If you find yourself in one of the below situations, I urge you NOT to resign but to first speak with someone about your options. You do not have to wait until you have been fired to take action.

Here are some signs that your JOB MAY BE IN DANGER!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Have you recently received a performance warning? Was the performance warning for something that was previously considered inconsequential and/or are you being disciplined for something that others are also known to be doing but they are not also being given a warning? When performance warnings are given inconsistently, it may be a sign that the company is making a written record to terminate you.

• Have you recently received a bad performance review and or been placed on a performance improvement plan or performance action plan and given a certain number of days to try to improve your performance? At times, even long time employees, are suddenly placed on performance plans, or for the first time in their career they are given a poor performance warning. This is a sign that your employer may be looking to terminate your employment rather than assist you in improving your performance. As you will see in these documents, the metrics are generally impossible to achieve.

• Have you been placed on a special project? Special projects when offered to employees and not alongside an employee’s regular role may mean that there may not be another “special project” to place you on after the project has been completed and your regular role may have been given to someone else. At the end of the special project, without a new project and without your old position, there is likely no option but to terminate your employment.

• Have you been excluded from meetings, events, emails, communications? Being excluded from even a few of these could mean that you are being kept out of the loop for a reason. If you are feeling ostracized it is more than likely that this is not just a feeling and there may be a basis for this feeling of uneasiness. Valuable employees that are going to be kept on, are kept close by, so that they don’t seek employment elsewhere. Usually when an employee is being excluded by management, it is because that person may know the employee is on the list for termination and the manager may be uncomfortable with the person being in the meetings and/or not sharing the decision with the employee until the manager gets the green light to do so.

• Has there been a change in control or are you working for a new manager? Has the organization been purchased or a a new executive staff, manager been brought in to oversee your department or role. Did two companies merge and now there are two people doing the same job? A change in control, merger, or new manager may mean that the new regime may want to bring in or retain their own people. This leads to possible redundancy and your position could be terminated as a result.

• Are there rumors of layoffs or a restructuring? Have you been kept in the loop as to the selection process. Are you told that your team is okay but you know there are cuts being made throughout the organization? It is possible, even if you are assured otherwise, that your position is the one that is being terminated especially if people do not want to discuss the upcoming layoffs with you where previously you would be integrally involved in the discussions.

• Have you made complaints of discrimination, impropriety, workplace misconduct, bullying, etc.? If you were recently involved in starting or participating in a workplace investigation your role may also be in jeopardy. While employers are not to retaliate against employees who speak out or engage in these processes, it is possible that an employer will try to include you in a large layoff or place you on a performance improvement plan a few months after you voiced your concerns.

To understand your rights and options and/or to obtain guidance on how/if you should take any action, contact Sheree Donath at sheree@donathlaw.com or by clicking here.

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