Sometimes you reach a point with an employee where you feel something has to change.

Maybe their performance has been a concern for a while.

There might have been a conduct issue.

The role may have changed as the business has grown.

Or you could be looking at costs, responsibilities or the structure of the team and wondering whether the current setup still makes sense.

When something has been going on for a while, it is understandable to start thinking about the end result.

Do we need to dismiss this person?

Before making that decision, it is worth working out exactly what the problem is.

The next step can look very different depending on what is actually happening.

What Is the Problem You Are Trying to Solve?

You might have an employee who is no longer doing the job to the standard you need.

But there can be a few reasons for that.

They may have the skills but are not applying them consistently.

Perhaps expectations have never been explained properly.

They might need more training or support.

There could be a health issue affecting their ability to do the role.

Or the job itself may have changed considerably since they started.

Those situations may all look like a performance problem at first, but they do not necessarily need the same response.

It can help to ask yourself what has changed, how long it has been going on, whether you have already spoken about it, and what the employee understands the problem to be.

You should also think about whether they have had a reasonable chance to improve or respond, and whether the issue sits with the person, the role, or something changing in the business.

You do not need to put an HR label on the situation immediately.

You do need a good understanding of what has happened before deciding what to do next.

Is It a Performance Issue?

Performance issues can become frustrating, especially when you feel you have already had the same conversation more than once.

That can make dismissal start to feel like the obvious next step.

Depending on the circumstances, there may still be things to look at first.

Acas guidance says employers should normally take steps to support improvement where capability or performance is the concern, with dismissal generally treated as a last resort.

That might mean looking again at expectations, training, support and previous conversations before deciding whether the matter needs to become more formal.

It is also worth checking what has actually been recorded.

You may remember three conversations about the problem.

The employee may remember one fairly informal chat.

If very little has been written down, it can become much harder later to agree on what was said, what needed to improve and what was supposed to happen next.

A simple record can be enough to make the next conversation much easier.

Is It More About Conduct?

Conduct is different.

Perhaps someone has ignored an instruction, behaved inappropriately, repeatedly broken a workplace rule or done something that needs looking into properly.

Here, the issue is more about behaviour than whether they are capable of doing the job.

Try not to decide the outcome before you have heard what happened.

There may be information you do not have yet.

The employee may have an explanation.

And if the situation does need formal disciplinary action, there is a process to follow.

That does not mean every conduct issue needs to become a full formal procedure.

Some things can be dealt with through a straightforward conversation.

The response needs to make sense for what has actually happened.

Could the Role Itself Be Changing?

Sometimes the employee is not really the problem.

The business may simply need something different.

Workloads change.

Responsibilities move between people.

Technology changes how a job is done.

Two roles begin to overlap.

A team may need to be organised differently.

Or the business may no longer need the same amount or type of work.

If that is what is happening, you may be looking at a restructuring or redundancy situation rather than a performance or conduct issue.

That is worth getting right from the beginning.

If the concern is really an employee’s performance, calling it a redundancy will not make it one.

Equally, if the role genuinely needs to change or disappear, approaching the situation as though the employee has done something wrong can make an already difficult conversation harder.

Start with what is changing in the business and what you actually need the role to look like.

Are There Other Options?

Once a situation has been going on for a while, it can start to feel as though there are only two options: the employee stays, or they leave.

There may be other sensible routes to look at first.

Depending on the circumstances, that could mean:

• additional support or training
• clearer expectations
• an improvement plan
• changes to duties
• another suitable role
• changes to how the work is organised
• a wider restructure
• an agreed change to terms
• moving into a more formal capability or disciplinary process

Not every option will be suitable every time.

Looking at the alternatives does not mean putting the decision off. It gives you a better chance of choosing an approach that fits what is actually happening.

Changes to contractual terms need particular care.

Dismissal and re-engagement, sometimes referred to as fire and rehire, should not be treated as a quick way around a difficult conversation or a lack of agreement. There is specific guidance around how employers should approach it, so it is sensible to take advice before going down that route.

What Has Already Happened?

Before moving towards dismissal, take a look back at the situation so far.

Think about what conversations have already happened, what the employee was told, whether anything was agreed and whether expectations or timescales were made clear.

It is also worth checking what has been written down and whether similar situations have been handled in broadly the same way before.

This is where useful records really earn their keep.

They help you remember what was discussed and what was agreed.

They also make follow-up conversations much easier because everyone has something to refer back to.

You do not need to create a formal document every time somebody has a difficult day at work.

But if the same problem keeps coming up, expectations are being set or decisions are becoming more serious, writing down the key points is usually worthwhile.

Before You Make the Decision

Sometimes dismissal will be the right outcome.

But it should come after you have understood what has happened, rather than being the place you start.

Look back at what has already been discussed.

Think about what the real problem is.

Check whether there is another realistic option.

And make sure the approach you are taking actually fits the situation in front of you.

If you are unsure whether you are dealing with performance, conduct, redundancy, restructuring or something else, it is often easier to talk it through before a decision has already been made.

Paul can help you work through what is happening and what the next step might need to be.