[PortleyFool]

When a manager is unhappy with an employee they reach out to HR, or HR may reach out to the manager if they have given the employee consecutive sub standard performance ratings. HR won’t let the manager just fire the employee without all the right documentation in place. It’s not that easy at companies that care about not losing wrongful termination lawsuits. Before an employee is fired the HR department wants to have documentation showing clear cause. In instances where the employee broke a policy, they will investigate, document, meet with the employee to discuss the findings and then fire them immediately after. In cases where the manager is claiming poor performance, the burden is on the manager to create compelling evidence. HR will review the PIP and check in. An employee wishing to stay employed or at least walk away with a severance should start their own documentation exercise. Raising complaints and issues directly with HR and working hard to meet the criteria in the PIP. Also contacting an employment lawyer will help. If the company thinks there is any chance you will sue, they will likely opt to offer a severance. In cases of severance the manager may get a range they have to approve. HR will offer the severance starting at the bottom of the range. Consider not accepting the first offer if it comes to that. $5 to $10k counters are usually safe but not guaranteed. Note that none of this applies in cases where the cause is layoffs.