Work

Making someone redundant, or letting them go

Whether it's a redundancy or a dismissal, you have to tell someone their job is ending. It may not have been your decision. It is still your conversation, and they will remember every word of it.

What they need from you, and why

The person across the table is about to lose more than a wage. The Nonviolent Communication module's Aisling guessed at the needs her team members were carrying into the room: security, purpose and respect. Losing a job threatens all three at once, which is why even a well-run redundancy can land with the force the Difficult Workplace Conversations module describes for any threat to someone's role.

What they need is for the news to be said plainly by a human being, a clear picture of what happens next, and some say in how it goes. Aisling's conversation followed NVC's four components: an observation ("The company is reducing this team from twelve positions to six. Your role is one of those being removed."), a feeling ("I'm sad about this"), the needs on both sides, and a request ("would you be willing to tell me what you need from me?"). A request works where a demand doesn't because of what Jack Brehm called psychological reactance: people push back when they feel their freedom to choose is under threat, and a request leaves room for "no". Months later one of her six told a former colleague, "They let me go, but they did it with humanity."

Delivery matters because people remember it. The Difficult Workplace Conversations module says how you deliver bad news often matters more than the news itself, and that people remember feeling respected through difficult times. It's equally clear that the legal process comes first: work with HR, because consultation, notice and redundancy pay rules differ from country to country, and this app serves seven of them. Nothing on this page is legal advice.

Understand it properly

First

Go through the process your organisation's policy and local employment law require with HR before you book the meeting: consultation, notice and redundancy rules differ from country to country, and nothing here is legal advice.

You could say

I have some hard news and I'm going to say it plainly. The company is reducing this team from twelve roles to six, and your role is one of those being removed.
An observation, stated early and without a preamble; vague run-ups just make people wait for the blow.
I'm sad about this, because I value what you've brought to this team.
One honest feeling, briefly, is not making it about you; it's what separates a person from a form letter.
Here's what happens next, and here's who to talk to about the details.
Clear information about process and timeline is the most practical support you can give in the first ten minutes.
Would you be willing to tell me what you need from me during this transition?
A request that leaves room for "no"; in the module's story the answers ranged from references to time to simply being thanked.
Your years here matter, and I'll make sure they're recognised properly.
One man in that story needed his fifteen years of service acknowledged more than anything else on the table.
Take whatever time you need today. We don't have to cover everything now.
Some people need to take it in before they can hear a single practical detail.

If it goes badly

Three ways this can turn. Read the one that happens; the others can wait.

You've said something like

I have some hard news and I'm going to say it plainly. The company is reducing this team from twelve roles to six, and your role is one of those being removed.

If they cry
It's okay. Take your time. There's no rush on anything today.
Several of the people Aisling told cried, and she sat with them; tears don't need fixing, they need someone steady nearby.
If they get angry or say they'll get a lawyer
You're entitled to get advice, and I'd encourage it. I'm not going to argue about the decision. I'm here to make sure the process is done properly for you.
Anger is an expected response and a threat is often fear with its fists up; not defending, and pointing to their rights, keeps the dignity in the room.
If they ask "why me?" in a redundancy
That's a fair question. The decision was about the role, not about you, and here's the reasoning as I understand it.
Explain the reasoning where you can and stick to the facts as you understand them; a redundancy is about business needs and role requirements, and they deserve to hear that said.

Send them to yourself, or to someone helping you.

Try not to say

"The business has made the difficult decision to..."
That was Aisling's first instinct too; it hides the person doing the telling behind the company.
"It's nothing personal" or "I'm sure you'll land on your feet."
Both minimise what's happening to them; acknowledge the reaction before you reach for comfort.
Explaining the business case at length while they're still absorbing it
Feelings first, reasoning when they ask; a lecture on viability lands as a defence.
Doing it on a Friday afternoon or the day before a holiday
It leaves someone stewing with no one to call; if it can't be avoided, say exactly when you'll follow up.
Winging the legal part
The rules differ a lot between countries, and in Canada and the US between provinces and states; the process has to be right before the conversation happens.

Afterwards

Follow through on every practical thing you promised, on the day you promised it; this is where trust is kept or lost. Keep the details confidential, and tell the rest of the team with the same honesty, because the module is clear that the people staying need support too, with survivor guilt and heavier workloads to come. Check in with the person leaving if that's appropriate in your organisation and welcome to them. And if you had to say it six times in a week, as Aisling did, notice what it took out of you and talk to someone about it.

Understand it properly

The words above come from these. A section is about ten minutes; the whole module is there when you have longer.

Where this comes from

Deeper Dialogues, Nonviolent Communication: "The Redundancy Conversation Nobody Wanted" (Aisling), the four components, requests versus demands and psychological reactance (Brehm, 1966)
Deeper Dialogues, Difficult Workplace Conversations: layoffs and restructuring (work with HR on the legal process first), performance-related terminations, PIP considerations and the differences between countries, the CRISIS framework, timing before a weekend, why a threat to someone's job lands hard

We gather and pass on what researchers and support organisations have found. This isn't a replacement for a doctor, counsellor or support service.

What they need from you, and why

You could say

If it goes badly

Share these words

Try not to say

Afterwards

Understand it properly