Who can hire and fire?

In an organization, who has the power to hire and fire?

A sole proprietor will recruit people and also terminate their service. A person who runs an enterprise all by himself will not have the problem faced by big organizations.

In a large organization where there are hundreds and even thousands of workers, issues such as recruitment and dismissal will come up from time to time. Clear company policies are needed to guide executives.

Staffing activities
Where recruitment is centralized, the recruitment section of the human resource department - the administration department in some organization - will carry out every activity connected with advertising job vacancies, shifting through the applications, informing shortlisted applicants, arranging for the interviews, preparing offer and appointment letters, and arranging for induction training, and so on.

The HR department does not have the power to hire people. The decision to appoint someone to a vacant position rests with senior executives, most often the chief executive officer. The higher the level of the position to be filled, the more senior the appointing executive will be.

The power to appoint people to top positions such as chief executive officers, executive directors, etc are the area of concern of the Board of Directors. They have the power to hire and fire.

Decentralized Recruitment
Recruitment of junior workers may be delegated to line managers. This arrangement is necessary where staff turnover is fairly high due to the nature of work. In this case, the line managers can also terminate workers.

In cases like this, the power to hire workers may be limited to the appointment of junior workers such as machine operators and drivers. A senior HR Executives may have the power to appoint senior support staff in such circumstances.

In the absence of any policy giving the power to hire, only the chief executive has the power. Appointment by any other officer is open to scrutiny. Confirmation of such appointment may face problem. Ensure that corporate policy on recruitment is followed. If not, the appointment is not in order.

The power to recruit and terminate
The general rule is that the party that has the power or has been the power to recruit people also has the power to terminate the service of such workers. It follows that chief executive officers are fired by directors.

The power to fire is an onerous power. No one wants to have it.

However, someone must have such power and must exercise it for the good of the organization and for the good of other workers.