Start by naming the problem
Deciding when to fire an employee starts with naming the problem. A missed performance standard, bullying and a role the company no longer needs require different responses. Calling all three ‘someone who needs to go’ makes it harder to assess the evidence and choose the right process.
For poor performance, dismissal may become appropriate when support and a fair opportunity to improve have not resolved the problem, and suitable alternatives have been considered. Conduct concerns need investigation and a fair procedure. Acas sets out these expectations for employers in Great Britain, including support and reasonable adjustments where disability is relevant. Acas guidance on capability and conduct.
This is general management guidance. Before starting an employee dismissal process, check the requirements where the employee works with a qualified employment adviser. Being confident about the outcome does not replace the process needed to reach it.
Examine the five situations founders often avoid
These situations deserve attention. Each needs a more specific question before it becomes a dismissal decision.
1. You keep thinking about letting someone go. Write down what keeps bringing you back to that thought. Which commitment was missed? What feedback and support followed? What happened next? A recurring concern is a reason to examine the evidence, not proof that dismissal is justified.
2. Someone’s behaviour is damaging the team. Identify what they actually do: interrupt colleagues, make personal insults or repeatedly withhold information others need. ‘They complain’ is too vague. They may be raising a problem you need to address. Investigate the behaviour and hear their account.
3. Nobody can explain the role’s contribution. Ask what would stop happening if the role disappeared. Customer escalations, billing checks and maintenance can be easy to overlook until they fail. Unclear responsibilities may expose a management problem you need to fix first.
4. The company cannot afford its current structure. Establish which work the business needs and can fund. Redundancy planning concerns that future requirement. Be honest about the financial reason. Do not build a performance case against someone whose work has been satisfactory.
5. A long-serving employee no longer meets the role’s needs. Compare their current work with clear expectations. Check whether responsibilities changed, support disappeared or a different role could work. ‘Lost their drive’ needs evidence. Salary and years served do not explain what is going wrong.
Once you have established the facts and completed the appropriate process, further delay needs a reason. ‘I don’t want an uncomfortable conversation’ does nothing to resolve the performance problem.
Design the remaining business before choosing a cut
If costs need to fall, start with the financial requirement and the work you intend to keep. Asking a manager to ‘cut half the unit’ before examining either can produce a list of names without a business that can still deliver.
Model the savings alongside departure costs, temporary cover and any revenue you could lose. A lower payroll is less useful if customers cannot get support or nobody can deliver the contracts already signed.
For each essential responsibility, name the next owner, the handover required and the date coverage must begin. If an operations lead who manages supplier payments leaves, someone else needs the deadlines and the authority to complete the next payment run.
Also decide what will stop. Giving a smaller team the same commitments, with no change in priorities, leaves the capacity problem unresolved. Temporary or part-time cover can help where agreed and appropriate, but give it a clear scope and end date.
Give managers responsibility without handing them unchecked power
Managers should explain dependencies, contribute evidence and help plan coverage. The founder needs to check that those plans work together across the company.
For redundancies in Great Britain, Acas recommends objective, measurable selection criteria applied consistently. Consultation must happen before final redundancy decisions, with serious consideration of alternatives. Agreement between leaders cannot turn consultation into an announcement of a decision already made. Acas selection guidance, consultation guidance.
For a dismissal in Great Britain, once the appropriate process has led to a decision, explain it directly. Cover the reason, end date, notice arrangements and right to appeal. Give the employee the information in writing. Acas dismissal guidance.
Check whether the new setup works
‘Cut deep once’ does not tell you how much capacity the business needs. Removing too much can create another problem, and you cannot promise that trust or productivity will recover within a fixed number of weeks.
Tell the remaining team what responsibilities have changed, what work has stopped and when you will review the arrangement. Protect the departing employee’s private information. Be honest about uncertainty instead of promising there will never be another change.
Cooperly’s profiles can inform conversations about working preferences, while regular team checks provide context for follow-up. Those signals cannot establish that someone contributes nothing or should be dismissed. Use them to ask better questions, then examine the work and the evidence.