Introduction

The best way to lay off employees is to see if there is another way of recapping the  losses before taking such a drastic move. The economy is panaramic with companies laying off thousands of workers at a time with no word as to the state that these laid off employees find themselves in.

Seek Other Alternatives Unless Poor Performance or Poor Attendance is a Factor

President Barack Obama during his speech before Congress spoke of an executive who gave his bonus of sixty million dollars to save companies who were about to lay off their employees. President Barack Obama also spoke of how his $787 Billion recovery plan has already started working and saved sixty workers in Michigan. Of course your company is not as sizable as the United States but there are easier ways to lay off employees and try to keep them on board.

There was a recent report of one principal asking employees to sacrifice one day of pay for the year until the economy improved instead of laying off workers. His innovative way of retaining employees worked and the employees were happy not to lose their coworkers to the rolls of the unemployed.

Most of the state and local offices are now permitting employees to work a four day week to save budgetary requirements that is allowing for less people to be laid off from work. With the governors busy with repairing their economies, most of them stayed on the five to seven day work week.

Be Honest With the Employee and Tell the Employee in Private

If none of these layoff actions are an option for your company and employees, it is always best to be honest with the employees weeks before the actual lay offs. The announcements of the pending layoffs should be public but the individual layoff notifications definitely should be in private. Let the employees knows the departments that will be effected. Those employees effected will be provided with unemployment benefits that has been extended because of President Barack Obama's recovery package. The recovery plan will increase the weekly unemployment benefits as well.

Fairness is Important When Laying Off Employees to Avoid an Unfair Labor Practice Infringement

To deter conversations and unfounded rumors around the water cooler about the layoffs, make sure that the employees are aware that the layoffs will be done in a fair manner with guidelines from the Human Resource Office. To keep the employees who are going to stay onboard, let them know that the company is still viable and is not going out of business. Executives should speak with the employees that is to stay on board in privacy as well.

The First Line Supervisor Should Speak to the Effected Employee of the HR Practices

By the time the layoff conversations get to top executive level, human resource practices and principles should be in place by the first line supervisor. The effected employee should understand the position of the company why he is being laid off. Because of the open communication policy concerning the layoffs, the employees at this stage of the layoff should gently be transitioned into the company's support system. Severance pay and guidance to the unemployement benefits until work is again available should be explained to the effected employee.

How to Lay Off An Employee at Fault of His Own Cause

Companies have different policies if the employee had to be laid off as a fault of his own. Reasons for layoff other then the economic status of the company include excessive tardiness, excessive absentism, unbecoming behavior and lack of a good job performance. Use the company policy in these cases that is of no fault of the company's economic status.