As an employment lawyer, I represent many people who have recently been fired.
Many of them never see it coming.
They no longer have access to their work computer or email, where they stored important documents they now need to negotiate a better severance agreement or find their next job.
No matter how secure your job, make sure you have ready access to these five documents. Don’t keep the only copies at work. If you find yourself unexpectedly fired, you won’t have the opportunity to get them off your work computer or cloud storage.
Offer Letter
The offer letter sets the terms and conditions of employment.
During the interview, did they promise you six additional weeks of vacation per year?
Make sure the terms you require are included the offer letter and keep a copy.
Employee Handbook
The handbook addresses issues that remain important after you leave the company.
Does your employer have a severance policy? Will you receive the performance bonus you earned?
Did your employer violate its own anti-retaliation policies by firing you?
If there’s a chance your employer fired you for reporting discrimination or harassment in the workplace, you’ll want to be able to point out whether the employer violated its own policies in the process. That can be strong evidence of retaliatory intent.
Performance Evaluations
If your employer fired you for an illegal reason, they may claim instead that they fired you for poor performance. Your performance evaluations will (hopefully) show that your employer’s rationale for firing you is false.
Having access to your evaluations will also help you update your resume and prepare you for future job interviews by reminding you of accomplishments you may have forgotten about over the years.
Arbitration Provision
If your employer made you to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of employment, you can’t protect your rights in court.
Mandatory arbitration is expensive for employees, and arbitrators almost always rule in favor of employers.
If you are considering taking legal action because of your termination, you need to know whether your claims are bound by any arbitration provision you may have signed.
Resume
Please do not save the only electronic copy (or any copy!) of your resume on your work computer!
Save these documents on a computer, drive, or cloud storage that you control.
You may never need them, but you’ll rest better knowing you have them.