Being fired is never fun, even if you really didn’t like the job to begin with. It’s the sense of rejection that tends to upset many people, as well as the often times sudden nature of a termination.
When people get shocked or disturbed, they tend to stop thinking rationally for a moment. Of course, if your firing does fall on the path of less than legal matters, then you will need to keep a cool mind in order to get your affairs in order. Perhaps this helpful little checklist will help you get through a harsh and sudden firing with good grace!
1. Get Your Documents Ready
When a firing is sprang on you unexpectedly, you will more than likely not have many important documents that you’ll need to have prepared. Take some time to get copies of everything that you need. However, be sure that you copy “smartly.” Do not take anything that doesn’t belong to you or that may be seen as confidential within the eyes of the company. This means you should only grab stuff that is yours, such as pay stubs, employment contracts, and similar stuff of that sort.
2. Play it Cool
It would only be natural for you to be upset. Worried, scared, furious, or even a mixture of all of those. You’d have to be a robot not to feel something. However, you shouldn’t let those emotions dominate your reactions. Just keep your head and conduct yourself in a proud, acceptable manner. To lose yourself to emotion may just make the situation much, much worse for you in the end.
3. Avoid Signing Anything
In your confusion and processing, you may be handed something to sign. Don’t you dare sign anything until you consult a professional employment lawyer. They will be able to tell you whether or not it is safe to sign. If you do find yourself signing something, you may end up voluntarily forfeiting important benefits that are owed to you for your service to the company. It is a pretty under handed move, but it is a trick that some people will attempt to take advantage of so they do not have to give you a single thing in exchange for your work.
4. Consult a Lawyer
An employment lawyer should be what you look into first, especially if you feel that you have been wrongly terminated. When you visit your employment lawyer, they will be able to give you valuable advice on what to do next and further information on how you should react to the event you’ve been subjected to.
Just be sure to take a clear and even mental note of everything that happens from the time that you are fired until you finally leave the premises. That’s easier said than done, but the better you do, the better you’ll fare with your lawyer.
5. Organize Your Documents
When talking to your lawyer, they will want to see the documents that you grabbed. Namely any documents relating to the reason of your termination and any employment contracts that you may have signed. Using these, they will determine whether or not your firing was legal or completely unfair. Once that has been established, they will guide you on what you should do next. Hopefully the entire process after that will go smoothly and leave you with a satisfactory outcome.
