Chapter 15

One union alleged that a death threat made by an employee to his supervisor was:

"mild insubordination."

Predictors of voluntary turnover:

(1) low organizational commitment (2) low role clarity (3) low tenure (4) high role conflict (5) low overall job satisfaction.

Layoff occurs where three conditions are present:

(1) there is no work available for the employees (2) management expects the no-work situation to be temporary and probably short term. (3) management intends to recall the employees when work is again available.

Employee Opinion Surveys

Communication devices that use questionnaires to ask for employees' opinions about the company, management, and work life.

Pre-retirement counselling

Counselling provided to employees some months (or even years) before retirement, which covers such matters as benefits advice, second careers, and so on.

What is a disciplinary action for chronic lateness?

Dismissal

Voluntary Turnover

Employee-initiated termination of employment, such as quits, retirement, or resignation.

Involuntary Turnover

Employer-initiated termination of employment, such as dismissal or layoff.

Phased Retirement

Potential retirees gradually reduce the number of hours worked per week over time.

Downsizing

Refers to an intentional decision made by executives within the organization that involves a reduction of the workforce to improve efficiency or effectiveness of the organization by affecting the work process. Often the term layoff is used to define downsizing in research and organizations.

"Bad-faith Conduct"

Reserved for extreme circumstances in which the employers was untruthful, misleading, or unduly insensitive to the employee in the course of a dismissal.

Punitive Damages

Reserved for malicious or outrageous cases in which an employer engages in harsh and vindictive treatment of an employee, or if the employee suffered undue distress from not being given adequate notice of termination.

Termination Interview

The interview in which an employee is informed of the fact that he or she has been dismissed.

Layoff

The temporary withdrawal of employment to workers for economic or business reasons.

Turnover

The termination of an individual's employment with an organization.

Constructive Dismissal

When the employer makes unilateral changes in the employment contract that are unacceptable to the employee, even though the employee has not been formally terminated.

Insubordination

Wilful disregard or disobedience of the boss' authority or legitimate orders; criticizing the boss in public.

A rule of thumb some organizations follow for reasonable notice is:

about three to four weeks per year of service.

What does the work-sharing program do?

allows employers to reduce the workweek by one to three days, and employees can claim employment insurance for the time not worked.

Layoffs that involve unionized employees are almost always:

based on seniority or conditions outlined in the collective bargaining agreement.

The most common changes in employment status that are considered to constitute constructive dismissal are:

demotion, reduction in pay and benefits, forced resignation, forced early retirement, forced transfer, and changes in job duties and responsibilities.

Often, departing employees migrate to competing firms and create situations where their knowledge, skills, and abilities developed within the firm can be used to ______ the firm.

disadvantage

The most common reason for turnover is?

downsizing or restructuring activity, followed by a desire to find new challenges, then ineffective leadership

Training Costs

formal and informal training (including the performance differential between employees exiting the organization and their replacements).

The amount of notice varies by jurisdiction and with the number of employees being terminated, but it generally ranges ______.

from 6 to 18 weeks.

The construction industry and consumer services industries typically have the _______ in Canada.

highest turnover levels

Canadian employers can only terminate an employee's employment without reasonable notice________.

if just cause exists

Punitive damages should only apply:

in exceptional cases with wrongful acts by the employer that are truly malicious and outrageous.

Often, the amount of notice considered reasonable when an employer decides to terminate the employment relationship:

is beyond the minimum notice requirements of employment/labour standards legislation.

Distributive Justice

refers to the fairness and justice of the outcome of a decision (Would a comparable employee have the same outcome related to the employee separation?).

Procedural Justice

refers to the fairness of the process (Is the process my company uses to make decisions about terminations or employee separations fair?).

A fair and just disciplinary process is based on three foundations:

rules and regulations progressive discipline appeals process

Four main components associated with the cost of the turnover:

separation costs vacancy costs replacement costs training costs

A wrongful dismissal accusation is one in which the terminated employee contends that the employer:

terminated the employment relationship in violation of relevant law (based on age, gender or other protected grounds) the contract of employment (implied or explicit) the employer's own dismissal procedures

Separation Costs

the cost of exit interviews, administrative functions associated with the turnover, and separation or severance pay.

Replacement Costs

the cost of recruiting and hiring a replacement to fill the vacant position (including the cost of interviews, testing, administrative expenses, travel/moving expenses, and so on).

One of the challenges associated with the retirement of employees, from an organizational standpoint, is:

the difficulty in predicting when employees will retire.

What is one of the biggest strategic challenges of voluntary turnover?

the lack of managerial control

Vacancy Costs

the net savings or cost incurred of increased overtime, the use of temporary workers, and the loss of sales associated with the vacancy.

When a large group of employees are terminated via a mass layoff, the length of reasonable notice is based on:

the number of employees laid off, rather than the length of time that the employee has been with the organization.

Bad-faith damages apply:

to only the most extreme conduct and that damages should not be provided by extending the notice period but by compensation for actual damages suffered by the employee.

The jurisdiction's specific Employment Standards Act may provide information regarding notice of voluntary turnover:

under the Ontario ESA employees with less than two years of employment with the same employer are required to provide at least one week of notice when quitting; while those with more than two years of employment with the same employer must provide at least two weeks' notice when quitting)

Employee dismissal and downsizing are two of the most common situations in which employees perceive that they are treated ______.

unfairly

Dismissed for just cause

An employer-initiated termination based on an employee's poor behaviours; in these situations, no severance, reasonable notice periods, or additional payments beyond what the employee has already earned are owed.

Rarely have notice periods exceeded:

24 months

The average age of retirement for public sector employees is:

60 years

The average age of retirement for private sector employees;

62 years

Retirees on call

A program where retirees can continue to work on a part-time or as-needed basis post-retirement.

What is are some alternatives to a layoff?

A voluntary reduction in pay, where all employees agree to reductions in their pay to keep everyone working. Other employers arrange to have all or most of their employees accumulate their vacation time and to concentrate their vacations during slow periods.

Wrongful Dismissal

An employee dismissal that does not comply with the law or does not comply with a written or implied contractual arrangement.

Interactional Justice

Fairness in interpersonal interactions, treating others with dignity and respect.

Lawsuits are rare and often limited to:

Fiduciary employees (those employed in positions of implicit trust)

When terminating an employee employers should:

Have clear termination clauses written in the employment contracts Use a formal resignation letter and the termination meeting should be private, have two members of management present, and include a procedure for allowing the employee to collect his or her belongings in the least disruptive manner.

How could wrongful dismissal lawsuits be avoided?

If effective human resource practices treated employees fairly.

Reasonable Notice Legislation

Laws that require an employer to notify employees in the event that they decide to terminate employees through layoffs (i.e., no just cause). Minimum notice varies on size of the layoffs, with smaller layoffs determining minimum notice based on employee tenure and mass layoffs determining minimum notice based on total layoff size.