Advice on what to do with quitting Employee

[STeeLy]

I would think it depends on ur financial situation. If your company is running kinda short on money, I'd say keep it or give him a small part. If he leaves here, fighting to get his Bonus (though I think u said he had no idea that it is being handed out tomorrow) that would leave a bad impression to the other employees and I don't think that bodes well for you.

Think about what you need more, a happy staff or finance, then go from there.

[maverickeastwood]

Originally Posted by CarlW

To me working only 3 months does not warrent a christmas bonus at least definately not the full christmas bonus (if the bonus was for the year then divide it by 12 and multiply that by 3), not to mention telling someone that your quitting tomorrow (unless something drastic happened) isn't really very professional of the guy.

Obviously to prevent this kind of future in the problem you need to hammer out the details of your christmas bonus structure in your company policy/corporate culture.

This'll be a little off topic, but one question. How long have bonuses been given out ay Christmas? They can backfire on you if times go tough. Say you've given them out for a few years and than things go south..."no bonus this year people, sorry". Now you have a bunch of disgruntled employees.
I worked for a company that put on a X-mas bash and gave cash bonuses every year for the 14 years and this time around...no bash or cash; things went south. Something else to think about.

[eazyduzzit]

I'd just hand the bonus' out on Monday - but i'm an ass like that :P

Giving 2 weeks notice, especially around this time of year when it tends to be more busy, is only fair and respectful. Simply saying i'll be gone tomorrow is the complete opposite - reguardless if he/she was a good employee.

Where i work, bonus' are based on how long you have been with the company - so i'd also take that into consideration.

[calgaryrocks]

Originally Posted by eazyduzzit

I'd just hand the bonus' out on Monday - but i'm an ass like that :P

Giving 2 weeks notice, especially around this time of year when it tends to be more busy, is only fair and respectful. Simply saying i'll be gone tomorrow is the complete opposite - reguardless if he/she was a good employee.

Where i work, bonus' are based on how long you have been with the company - so i'd also take that into consideration.

definitly, i dont care how small the operation if hes worked there more then a month giving 2 weeks notice is only professional, especially in a place that gives a christmas bonus, but i agree with giving him 3/12 of it just incase there is a negative reaction if he gets nothing, you gotta balance employee happiness with business finance(then again the rest of the employees should be happy to get any kind of bonus)

[Sylvanfan]

Use his bonus cheque to take the entire office out for lunch and drinks on him.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Give me his bonus and I will give 5% of it to CP

[Phanuthier]

As a manager, there is only 1 thing you have to consider: what is the message I am sending? That is the only thing you should consider.

Does giving him a bonus send a good message to the rest of your employees? Or bad? They won't notice whether you do or not.

To me, giving 1 day notice shouldn't give it to him. You give it to him, and you are rewarding negative behaviour.

[Flashpoint]

Thank you to everyone who participated. I appreciate your advice.

I decided that the fairest thing would be to give him 2/3rds of the bonus. As he was quitting with almost no notice, he potentially could have put me in a very bad situation, which is why he did not receive the full amount.

I had to ask myself 3 things

What is the purpose of the bonus?

How would I feel if I were in his shoes?

What is the best solution to keep both parties happy?

I see a bonus as a reward for hard work, motivation for the upcoming year, and as a way to encourage company loyalty. It is also a way of recognizing that the most important thing in this company is not always the bottom line. Our best asset is our people. Clearly the weighting is on work done. Hence, he has earned at least half the bonus. As far as motivation goes, there is no need. He won’t be here. Loyalty goes in much the same vein as motivation, but if providing a partial bonus mends what would otherwise be hard feelings, then it is money well spent.

The final third I felt justified in keeping, as it will allow me a little time to find his replacement. We are not extremely tight on money right now, but if my boss calls me on this decision I can defend it by indicating there was a penalty of a 1/3rd deduction.

If I were in his shoes, I would feel entitled to the bonus based on the work I had accomplished over the past two months. I would also be ****ed that I wasn’t getting a bonus because I had the misfortune to announce I was quitting right before the cheques were handed out. In the future, I might not provide ANY notice just to prevent it.

I appreciate the effort he has put in, and want him to think of his time with us as a positive experience. I reminded him that in future, it is best to provide his employer with advance notice if thinking of leaving, as it prevents a whole host of issues and mutual hard feelings.

Before making my final decision I asked him if he felt this was a fair compromise. He agreed that it was. He is a straight shooter, so I believe him. I’m happy as I feel like less of a scrooge at Christmas when I know he is struggling, and has a wife and child. I also don't have to worry how it looks to my other employees. My boss is happy because he saved some money, but doesn’t have to worry about an ex-employee badmouthing the company.

Thanks Calgary Puck. You guys provided some great perspectives, and even if I didn’t follow your advice, I certainly thought about each opinion presented.

[CaptainCrunch]

Thats a good decision Flashpoint

nice work