Very often an employee is fired from their job without any notice. The employee is told to pack up their belongings and to leave effective immediately. At times, the employee is not even able to return to their workspace to obtain their personal items but is marched out of the door with or without security accompanying the employee. While the employee may not have done anything improper, the immediate dismissal appears to others inside and outside of the workplace as if the employee committed some kind of misconduct warranting the immediate termination.

For employees who are being terminated without any notice, there are certain questions that should be raised at the time of the termination or immediately afterward. Some of these items include, among others:

(a) what reason for my termination will be told to my colleagues?

(b) what will be told to outside vendors, suppliers, customers, clients, etc. that I have been working with about my departure?

(c) will I have an opportunity to say goodbye to my colleagues?

(d) can I assist in sending a departure announcement to my colleagues?

(e) what will be told to prospective employers who contact you for a reference?

(f) why am I being terminated without any notice?

(g) will there be a message put on my email or will my email be forwarded to someone else for response?

These are a few key components to raise in your termination meeting or shortly afterward. These questions, among others, are important, because your reputation is important. If you do not find out the answers to these questions, it is possible that people will assume your immediate termination was due to some wrongdoing that you were apart of and that inaccurate assumption may follow you when you are looking for new employment. Rumors are spread quickly in the workplace. Because of this it is important for employee’s to take proactive measures to halt them, so that they do not have to take steps to try to defeat them.

If you have recently been fired and want to understand your rights and whether you were fired improperly or illegally, contact Sheree@Donathlaw.com to schedule a consultation.