One of the hardest aspects of being a manager is the heavy responsibility of letting an employee go. Most employers and managers rank firing an employee the hardest part of their job.

Many questions pop up when it is clear an employee must be let go. Some of these questions include: When is the right time to fire an employee? What is the proper way to do so? And, how do you protect yourself?

When do you know it is time to fire an employee? The typical reasons for firing an employee include poor people skills, work practices, too many missed days and violations of company policy.

If your company also has an established written policy on use of company technology, you may fire an employee who violates e-mail, blogging or instant message privileges.

Make sure that you are firing an employee for the right reasons. Several protections exist in the U.S. in benefit of the employee. Illegal reasons to fire an employee include:

Discrimination - Under federal law, an employer cannot fire an employee because of the person's race, gender, national origin, disability, religion, or age (if the person is older than 40). Federal law also prohibits most employers from firing someone because that person is pregnant, has recently given birth, or has a related medical condition.

Retaliation - An employer cannot fire employees for asserting their rights under the state and federal anti-discrimination laws. If you do so, be prepared to lose a retaliation or discrimination claim.

Refusal to take a lie detector test - An employee has every right to refuse a lie detector test.

Alien status - Under the Federal Immigration Reform and Control Act, an employer cannot fire an employee because he is an alien. As long as the person is eligible to work in the country you cannot let him go for this reason.

Complaining about OSHA standards - An employee cannot be fired for complaining about work place standards and safety.

Violations of public policy - This varies from state to state, but most agree you cannot fire an employee who refuses to take part in illegal activity, for exercising a legal right, or for complaining about an employer’s illegal activities.

Now that you know what situations merit a firing and those that do not, there are also proper steps to take as an employer to protect you and your company from a lawsuit.

Keep records on employees

Always keep detailed and precise records. Any employee evaluations, complaints of their behavior by coworkers, warnings you have given the employee, and any actions you have taken need to be well documented. A strong paper trail not only benefits you, but it can also help the employee who may be on the chopping block.

Give the employee evaluations. Tell him or her what they are doing wrong and encourage them to do better. In other words, give them the opportunity to become a better employee. If you work with an employee who may be underachieving and they get better at their job, it will increase company morale and your standing with your employees.

Joseph Godwin, management consultant for Ford & Harrison Solutions, a human resources subsidiary of the national law firm of Ford & Harrison, said employers need to express more of what an employee can do to correct their behavior than simply telling them what they are doing wrong.

“Generally, there should be sufficient chances to assure that the employee really understands what is expected, is able to do what is expected, and still continues not to do it,” Godwin said. “Most management ‘correction’ consists of telling the employee what not to do instead of making their expectations clear.”

Commence the firing!

However, if someone is displaying very unprofessional behavior, attitude problems, and is becoming disruptive and creating a hostile work environment you should not hesitate to fire that individual immediately, because that employee will pollute the entire work force.

Make proper arrangements

If you decide to fire the individual, you then need to make the proper arrangements. Besides having the documentation, you need to know how long the employee has to clear their things away and resolve any other tidbits, such as if they have a company car or laptop. It is also important to backup any files that this person may currently be working on or has done so in the past. Some employees are vindictive after all, and you do not wish to lose valuable information if they take their dismissal as the first salvo in an act of war.

Include the right people

Before the meeting, arrange to have a human resource representative present that can give the fired employee information on severance packages, continuation of benefits, and ensures that the meeting follows the proper guidelines. Do not bring in other employees. Remember, this is traumatic for the fired employee and you want to remain as humane as possible.

Know the proper place and time to fire

At the meeting, make it as short as possible - five to 15 minutes is optimal. Make sure the meeting place is a neutral setting - not your office, theirs or in public. Choose a nice empty boardroom if possible.

“The termination interview is not the time to re-hash everything the employee has ever done wrong,” Godwin said. “It should focus on ‘going forward’ including a brief explanation of the separation package, benefits continuation, and, if applicable, appreciation for the work they have done. After all, nobody is totally awful in everything, even if they deserve to be fired.”

If, however, you are firing someone who has committed egregious violations of company policy, you do need to make that clear. Specifically if those violations have nullified the employee’s severance package, you need to state their violations, show documentation of policy violations, and explain why they may not be eligible for the standard separation package.

Give a reference

Ford & Harrison recommends that, in most cases, you should not hesitate to give the employee a reference if requested.

“Unless they have violated the law and were charged, or committed a dangerous act, there is usually little reason not to be reasonably helpful to them in their attempt to find a new job,” Godwin said.

At the termination meeting you should also have the employee’s final paycheck in hand, and once the interview is over, allow them time to say goodbye to friends and to clean out their desk. Do not have someone escort them to the door, unless they prove to be disruptive.

Allow a quick exit

How long does a typical employee stay on the job? Not long, Godwin said.

“If the company believes the employee can be trusted to clean up their work and assist in a transition, then allowing them to do so provides some additional notice,” he said. “This is not typical, however, and most performance-related terminations result in the employee leaving as soon as they can clean out their desks following the termination interview.”

Remember three things when firing

The three things to truly remember in the termination process, Godwin added, are to:

Remain courteous

Be respectful

Show sympathy

Doing so will make the process that much easier for both the employer and employee.

“Nothing can absolutely guarantee that a termination will be trouble-free, and sometimes, despite our best efforts, the employee seeks retribution,” state Ford & Harrison guidelines. “On the other hand, if we don't make those efforts, it is a sure thing we'll send them away mad and will have created problems and unnecessary expense for ourselves.”

Tips for smooth firing

Godwin also gives employers some basic tips on how an employer may make the termination process smooth and to make sure they are legally protected.

“Companies should absolutely, positively never give any supervisor or manager the authority to terminate an employee without a review by another competent and objective person,” he said. “And, that review should be authoritative - not rubberstamped. Someone - typically HR or legal - should review the circumstances of the termination including any discriminatory risk factors involved (age, race, gender, disability, etc.) and any other issues that might arise as a result of the termination.”

Timing is everything when it comes to the firing.

“The major pitfalls are incurred in acting too quickly, without proper review and consideration of potential unexpected outcomes, and in sending the employee off feeling like he/she has been treated unjustly or without respect,” Godwin said.

Bottom line

If you follow these simple guidelines you will save yourself, your company and the terminated employee an untold amount of duress and quite possibly legal ramifications. So, remember the golden rule and be diligent in your documentation process, and you can make this painful process a little easier to take.