Casual Legal: Tips for termination meetings
DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information to Alberta Municipalities members only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated. This content is not intended for the general public.
By Lauren Chalaturnyk
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider
Both council and administration will, at some point, be faced with the difficult task of having to terminate an employee. One of the key parts of the process is the termination meeting.
These meetings can be emotional and challenging, but there are certain key practices which employers can use to ensure that the meeting is carried out in an effective and supportive manner, which will help the employer mitigate against any risk of a termination being found to have been conducted in bad faith.
Termination meetings should always be carried out in private without interruptions. The person with the power to hire and fire employees should be present and the immediate supervisor should also be present. While there should be at least two management personnel present at the meeting, employers should avoid a situation where they could be seen to be “ganging up” on an employee.
Shortly after the meeting starts, the employee should be clearly told they are being terminated. The employee can be told, as simply and succinctly as possible, the reasons for termination (e.g., business reasons, change in direction, elimination of position). Employers should avoid providing lengthy reasons for the termination or arguing with the employee about what has transpired. If the employee is being provided with severance pay, then they should be told the terms of the severance payment and given any termination documentation. The meeting itself should be short and focused.
The employee should be directed to return any municipal property once the meeting ends. If they have municipal property outside the office, then arrangements should be made to have it picked up, delivered, or dropped off at the earliest opportunity. Employees should be accompanied to a vehicle or offered assistance to get home, recognizing that termination meetings can be emotional and the employee may require assistance.
After the employee’s termination has been processed, other municipal staff should be informed that the employee no longer works for the municipality. Confidentiality of the process should also be maintained.
Where council is dealing with the termination of a Chief Administrative Officer, additional attention needs to be given to the requirements under the Municipal Government Act, including the possibility that the CAO may request a hearing before the termination can be finalized.
If these processes are followed, the employer can help to mitigate against the risk of additional liability flowing from a termination and can more appropriately address the emotional impact of a termination on an employee.
To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1-800-661-7673 or casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (email) to reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please call 310-MUNI (6864) or riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (email) to connect with Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.
