[Noe2097]

It's unclear to me: Why are you wondering _now_?

Vesting is compensation unlocked after a period of time. It is _meant_ to keep people _engaged_. You shouldn't feel bad for having to terminate someone two weeks before vesting, or 1 month before vesting, or 6 months before. No more than you should feel bad for having to stop paying someone that you fired.

Do you have _facts_, undebatable ones, demonstrating that the person is below expectations? Do other team members share the same point of view? Do you have feedback from others, pointing out that this person wasn't pulling its part? Did you share that with the person? Did you share these elements, did the person acknowledged that there was missed expectations? Did you agree on concrete goals to progress and meet expectations? Did you guide that person on this, for like 2~3 months?

If you answered YES to all these questions, but the person is still failing, then let that person go. You've made your job. Whether they are vesting tomorrow or in 6 months or in a year, is _a detail_. They have been failing to meet the bar, you've told them, you explained them how to reach it, you guided them for some time, and they are still failing.

If you didn't, then start right away.

Put vesting in parenthesis. That is not the topic at hand. The topic is meeting expectations or not.

[kenjackson]

This is naive. How do you think people feel about being fired one day before their 20th anniversary where they would qualify for pension? Sure, the date is the date, but it’s naive to think that this wouldn’t have blowback.

[Noe2097]

I'm not saying it wouldn't trigger legal action or resentment. My point is that the question is on the performance or lack thereof and how it was shared and worked on with the contributor.

I'm saying that someone who hasn't been doing their job for 6 months, has been told so repeatedly, has been shown and guided through an improvement plan, but still fail to meet the expectations, should not be kept at their position. Whatever the date for whatever bonus, yes.

It doesn't matter if it happens one day, one week, or one month or 6 months prior to that date. What matters is whether everyone was aware of what was happening and the implications of it.

If that is not the case, then yes sure, start now to build that file. In this instance, the date will pass, and in a couple of months from now the contributor will be out. The next instance, act faster.

[kenjackson]

I feel like the fact that this person is posting this now indicates that all of the I's weren't dotted. As you note, ideally, it would be very clear -- you need to improve by this date. Here are the checkpoints, and if you don't then you will be terminated on about this date -- and here are the financial implications of the termination. I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem like these sorts of steps were taken.