workplace > “Shocks” play huge role in process
reasonable notice legislation
Laws that require an employer to notify employees in the event that they decide to terminate employees through layoffs (i.e., no just cause). Minimum notice varies on size of the layoffs, with smaller layoffs determining minimum notice based on employee tenure and mass layoffs determining minimum notice based on total layoff size.
fair treatment
Reflects concrete actions, such as “employees are treated with respect” and “employees are treated fairly.”
** dismissal for just cause
An employer-initiated termination based on an employee’s poor behaviours; in these situations, no severance, reasonable notice periods, or additional payments beyond what the employee has already earned are owed.
** What the three foundations of a fair and just disciplinary process? What are the possible outcomes?
1) Rules and regulations: clear expectations of acceptable behavior
2) Progressive discipline: warning, suspension, termination
3) Appeals process: allow employee to present case
> Employee development
Employee resentment
Perceived violation of implied contract.
Employee separation (voluntary or involuntary).
Employee withdrawal (psychological or physical).
Bystander (co-worker) reactions.
** What are some Common Performance Deficiencies
Absenteeism Tardiness Poor attitude/insubordination Poor task performance Poor contextual performance
