Please talk slowly..

[wheresmyhat]

If you employ someone and they are not performing how do you "get rid of them'. ie what is the terminology. I am really confused - well myself and my husband. Don't live in UK and feel like I have lost touch. Husband self-employed with some employees in UK that are not working out- not performing - slightly taking the piss it seems. Or can anyone direct me to a website that is in plain english. He wants to find a whole new team but from memory you cabn't make someone redundant if you are going to replace them. Thank you fellow MNers in advance!

I'm really sorry but I can't advise you for free wheresmyhat as you would be someone I would want as a client!

But try Businesslink if you haven't already for some reasonable advice on employing people. Do be extremely sure you know exactly what you are doing before terminating anyone's employment though, you will be very vulnerable and must be really careful.

Thank you Flowery - he's at the end of his tether - and I am desperatley trying to help (and make him believe in MN!)

Wheresmyhat,

Just to add to what Flowery has said, the rules will vary depending upon how long the employees have been with you (a termination in the first year is easier than afterwards)and how many employees are affected. It does sound like you need some professional help.

If you get it wrong, you can be liable for the employee's full financial losses (i.e. pay until they find another job), plus up to 50% for not following the right process. This is generally capped by law at £63,000, but that is only really applicable for high earners, as most people will be out of work less than a year, so won't get anywhere near that level.

wheresmyhat MN is full of brilliant and high quality advice but it isn't what you need this time I'm afraid.

The reason you can't find a plain English guide to 'how to get rid of someone' anywhere on the internet is because it doesn't exist. It is possible to get rid of virtually anyone, as long as you do it right. How easy that is varies hugely. A large proportion of employers who are taken to tribunal for unfair dismissal end up there not because they couldn't dismiss the person in question, but because they didn't do it right. Not always the case, obviously, but often.

The best/least risky/cheapest/quickest way of terminating someone's employment depends on so many variables that you are not going to find anyone worth their salt giving generic advice on how to do it over the internet, and if you did it would be so full of disclaimers and caveats it wouldn't be advice worth following.

I'm sorry I can't get your DH to believe in MN this time!

What Flowery said!

However, I hope that my comments about the general rules of compensation give you some ideas about why it might be worth spending money on professional advice. As you can see, it can be a false economy not to. In the long run, a professional will almost always pay their way.