You’ve come to the conclusion that an employee has to go. But now you have to figure out how to do it. For most people, letting an employee go isn’t fun. And the thought of doing it face-to-face is particularly daunting. So, you arrive at the question, can I fire an employee over the phone?

Well, the short answer is “Yes.” You can fire an employee over the phone, or by letter, or email. I suppose you could even send a text these days.

However, the longer answer is, you probably shouldn’t fire an employee over the phone, unless there are compelling circumstances.

Why You Usually Shouldn’t Fire an Employee Over the Phone

In my post 5 Tips for Firing Problem Employees, I provide some advice on how to let a problem employee go. It includes important considerations such as cutting off access to company data and preserving their computer. It also suggests that you be direct and not debate the decision to end their employment.

If necessary, you can follow all the same advice when firing an employee remotely. But there are many advantages to doing it in person in most situations.

Here are just 7 reasons you may not want to fire an employee over the phone:

1. It’s less personal and may offend the employee. As a result, they may become more problematic as a former employee than they would have otherwise.
2. You can’t get company property back immediately. They may still have keys, credit cards, computers, etc. You will have to arrange to recover that later, and may not be able to control what the now potentially disgruntled former employee does with them in the meantime.
3. They can’t take personal belongings with them as they leave. So you will have to make arrangements to clean out their desk, etc., where it may have been easier to let the person do it before they left.
4. It’s harder to evaluate how the person takes the news. Sometimes it is important to read whether the employee was surprised or not. Or whether they are unduly upset, such that they may cause further disruption for the business.
5. Bad connections can interfere with the message. Telephone calls break in and out by their nature. Plus, you don’t have the eye contact or view of body language that is important in serious conversations. Video calls don’t necessarily solve these problems, and may lead to even more technological interruption.
6. In some cases, there may be a contract, policy, or practice that establishes the procedure for notifying an employee of their termination. For example, a collective bargaining agreement may require that a union representative be present.
7. You can’t provide and go over necessary paperwork as easily. This may include written exit interviews, severance packages, and/or insurance information.

When You Might Need to Fire an Employee Over the Phone

Admittedly, we don’t live in a perfect world. Even if all of the above reasons not to fire an employee over the phone apply in your situation, you might have to do it anyway.

Here are 5 situations when you might need to fire an employee over the phone:

1. The employee isn’t available to meet in person. They could be hospitalized, travelling, even in jail. These all happen, and sometimes you can’t wait until a physical meeting is possible before sharing the news.
2. There is legitimate concern that the person in question may become violent. There are bad people out there, and it’s possible that one worked for you. If you have particular fear of personal safety or that the employee will cause damage, etc., then a phone call may be best.
3. You are firing the employee for no-call, no-show, and they still haven’t shown up. Then you may be lucky to even reach them by phone. Sometimes you will have to settle for just officially notifying the employee by mail.
4. The employee refuses to meet in person. In that case, they probably already know what is coming. If possible, it may still be better to try to find someone they will meet with before resorting to a phone call.
5. There isn’t time to meet in person. This should be a rare situation where the employee is remote, such as travelling for business, but has to be stopped immediately from acting on the employer’s behalf.