It's always difficult to let an employee go, but it's something that can't be helped. What you don't want to have happen is an employee suing you over a reference you give a prospective employer. “The best way to prevent problems when giving out references is to have the employee who's going to being sign a waiver agreeing to have you provide a reference,” says Bob Bregman, a senior research analyst for International Risk Management. “It's also a good idea to agree, before the person leaves, on the nature of the information that's going to be provided.” If you and the soon-to-be ex-employee sign off on something in writing then the problem of liability for giving a defamatory reference is mitigated.
Bregman suggests the following when you get a reference call: