Employee who if a former friend

[Phoenix2000]

I hired a young woman a few months ago who had no relevant prior experience. The recruitment process was not fully objective: I prepared the entry test specifically for her and ultimately hired her because she had been my brother’s girlfriend for over two years. Supporting my brother and pleasing him was the sole reason for this decision.
From a professional perspective, she is performing reasonably well. While there is room for improvement, her work is generally acceptable. However, the personal situation has changed significantly. She recently broke up with my brother quite abruptly, and he is now in a very fragile mental state. I am genuinely concerned about his health.
During their relationship, she appeared to influence him negatively. She spoke badly about the mother of his young child, made very harsh comments about the child himself, and also said negative things about my mother, although I do not know to what extent. It seemed to me that once she decided she no longer wanted the relationship, she cut him off completely.
In my interactions with her, she has generally been polite and even kind. She organized a birthday party for me, gave me small gifts, and behaved respectfully. However, I no longer feel I can fully trust her. At one point, she also spoke negatively about my brother at a social gathering, which further affected my perception of her.
As a result, I am uncomfortable continuing to work with her. She is still on probation, and the quality criteria in her role are not particularly high. Choosing not to extend her contract might seem harsh, especially since her professional performance is not poor. I am also unsure whether her behavior reflects bad intentions or simply emotional immaturity or awkwardness.
Many people advise me to assess her purely on professional grounds, but I am concerned that a single negative comment from her could damage me professionally. Additionally, if something serious were to happen to my brother, I know I would find it very difficult not to hold her responsible.

You hired someone and created a role for them based on the fact they were dating your brother?

If you fire her (don't pass her probation) because her relationship with your brother had ended, that would be completely unacceptable and immoral.

Hiring her because she was in a relationship with your brother was also wrong, but that's the situation you created and you know what they say about two wrongs...

If her work or her conduct or her professional conduct are not up to standard then that is a different matter.

Is this a business that you own, or are you a hiring manager for a company?

I have to say, whichever it is, your whole approach to this has been extremely unprofessional.

I certainly don't think you should terminate her contract because she's split from your brother. She's allowed to break up with him for any reason or none.

If her work isn't up to standard, then treat this as you would any other employee and go through your normal competency processes.

She is also not responsible for anything that might happen to your brother after they've broken up. His mental health isn't her responsibility any more. You say she influenced him negatively - surely, then, it's a good thing that they have parted ways?

You seem to want your cake and eat it, in more ways than one.

Ultimately, you're now reaping what you've sown - nepotism has its downsides, hopefully you will learn from this.

You are not competent to by hiring or managing staff. Everything in your OP is completely unprofessional and unethical.

you should pass her line management onto a colleague who can treat this woman fairly

This should reflect unprofessionally on you.

You fixed the system to get your brother’s partner a job. It turns out she’s actually competent at that job, professional and kind to you. You can’t now just end her probation because she ended the relationship with your brother. It’s time for you to act professionally and put your personal feelings to the side.

She is not responsible for your brother’s mental health. He is. As his family, support him to get some help but he needs to take the steps himself.

Her job is unrelated to her relationship status. Don’t fire her and be professional about things.

I agree with PPs, but putting that aside, I would be more concerned that terminating her contract might lead to her complaining about your management of her and it coming to light about your personal relationship, which would look very bad for you.

I think you need to distance yourself by handing over line management to someone else and staying well clear of trying to influence any decisions regarding her or her performance. I would also suggest undertaking some training and some hard self-reflection about your decisions and line management to date.

You need to let someone else make this decision you have already crossed so many professional boundaries.

you should also check your own maturity levels hiring someone to please your brother and then trying to fire them as they are no longer dating is really immature

Hoping this is a business you own and not one that employs you, as you are the one not fit to be in your job.

Harsh? Possibly, but true nonetheless.

You've made one mistake- hiring her on favourable conditions during the interview process. Don't make a second mistake. Be professional, manage in accordance with expectations and dont end ger probation when she is performing well!!

Looks like you having zero professional boundaries is now biting you on the arse.

She broke up with your brother and now he is badmouthing her. Do you baby your brother? If a relationship is not working out she has every right to break with him. The fact that he is upset is neither here nor there. It happens. I don’t see how any of this has to do with her job. You are acting like a teenager op.

Let's say she had problems with the police at some point, has some dark past I have learned about recently and my brother has been defending her all the time. Including now. So I am trying to assess professionally the situation now, not from personal pespective.
She was recommended by someone, like other people have been recommended as well and hired as well.

Legally she currently has no unfair dismissal rights, unless she could claim/prove you dismissed her due to disability, sex, pregnancy etc.

You made a massive mistake. Personally, I would let her go and give her 12 weeks paid in lieu of notice as compensation.

Number 1 rule in future ... employ who you think is the best person for the job.

What an absolute disastrous situation . You have to separate your brother’s mental state from this.

I think paying her off might be the best solution.

It’s not what I would do though as she’s performing her job reasonably well and is polite and kind. I would keep her as an employee. She has t done anything that she deserves to be fired for.

All she has done is broken up with your brother, talked about him negatively at a social event and said some things (that you didn’t hear personally) about your mother, nephew and the nephews mother.

Of course she has cut him off after the relationship ended. Did you expect her to keep him in her life…maybe in case she was fired for dumping him.

Not quite, you said yourself that you prepared the entry test specifically for her because you wanted to please your brother.

You have zero concept of professional behaviour.

And of course, you did a DBS check didn’t you.

I do not know why she was arrested, maybe it was a mistake. True, this is subjective and cannot be used against her, I only know the person who recommended her spent a night waiting on her outside. Anyway, it was a mistake to help her with the test, although she was actually approved by two other hiring managers afterwards during an interview. Mistake is a mistake. Now I am trying to understand what to do,but I guess, no matter if she has ruined several people's lives or not, I only have to check her performance and nothing else.

Is it your own company?

If other people were involved in the hiring then why can’t they make a decision about the firing?

treat her as if she were any random joe bloggs. would you fire him for the things shes done wrong or not done when asked or whatever? No? well dont fire her. Yes? Then fire her. Ultimately you need to remain professional and rise above petty family drama. You need to justify your actions to others so remain professional. forget she even knows your brother and forget heresay as it’s irrelevant to her work.