Terminating your Business’s Relationship with an Employee

When an employee is departing from your company, it is important to follow certain procedures in order to protect your business’s interests. Below are a few guidelines to consider:

• Review the employee’s file and inform the employee of any obligations that continue beyond his or her termination of employment. For example, a non-disclosure agreement that prohibits the employee from disclosing trade secrets or other confidential information regarding your company.
• Take inventory of the information or physical objects (such as a laptop or cell phone) that the employee is required to surrender back to the company. You should also be aware of anything the employee intends to retain and ask the employee to identify such information or objects to confirm it does not place proprietary information into jeopardy.
• Discover the type of work the employee will be performing in his or her new job.
• Advise the employee that your company may take legal action against him or her (and the new employer) if any confidential information, documents or physical objects obtained from your business are taken to the new employer.
• Inform the employee that you will inform the new employer of the employee’s legal obligations to your company if necessary.
• Document the above discussion with the employee and ask him or her to acknowledge in writing that you discussed the above items prior to the termination of your employment relationship.