My 83 year old employee is not doing well, and I don’t know how to tell her?

I live in an "at will" State.

"Most employment is "at will," which means an employee may be fired at any time and for any reason or for no reason at all (as long as the reason is not illegal)."

I think when someone can no longer perform their job this is not illegal or age discrimination to let them go. I really can't see an 84 yr old sue and win with this explanation.

You will be very well advised to give NO REASON whatsoever for firing, unless you wish to be sued. Consult with an employment counselor/lawyer; well worth it. There are many discrimination laws that can be used and this is why most employers don't ever give a reason, other than downsizing or other than no longer requiring the services. Be complimentary about the long time, appreciative, and give a good stipend. Hiring and firing is part of what it is to run a company. You don't have to like it. You only have to be able to DO it, and do it LEGALLY.

We really need more information. Like what type of business, and what type of work was this lovely lady doing for the company? Is she full time or part-time? What is her skill set? Large office or small?

Both my boss and myself were seniors [85 and 74], and loved what we were doing. He found there was a skill set that he found at his age it was becoming difficult for him to do, and since I would jump at a chance to do that work, he turned it over to me. And there were things I wasn't crazy about doing, that he liked and took over.

Working into my 70's was so refreshing, I couldn't wait to get to the office to unlock the door. Sadly my boss passed from covid, and I had to close up the business. Oh how I miss not going into the office, every day was rewarding. I would have done the work for free !!

Please see if there is something you can trade off to this worker that doesn't require her to have a lot of contact with clients, and take over some of her job in exchange. You may both find this to be a win-win situation. Maybe cut her hours a bit, because at 83 one just doesn't have the same energy as 10 years prior. She may welcome that.

You are the boss. Take care of your "business". Talk to her "where she is". You know where she is. She needs to know and you need a healthy business. She needs to see herself like you see her. Or...you can ignore what you see. She needs your honest percesption so both of you can be successful.

Sorry to hear that she is obviously declining. Unfortunately, it is not just the 83 year old that this could be happening with, so as a business owner you need to be keeping records of complaints and have meaningful discussions with your employees as the complaints happen not hold them and let them add up and, DO NOT CONTACT HER FAMILY those actions is just asking for a lawsuit of several types if you have to let her go. Her connection with you is as an employee, treat her with the respect you would any employee. You need to keep the relationship business. You don't mention if your business is a service related one but from the comments, I am lead to believe she is supposed to helping clients and is not. I work with seniors and have seniors as employees and changes can happen suddenly, Be forthcoming with your need to make a change as again your email sounds as if you have decided to have her leave and are asking the forums to not make you feel bad about the decision. Let her know you have valued her service for the past 10 years and talk with her about what she sees her immediate future with the company looks like. She may be ready to retire but doesn't want to leave you needing help. Compassion and communication can solve this so both parties are happy.

So kj, have you come to a decision how you r going to handle this?

The Best thing is to talk to her about it.
Is there another job you can give her?
I'm sure she must need the money if she's still working at that age.

Imho, within your organization, find another job for her that does NOT involve client contact.

Is there a way to use this to her advantage: unemployment compensation? If so, you will have to document as well as justify her being “laid off”.

Is there a way to use this to her advantage: unemployment compensation? If so, you will have to document as well as justify her being “laid off”.

Give her a different job that doesn’t involve customer contact.

Unfortunately, it may be that the business can't afford to keep an employee who can't do the required work satisfactorily--by this I mean that "creating" some other job that doesn't deal with customers may be impractical, especially if it is a small business. It might not be able to afford paying an employee just to be charitable to that employee.

what kind of business do you have? Is there any other position that she can have without being in contact with clients? You might have to simply explain that there have been some complaints about mis communications and that she will have to take another position where she is not in contact with clients. wishing you luck. (If it was someone else that was younger you would need to have the same conversation and possibly let them go,)

My elderly neighbor is still working in her lifelong profession of hair stylist- her husband is in a cognative decline- she likes getting out of her house and she seems to feel she needs the income. Bless her. I hope she isn’t the person that is the topic of this post. She loves working with people. She did have to change salons during Covid.

So, I am taking it that you do not want an EEOC complaint or a lawsuit, correct?

DO NOT CONTACT FAMILY!!!! It is a violation of privacy and against the law.

I agree with JoAnn about the layoff and unemployment. Eliminate the job and rename it something else. What many people do not understand is unemployment is rigged against people over 45. These people have to take absolutely ridiculous classes for self improvement. I am contracted to teach an intro to Excel and how to use Outlook. My class is people over 40 and people who have had Drivers Licenses revoked and cannot pay fees so they take the classes. So, she will be busy learning new skills.

Create a meaningful project for her that isn't customer-facing.

I hate to say this as it is a sad, sad situation. Bless her she will "works" at 83 - very few do or can work and do a good job. I am in my present work for my 51st year and I will be 88. But I am unusual that I still do the impossible. I am also in my l5th year as a Power of Attorney to someone. In my case, fortunately, I am l00% with it and everyone knows it. However, your situation is different - apparently this poor soul has aging catching up with her but she wants to keep going. I honestly don't know what you can do or say to fix this so I think given the problems you are having, you just have to be honest and truthful with her. It will upset and hurt her but if she can't do her job properly, what can you do. Is there anything she still could do, like perhaps visit with people and just talk to them. I would search for a simple solution but I believe honesty here is what is a must.

I once hired an elderly lady to assemble products, she was 75. Easy work and we were glad to have her. She needed company, a place to go and a little money.

She passed away while working for us and I'm glad to have given her some calm in her life. Her name was Dorothy.

My husband and I had exactly the same problem! We called and explained the situation to her daughter. She came, discussed the situation with her mom and other arrangements were made. Our (former) employee went to assisted living with memory care where she "worked" happily the rest of her life.
Good luck!

Is this for real?
No business entity mentioned.
Hiring a woman at age 73 ... to do what?
Having a business and not managing responsibilities to serve client needs?
This doesn't make any sense. How could anyone maintain a business without telling an 'employee' what is required to do the job?
If this is a real question and a real company, you could be reported to authorities for neglect - or worse. It sounds like it may be time for you to retire your business.

You have gone way above your call of duty . Keeping a woman way past her years of employment shows you have a huge heart and care about her . But it’s time for honesty , tell her how you have cherished her years with you and everything she has done in the past . But be honest tell her about all the complaints your receiving and that your business is suffering because of it. A lady of her age should be at home enjoying retirement. If she needs to keep busy she can always volunteer somewhere .
Your business is your livelihood and are you able to continue to loose business.
Good luck talking to her I know it won’t be easy but you need to take control now. God Bless 🙏🙏🙏

Frankly, it's very difficult to offer specific suggestions because we haven't received any additional details from kj1958.

Be direct. Be grateful.

Be absolutely clear about what you want.

Be gentle, yet honest and be clear that it is non-negotiable.

I think Sunnydaze' response is by far the best. You sound like a very caring "boss".

So many of the comments have been based on how best to get rid of her. But have you yet had a conversation with her about all the concerns?

Are you in a position where you could take her to a work lunch
and discuss the issues and listen to whether she is aware. Maybe she is and needs guidance in resolving, or if she isn't aware, then discuss whether she could improve. Maybe she is having personal issues that she would like to discuss.

Also, is there a different position with duties she would be capable of.

In other words, as you are a caring person, have a conversation first and foremost, and if all of that would not work out, at least you both would know that you tried... not like a case of, oh there's a problem, let's get rid of it.

Caring attitudes can go a long way in maintaining retention of valuable employees.

One cannot specifically ask, but I cannot help wondering if the work performance is being impacted by cognitive changes, such as dementia/Alzheimer's type disease. An employer also has no right to get involved or contact family...but they may be well aware of changes themselves. So much of our self esteem (if not income) comes from work so this is heartbreaking, however as noted many times, it IS business. At first I thought of a dear friend who is an oral surgeon who had a witch of a receptionist that was very cruel, unkind, inconsiderate and no doubt lost business for him, but he was too kind and kept her on rather than having to retrain/rehire. Then I thought of my mother who volunteered for years and years at a non profit. Her cognitive changes were more and more obvious, some others tried to cover for her until I was ultimately contacted and asked to be part of a plot to dismiss her and then they would have a farewell party with punch and cookies. My mother and I have had an antagonistic relationship and my being involved would have done nothing to help that. I refused. But I made clear I understood, that it was in a way a business and they had to do what they had to. It was very sad. Karma apparently came back to them as sales were low and rent was high, and they shut the shop down anyhow. My mother was ultimately diagnosed with dementia, but for a long while she was getting dressed on her Wednesday and putting her ID badge on ready to go. Dad even had to take a picture of a big closed sign on the storefront to show her and eventually the memory faded. If one has the capacity to be compassionate, I would find other work for this person. If one might know an immediate family member I wouldn't ask for their help, but ask about changes they may have noticed.

I posted earlier, but have been thinking about this. Yes… at the end of the day it’s about business. However, this is lady is an individual that obviously is dedicated and wants to remain busy. Is there some way to restructure her job to tasks she can handle? Can you ask her to go part time? Can you ask her what her retirement plans are? My husband owns 3 businesses. I understand how difficult this is. He just went through something similar with his mom! He gave her tasks she could do efficiently.

Seems you stated clearly - and kindly - to us the problem. Tell her. If there is a position with less client contact, maybe she will accept that position. If not, give her a nice farewell benefit package.

You say to her what you’ve just said to us: you complement her intentions, and also let her know about the complaints. Then very specifically let her know what changes need to be made. Prioritize the important things, things that people complain about consistently. Do not nitpick. Then offer your support about how she might change things. Work on one issue at a time. Tell her you will have consistent check ins with her to see how it’s going. Be positive with her, if you really want to keep her.

It’s a lot of effort on your part, especially in the beginning, but if you believe she is a capable person with many good qualities, worth “saving”, it may turn out to be a win-win situation for both of you AND for your business. Good luck to you both!

I was in the same situation earlier this year. What you do is concentrate on what they can't do. Document each instance and consult with him or her. The steps are consultation, verbal warning, written warning, then termination.