Make, document, and deliver a discipline or termination decision you can defend, without guessing through the hardest call you make. A guided system: screen the decision for legal risk, document the business reason, run the meeting with word-for-word scripts, and close out final pay and offboarding cleanly.
Four pieces that turn the hardest call into a guided, documented decision
A guided system, not a pile of templates. The decision document walks you from the first red flag to the final-pay handoff, the tracker keeps the close-out on schedule, and a one-page Start Here tells you exactly where to begin. Built to be used together.
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Start Here. A one-page map: find your situation in the table, and it points you to the part of the kit you need. Read it first, and run the Red Flag Screen before any decision.
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The Decision Kit (19 pages). The full guided system in nine sections: the Decision Flow, the seven-point Red Flag Screen, the Readiness Checklist, the Decision Memo, the separation and suspend-pending-investigation scripts with the phrases to avoid, the Final-Pay and Offboarding Handoff, the Scenario Playbooks, six worked examples, and a High-Risk Situations section. Print-ready PDF and an editable Word version you adapt.
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Termination and Offboarding Tracker. Three tabs: a Start Here, the offboarding tracker, and a pre-filled worked example. List the payroll, benefits, access, and property steps with owners and due dates, and the tracker shows percent complete, counts what is done and in progress, and flags anything overdue before the last day.
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The Red Flag Check. A five-minute quick reference of the six red flags behind the most common, most expensive mistakes, with what to do instead when one comes up. A standalone version of the in-kit screen to keep at hand.
The method in the order a decision runs
Screen first, then build the facts, run the meeting, and close it out. The kit structures each step; you make the call, and counsel covers the close ones.
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Screen before you act. Run the seven-point Red Flag Screen first, every time. A single yes does not stop you forever; it means pause, document carefully, and get HR or legal input before the decision is final. A clean screen means you can move to the Readiness Checklist.
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Build the facts and the memo. Work the Decision Flow to turn frustration into specific, dated facts, then complete the Readiness Checklist and the Decision Memo so the business reason, the written support, the consistency check, and the policy involved are all on paper before anyone is in a room.
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Run the meeting. Use the Separation Meeting Script, or the Suspend Pending Investigation script if the facts are not in yet. Keep it brief, factual, and final, with a witness present and the logistics ready, and stay off the phrases that turn a hard conversation into a new problem.
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Close it out cleanly. Use the Final-Pay and Offboarding Handoff and the tracker to confirm final-pay timing, benefits or continuation, access removal, and property return, and to flag anything overdue before the last day. The record you leave is the decision’s defense.
A defensible decision is built, not improvised
The hardest calls go wrong in predictable ways: a decision made in frustration, the same week as a complaint, without checking documentation, timing, consistency, payroll, or policy. The fix is not more nerve, it is a process. This kit gives you the screen, the record, and the words, so the decision you make is one you could calmly explain to a neutral person using facts, and so you know which situations to stop and hand to counsel.
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Screen for legal risk before you decide, not after. A recent complaint, a leave or accommodation request, an injury, a wage-and-hour issue, inconsistent treatment, or a contract can turn a routine decision into a claim. The seven-point screen surfaces these before you act, so you pause and document rather than learn about them in a deposition.
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The record is the defense. A one-sentence factual reason, the prior warnings, a consistency note, and the policy involved, written down before the meeting, are the difference between a clean file and a he-said dispute. The Decision Memo captures them in one place, and the tracker proves the close-out happened.
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The words matter and so does what you do not say. A separation meeting should be brief, factual, and final, not a debate or a pile of justifications. The scripts give you the exact phrasing for each moment, and the phrases-to-avoid list keeps a hard conversation from creating new exposure.
Who it is built for
Built for
- A manager or business owner facing a discipline or termination decision who wants to make it defensible, document it properly, and run the meeting without improvising the hardest words.
- An HR team of one, or a small HR function, that needs a consistent process across managers, with the screen, the memo, the scripts, and the close-out in one place.
- An operations or people leader who has to be sure a decision was screened for legal risk and documented before it is final, and wants the paper trail to show for it.
If you are looking for
- A layoff or reduction in force across several roles and locations, not a single decision. The RIF and Restructure Planning Kit runs that end to end.
- The ongoing employee-relations toolkit for warnings, investigations, and PIPs across the team, not one termination. The Employee Relations Kit covers it.
- The review and performance-improvement process that comes before a termination. The Performance Review and Calibration Toolkit builds it.
Before you buy
What format are the files and can I edit them?
The decision kit ships as a print-ready PDF and an editable Word file, the tracker is an Excel workbook that also works in Google Sheets, and the Start Here and the bonus are PDFs. Everything is editable and yours to keep. Adapt the memo and the scripts to your situation, and save a copy of the tracker for each separation.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is general information and a guided self-review structure for planning. The kit marks where to bring in employment counsel, and it does not determine that any decision complies with the law. Employment rules vary by state and situation, so take the high-risk cases, and any case that worries you, to a qualified employment attorney before acting.
How is this different from a free template or checklist?
A free template gives you a blank form. This is a guided system that walks the whole decision: screen the situation for legal risk, turn frustration into dated facts, document the business reason in a memo, run the meeting with word-for-word scripts, and close out final pay and offboarding in a tracked checklist. It is grounded in how these decisions go wrong, it marks the points where you stop and get counsel, and it gives you the exact words, not a form to fill in alone.
What if my situation is high-risk, like a complaint, a leave, a layoff, a union, or a multi-state employee?
Stop and get qualified help first. The Red Flag Screen is built to catch exactly these, and a yes means pause, document, and bring in counsel before you act. The kit includes a High-Risk Situations section that explains why these cases need review and what to gather first, but it routes the decision itself to an employment attorney rather than trying to resolve it for you.
What is the refund policy?
Digital products are covered by a 14-day money-back guarantee. See the refund policy for the full terms.
What happens after I buy?
Checkout delivers an instant download link, and a receipt with the same link arrives by email. Open the Start Here page first; it tells you where to begin and to run the Red Flag Screen before any decision. If a file gives you trouble, email support@truestephr.com.
A guided system, templates, and general business information for planning, not legal or tax advice. Employment rules vary by state and situation, final-pay timing and at-will status among them, so confirm the specifics with employment counsel and your payroll provider, and stop and get qualified help on the high-risk situations the kit flags. Last reviewed June 2026.
