General Considerations Regarding Termination
Termination is a final and serious action involuntarily separating an employee from their position at the University. Under University of California Policy, terminations occur when employees fail to meet or maintain appropriate work performance standards, including but not limited to poor performance and misconduct.
For most employees, managers, and supervisors, termination represents the last step following documented attempts to coach and counsel employees to change their behavior or performance. However, sometimes extremely poor performance (such as work that endangers someone’s physical safety) or egregious misconduct warrants immediate dismissal.
The policy standard for terminating manager and senior professional (MSP) employees is different than represented and professional and support staff (PSS). MSP employees may be terminated when, in their manager’s judgment, the needs or resources of the department or the performance or conduct of the MSP employee do not justify the continuation of employment. Because layoff policies do not apply to MSP staff, terminations may be used to separate MSP staff akin to layoff actions.
Prior to proceeding with a termination, managers and supervisors should consult with their Labor Relations Analyst. Your Labor Relations Analyst will seek to review any and all relevant documentation before proceeding with termination. Documentation is an extremely important part of the termination process as it supports how and why an employee is not meeting objective performance and behavioral standards. Our team will ask you for many types of documents, including but not limited to performance appraisals, contemporaneous notes of events, counseling emails, letters, or memorandums, etc.
After gathering your relevant documentation, your Labor Relations Analyst will ask you to draft the Notice of Intent to Terminate (NOIT) using a template. The Notice, which will be reviewed by the Labor Relations Analyst, will outline the reasons justifying separation and will reference supporting evidence.
Once a termination is completed, employees have the opportunity to challenge their termination through a grievance or complaint process, depending on the employee’s represented or policy-covered status. Complaints are typically processed through Employee and Labor Relations (ELR), although they may be assigned for review or investigation in other departments on campus. Managers and supervisors who initiated the termination will be actively involved in work with Labor Relations to respond to these complaints and potentially take part in investigations. Complaints are usually resolved either through settlement or arbitration.
