WLP333 Handling Remote Employee Terminations
In this episode, Pilar talks to Julieta Moreno, an international employment and mobility lawyer to discuss the challenges of employee termination in a remote context, and how Julieta has evolved professionally.
In this episode, Pilar talks with Julieta Moreno, an international employment and mobility lawyer. Julieta shares her experiences working with employment of record (EOR) companies, which help businesses employ resources in countries where they don't have an entity, taking care of the administrative and legal aspects of maintaining an employee's legal employment status in their respective countries. She highlights the growth of this industry, particularly during the pandemic, and the advantages it offers for startups and businesses looking to expand globally.
Most of Julieta’s work involves offboarding or assisting with the termination of employment contracts. This requires a deep understanding of different countries' legislations and cultural contexts to ensure compliance and appropriate communication. This is a complex process, which may involve tailoring conversations to respect different cultural norms or expectations. Julieta sees her role as a bridge between employers and employees, guiding both parties through the difficult process of termination, while also being aware of the emotional and personal impact on the employee being offboarded.
Julieta emphasises the human aspects of her work, from understanding different cultural contexts to building a relationship with employees she is assisting. She also mentions the unpredictable nature of terminations and the emotional reactions they can provoke, underscoring the need for dedicated focus in her role. Sometimes there are positive outcomes from terminations, like an employee who, after their employment contract ended, was able to find motivation and a better fit in a different company.
Julieta talks about her approach to the task of employee termination. She stresses the importance of handling these conversations with care, ensuring all involved parties have a chance to discuss and process the situation. For her, the act of termination is just a part of her job and she ensures that she's open for follow-up conversations if necessary.
When you’ve learned to do the job online, it doesn’t seem more difficult than if it were done in person. In fact, Julieta shares a time when she offered an in-person meeting to an individual, but found that the in-person interaction didn't bring any extra value to the process.
19.20 mins
Julieta Moreno
19.20mins
Much of Julieta’s learning over the last five years has been done on the job. The main challenge is the need to navigate these situations alone, as she can't bring someone to help her learn during these sensitive conversations. That’s why team support is so important in these kinds of roles. Julieta knows first-hand that a supportive, friendly, and light-hearted environment can provide much-needed relief from the stresses of the job. Her team, which she refers to as the "team of terminators," also served as a sounding board for discussing difficult cases and experiences.
As a team leader, Julieta is particularly aware of the importance of celebrating mistakes and being honest about them within the team, as a means to learn and grow. This is necessary because these difficult conversations with clients always require maintaining a certain image and professionalism, which can be quite draining.
Having worked for ShieldGEO and Velocity Global until recently, Julieta is now an independent consultant handling employment contracts. She also works with an orchestra handling their legal and IP issues.
28.45 mins
In contrast with her legal work, Julieta runs an olive grove in Argentina, a venture that happened by chance but one she has embraced due to the long-term thinking it requires - a refreshing change from her other work that's always changing and demanding quick solutions.
Julieta is finding managing an olive grove a humbling experience, a task that involves an entirely different set of skills and human interactions than her professional career. She speaks about dealing with people who lack formal education and rely on verbal commitments and trust rather than written contracts and emails. The culture in this environment is centred around real-life connection, with celebrations around a table marking the end of harvests and work done, instead of formal team-building exercises.
The technical side of maintaining an olive grove requires knowledge on how much water the trees need, pruning branches, applying fertilisers or pesticides, and organising the manual harvesting process. This experience offers a refreshing contrast to her corporate job and allows her to connect with something beyond screens and keyboards.
To wrap up, Julieta offers some advice to those managers who need to handle a termination, She stresses the importance of understanding the contract and applicable laws before starting a termination conversation. She advises clarity about the consequences and details of the termination and keeping the conversation open for discussions about the reasons behind the decision.
It’s important to let the employee know about the termination at the beginning of the conversation to avoid feelings of betrayal. Julieta suggests offering the chance for a follow-up call if the termination comes as a surprise, and focusing on executing the administrative aspects of contract termination like payments and document signatures while keeping the employee informed.
She shares that a high percentage of termination negotiations are successful and most people prefer not to escalate issues to courts or involve lawyers. It’s important to have regular communication and follow-ups in a remote environment to compensate for the lack of physical accessibility to HR.
You can connect with Julieta over on LInkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieta-moreno-923b5460/
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