It's not the absences and tardiness but the lack of results which is driving you nuts. (To be safe, you must just read the firing notice and stay away from offhand comments.) Let's say you dismissed Rick after 3 warnings for missing deadlines over the past 4 months. This evidence should show what the worker did, when the jobholder did it, and what you did to help them. Also, share those policies with insubordinate employees, so they can't claim being unaware. If you fail to consider legalities and proper processes, this method can cost the small company dearly.

An problem worker is a danger to the company, other workers and himself. If the jobholder refuses to sign the paperwork, have another person sign as a witness. At this point, you need to draft an employee firing letter that explains the reason for the firing and the rights and responsibilities of the employee and of your company. (Of course, we didn't use those words in the write-up, but this is what any normal manager would naturally think.) A laid off employee is for the most part not angry. In all case, the focus should be on how to best bring around a worker that is out of line. Discuss the importance of standardized methods to lower legal risks during employee separations. Although this is an important factor, it's more important for you to know how to layoff properly. Finally, if you're serious about winning the appeal, you should hire a legal adviser. If you don't apply a legitimate reason equally to your workers, you could still be in court.