Many organizational changes fail or are delayed because of the anchor-draggers or those who, for one reason or another, resist the new vision. Terminating these employees’ contracts can also be a daunting task and the consequences that may result from firing someone (legal or otherwise) often deters managers from heading down that path even though it may need to be done.  This is a valid concern especially when we know that tens of thousands of wrongful dismissal cases are heard by related tribunals every year.

Wrongful dismissal is a situation in which an employee`s contract of employment has been terminated by the employer in a way that breaches one or more terms of the contract of employment, or a statute provision in employment law. In order for managers to avoid such cases, proper procedure must be followed, and this is where the exit strategy helps a great deal. 

It is very important that the employee in question is given a fair chance to change. The exit strategy is essentially a set of disciplinary procedures which prepare for an employee to be terminated with little-to-no legal consequences for the company. In other words, if followed properly, an exit strategy protects the employer when letting an employee go. The exit strategy consists of the following steps:

• The employee in question must be informed of his or her shortcomings/performance issues verbally with a deadline to improve the situation (usually 1-2 weeks).  If no improvement is made by the deadline,
• A written warning is issued to the employee to follow up on the verbal warning.  The written warning should explain the reasons for warning again and a new deadline for improvement and what that improvement entails should be outlined.  This written warning should also be read to and signed by the employee, and should be witnessed by another supervisor.  If the deadline as outlined in this first written warning is not met,
• A second written warning explaining detailing the expectations going forward and the probable consequences of not meeting the said expectations.  This written warning should also be read to and signed by the employee, and should be witnessed by another supervisor.  If the deadline as outlined in this second written warning is not met,
• A third and final written warning is issued reminding the employee of:
  the previous three warnings and the reasons for them,
  the employees failure to meet the expectations and
  that the situation is very serious and that if these expectations are not met within one week, the company will have no choice but to terminate the employee’s contract. This final written warning should also be read to and signed by the employee, and should be witnessed by another supervisor.  If the deadline as outlined in this third and final written warning is not met,
• A termination of the employees’ contract is issued outlining the reasons and explaining the employee’s rights to severance if there are any.

If implemented properly, an exit strategy gives an employer legal peace of mind and at the same time, gives employees the opportunity to grow and better themselves without losing their jobs at the first sign of a problem.