You should also have at least two more people sign the agreement as witnesses and as representatives of the company. And since you had to go into the past to "get him," your "real" reason for terminating should be an improper one. If you're negotiating with the employee, be aware an attorney is likely coaching her behind the scenes. In this article, I discuss 3 issues which can hold a business owner back from separating a disgruntled worker. In that event, you must be ready to follow good procedures for dismissal. Even if you have a standard written package, using it to dismiss specific personnel can get complicated. At the end of the termination meeting, the form should be complete and both parties should fully understand why the firing occurred. It is important to remember a court can use this memorandum as legal proof in the future, so it is important to draft a copy and have someone else in the personnel organization review it. With the sue-happy nation we live in, it is easy for a terminated at will employee to bring a case against you and claim that you had no real ground for layoff. If the behavior remains poor, then it's time for formal progressive discipline that will probably lead to the problem individual's layoff. Here the failure of the jobholder to follow instructions leads to endangerment of the employee, their coworkers or the boss. If you don't know how to use escalating discipline or how to write a proper layoff memorandum, you need a copy of my book, "Employee termination guidebook." You can get it at my website:

How to lay off Employee Workforce Under Contract. Instead of scheduling a meeting room, you should schedule a conference call which you, your witness and the jobholder can attend. Every company should have set ground rules and guidelines, and every employee should have a hard copy which discusses offenses that may result in immediate suspension or termination.