We have seemingly developed a culture of allowing major workplace infractions to go unresolved without consequences for those responsible.

Employees and other subordinates seem able to do anything without fear of reprisal. Terminating an employee’s services, we agree, is a matter that must be handled with great care and respect for the person involved. There must be just cause to terminate an individual, as everyone needs fair closure to these chapters in their lives, and a platform on which to rebuild and move forward. Here are some globally accepted reasons for terminating an employee’s services:

• Poor work performance. This may include failure to meet deadlines; incompetence with assigned tasks; poor communication skills; and many other performance-based issues.

• Misconduct. This includes, but is not limited to, a wide range of unethical and unprofessional behaviour, including sexual harassment; rude and inappropriate behaviour with clients; and stealing from the employer (time and resources).

• Dangerous behaviour. Violence and the threat of violence; carrying of dangerous weapons; drug abuse and other similar infractions fall into this category of misconduct.

• Refusing to follow instructions. Insubordination seems to be rampant, as employees feel it is their duty to set their leaders ‘straight’. An outright refusal to follow a lawful directive from the leader is worthy of termination.

• No further need for the position (redundancy). Oftent, in a downsizing effort, individuals will lose their jobs by virtue of the shrinking economy, sector or the company.

While these may be widely accepted as fair reasons to terminate employees, issues often arise when employers fail to write termination leetters for employees who engage in this unscrupulous behaviour.

Major problems arise from the failure to act responsibly in releasing employees when it is warranted. The first, and most crucial, perhaps being the precedence set when you allow one employee to get away with it: All others now have license.

We also seem to validate incorrect behaviour, even in the offending worker, and may have to make amendments in the employee code of conduct policy manual when we allow some behaviours to be tolerated.

While our cultural mindset is fixed on not taking bread from people’s mouths, sometimes circumstances require us to take the ultimate step of removing employees from our companies in order to grow the organisation.

• NB: Ian R. Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.