Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2011

Firing at Will

A Manager's Guide

Apress

Authors:

  • Gives managers, employers, and business owners the tools they need for the riskiest of workplace decisions.

  • Helps companies lower the chances of ending up in court—and increase the likelihood of winning if they do.

  • Teaches people how to have "gruntled" employees whom you won't need to fire, instead of disgruntled ones who are most likely to sue.

  • Author is a prominent blogger and well-known in the industry.

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 37.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (18 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xviii
  2. The Risks of Firing

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. “At Will” Is Alive and Well

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 3-11
    3. The Freedom to Fire

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 13-20
    4. Risky Business

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 21-32
    5. The 30 Riskiest Employees to Fire

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 33-46
  3. The Whys and Hows of Firing

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 47-47
    2. Why Me?

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 49-60
    3. How to Fire an Employee

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 61-79
    4. Retained Dignity

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 81-92
    5. The Paper Trail

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 93-106
    6. Second Chances & PIPs

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 107-117
    7. Sign of the Times

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 119-126
  4. The Worst- Case Scenario

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 127-127
    2. Discrimination Cases Part I

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 129-144
    3. Discrimination Cases Part 2

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 145-158
    4. A Big Payday

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 159-167
    5. He Said, She Said

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 169-177
  5. Lowering Your Risks

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 178-178
    2. Lawyering Up

      • Jay Shepherd
      Pages 181-195

About this book

Firing at Will shows managers and employers how to do the most difficult part of their jobs: firing employees. Written by a leading employment lawyer in a refreshingly unlawyerly style, this guide takes the reader through the always-risky process of letting an employee go. Many employers and managers are afraid to pull the trigger when the employment relationship has broken down, and will postpone the decision by using progressive discipline and performance-improvement plans. However, an employer must be able to unload employees who threaten to undermine the company and its prospects, regardless of the risks involved in a termination. This book explains how to do it, how not to do it, and how to minimize the danger of an expensive employee lawsuit.

No one said being an employer or a manager was easy. Fortunately, knowing how to fire employees will make your job much, much easier in the long run and save you heartache. Firing at Will teaches you what you need to know, without any legalese or boring recitations of statutes and case law. This book is filled with plain-English common sense, based on Jay Shepherd's 17 years of protecting employers in court. The style is conversational and often irreverent, but the lessons and tips are battle-tested. If you want to be a successful manager or employer—and sleep easier—you need to know how to fire at will.

  • Gives employers and managers real-world advice on how to fire employees
  • Teaches how to keep your company—and yourself—out of expensive employee lawsuits
  • Guides you toward building a workplace where you'll need to fire fewer employees

About the author

Jay Shepherd is a writer and speaker focused on fixing workplaces so that individuals are free to do their best work. For 17 years, he worked as an employment litigator and adviser helping companies stay out of trouble. Law & Politics magazine named him one of the Top 100 Lawyers in New England. In 2011, he closed his law firm and opened Prefix, LLC, a firm that helps professionals learn how to price their knowledge. Jay writes two award-winning blogs: Gruntled Employees (gruntledemployees.com), his workplace blog, and The Client Revolution (clientrevolution.com), which focuses on reinventing the business of law. Jay is married to the chief human-resources officer of a top Boston law firm, and they have two amazing young daughters who enjoy reading so much that they might even read this book. Eventually. Follow Jay on Twitter at @jayshep.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 37.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access