The majority of bosses would not sack an employee on the spot like Alan Sugar in 'The Apprentice' television series.
Research by employment law specialists ELAS shows only a fifth of company bosses would consider dismissing a worker on the spot.
For contestants in the BBC2 programme, which ends tonight, a moment's poor leadership or one weak sales pitch leads to businessman Sir Alan Sugar showing them the door with the words: 'You're fired'.
But in the real world, ELAS says managers are right to think twice before sacking staff at will.
The majority of respondents said an employee would have to perform very badly before being sacked, while 82% would carry out a full investigation before asking a worker to clear their desk.
"The law makes it hard for companies to sack workers at the drop of a hat and managers need to be aware of today's employment laws before dealing with any type of staff problem", said ELAS' John Peel.
"A hasty move like Sir Alan's, while it sounds exciting, could prove very costly in the long run."
The main staffing problems highlighted by managers were absenteeism, employee sickness and poor timekeeping. Only 3% admitted to being concerned by discrimination or harassment issues.
Three quarters confessed they had no procedures in place to deal with workers' religious beliefs, while over half were not officially prepared for responding to employees falling pregnant.
