What is the procedure for dismissing someone for poor performance?

Normally this would involve inviting the employee to a meeting to discuss their performance, setting out your concerns and then setting a plan for improvement.  If the required improvements are not made formal meetings are arranged, resulting in performance improvement warnings and ultimately, if there is no/insufficient improvement, the employee is dismissed.  For a clear visual explanation of the process please refer to:

P2: flowchart of performance management process

The performance improvement process broadly involves:

• Identify the performance issues
• If the performance issues have not been addressed with the employee at all an informal discussion should usually take place to provide an opportunity to improve before moving on to the formal stage.
• Invite the employee to a performance improvement meeting, setting out the performance concerns, see:

P3: Invitation to stage 1 performance improvement meeting

P7: Letter of invitation to short serving employee potential dismissal for poor performance

• Hold the meeting with the employee and allowing the employee to respond to the allegations and agreeing a timescale for improvement, see:

P15: Guide to Conducting Formal Performance Improvement Meetings

• Deciding on an appropriate sanction, confirming this in writing, see:

P8: Written warning (poor performance)

P12: Termination of Employment Short Serving Employee (Poor Performance)

• If the performance does not improve then invite them to a further meeting, see:

P4: Invitation to stage 2 performance improvement meeting

• Confirming the outcome, see:

P9: Final Written Warning (Poor Performance)

• If the performance still hasn’t improved invite the employee to a final meeting to consider dismissal, see:

P5: Invitation to stage 3 performance improvement meeting.

• Confirm the outcome, see:

P10:Termination of Employment (Poor Performance)

• If someone exercises their right of appeal then invite them to an appeal meeting, see:

P9: Invitation to Appeal Meeting

• Hold the appeal meeting and decide on an outcome to the appeal:

P16: Guide to Conducting Appeal Meeting

P11: Appeal Outcome Letter