It is difficult to do right but call people at the start of a Thursday shift, tell them, thank them for their service and make sure they are paid out (inc that full shift). Do the exit requirements, collect the items and have them leave. That Friday you let people commiserate at the local and you pay for it.
Still not pleasant, but at least it's not inhumane.
It's not that hard to do is it? Not nice, but not hard.
In the future, and if things improve, recruitment will begin. How they were treated at this time will be remembered, particularly by the people you want if they haven't left the country, and you will get the people you deserve.
Folks, just remember that any time you hear the word "legacy" used as an adjective to describe people you are dealing with a proper bastard.
Sunfish,
It's intriguing to see that word "legacy" being used by posters on this forum as well, having adopted the term from the company's use of it to describe licence holders of impending redundant aircraft.
We'll see a lot more use of this word and it's slowly becoming an objectional term. By that I mean that it's used to describe people and licences as parasitic, thereby used in a demeaning way.