How do I let someone go the right way when a hire is not working out in a small team?
Decide fast, execute with dignity. If you have given clear feedback twice and nothing changed, you already know; dragging it out hurts them, you, and the team watching. Have the conversation in person or on video, keep it short and specific, offer a fair exit (notice or severance, references where honest), and follow India's legal basics: proper notice, full and final settlement, and Form 16. Then tell the team plainly without trashing the person.
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The India-specific money mechanics of an exit, laid out by a payroll company that processes them daily. It itemizes exactly what a lawful FnF must include (pending salary, leave encashment, gratuity for 4 years 10 months plus, EPF, TDS handling) and the legal payment window, so you do not accidentally shortchange someone and invite a claim. This is the operational half the answer names: notice, full and final settlement, statutory dues.
FnF must bundle pending salary, unused leave encashment, gratuity, and PF; gratuity and leave encashment are TDS-exempt, most other components are not
Under the Payment of Wages framework, dues are expected within roughly a week to ten days of the last working day, delayed gratuity beyond 30 days accrues interest
If you skip or short the settlement, the employee can contest it and you become liable for interest as a penalty, so calculate it cleanly the first time
This is the legal spine for doing it cleanly under Indian rules. It spells out why parting during probation is the cleanest exit (lighter notice, no retrenchment machinery), the full-and-final settlement clock (exit wages due within 2 working days of the last day under the Code on Wages), and exactly what to document: termination letter, settlement statement, payment records, and the employee's acknowledgment. It also flags state-by-state notice differences (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi), so a Bengaluru fire follows different paper than a Mumbai one.
From
India Briefingby Dezan Shira & Associates15 min read
Firing during probation is materially cleaner than firing a confirmed employee, so move inside the 60-to-90-day window if you can
Full-and-final settlement (salary, leave encashment, statutory dues) is legally due within 2 working days of the last day, so pay fast and issue the relieving letter
Keep the paper trail: termination letter, settlement statement, payment proof, and a signed acknowledgment protect you if it is ever disputed
Written by a manager who has actually done it, so it reads like a playbook, not theory: prep your talking points in bullets, keep the conversation short and specific, never let it be a surprise, and let the person control the story they tell afterward. It is the closest thing to a script for the hardest 10 minutes of your week, and it directly backs the answer's 'in person, short, specific, with dignity' stance.
