[MNWC]

Tuesday my employee turns up early he looks a bit sheepish and says "ive backed the van into a lampost"
Bumper cracked and hanging off back nearside wheel arch !!!
Oh well i say not too bad and with a smile on my face give him a semi bollocking.

The same day i get an email from from a customer saying that he's left all drip marks on all the windows.
So i ring him up and say get yourself round there and sort it out.

Today a message on the home phone from a different customer saying he's left all smears and water marks on the windows.

Ive rang him up and gave him a bollocking and told him to go back tomorrow and do them again.

Is the law 1 verbal 1 written and the the sack ??

[the bfg]

is your middle name Adolf ? 

[martinsadie]

seem to remember 2 verbal when i was in a factory

[Lee Pryor]

its 1 verbal 1 written 1 final written then sacked, i know because ive sacked 2 people over the last 2 years

[Nameless Drudge]

I am new to wfp,in fact new to building a round,though not new to cleaning windows.One big thing with me is that i pride myself on doing a mint job and thats one of the reasons i am not currently overkeen on wfp.
One thing i am quite sure of is that in general the wfp brigade (splash and dash if you like) are slowly but surely through cutting corners and speed with greed earning the pure water cleaning method a bad name.
 So i know how slow and methodical i need to be to get perfect results in the beginning but in my head there is no room for complacency and a 3rd or 4th clean can soon be left imperfect with accidental contamination/overspray/dirty brush,not taking time to double check,leaving bird muck ghosting(again its a speed thing),damage to customers garden ornaments etc. Now i will go out of my way to ensure these things dont happen as it all reflects on me BUT is an employee going to be as bothered. Common sense says NO. So i am still sitting on the fence a bit with wfp(all kitted out though but its getting used on hard to reach so far).

Domestic customers being done wfp by increasing number of employees sounds like bad news to me.

Now i have re-read i will say that of course this could apply to trad but then the operator is blamed whereas with the wfp still being new to many domestic customers its the method that will be blamed.

So sack him for being a wfp employee!

[darren clarke]

have any of your other employees left smears or crashed a van?

[prestige cleaners]

you might have a point there sean

[MNWC]

very wise words sean 

He's only got a backpack and only supposed to use it on hard to reach windows ie, above conny roof's etc.

but it transpires that he's doing all the tops with it !!

[mikecam]

Is the law 1 verbal 1 written and the the sack ??

No its not quite. If  a case of gross misconduct its goodbye straightaway.
In the case of quality issues over his work you should be seen to address the issue with him and offer further training/ help to address the problem. If you don't it could be costly for you.
Not sure over the van accident issue, if the van has no rear view mirrors then negligence may be hard to substantiate, as opposed to 'just an accident'.
 I found this bit interesting though.........

He's only got a backpack and only supposed to use it on hard to reach windows ie, above conny roof's etc.

but it transpires that he's doing all the tops with it !!

I'm not sure how you'd enforce him to use a potentially dangerous method when he has the equiptment to do the job safely.

[G Griffin]

Is the law 1 verbal 1 written and the the sack ??

No its not quite. If  a case of gross misconduct its goodbye straightaway.
In the case of quality issues over his work you should be seen to address the issue with him and offer further training/ help to address the problem. If you don't it could be costly for you.
Not sure over the van accident issue, if the van has no rear view mirrors then negligence may be hard to substantiate, as opposed to 'just an accident'.
 I found this bit interesting though.........

He's only got a backpack and only supposed to use it on hard to reach windows ie, above conny roof's etc.

but it transpires that he's doing all the tops with it !!

I'm not sure how you'd enforce him to use a potentially dangerous method when he has the equiptment to do the job safely.

True. And have you reported the damage to the lamp post? 

[Londoner]

For every customer that complains there are another two who say nothing but are unhappy.

[G Griffin]

For every customer that complains there are another two who say nothing but are unhappy.

That`s quite good. Confucius?

[MNWC]

Ladders are perfectly safe, if used correctly. he also has a ladder stopper.

[darren clarke]

if you sack him, i think u will get sued, as all he got to say is he refused to use laddes which he though where unsafe and used wfp  the prefered method by h and s  and u sacked him for it,  i think the lawyers would have a field day


if anyone else u have employed has had an accident or left windows smeared and you didnt discipline them   then he could say u r victimising him


it seem u want to sack him anyway  offer him redunacy  and telling him you are down sizing

[G Griffin]

Ladders are perfectly safe, if used correctly. he also has a ladder stopper.

That`s not the point really.

[mci services]

just get him and say listen big man recession and that I need to let you go, nothing personal just can't afford to pay me as well as you bye.

or better still if he is on a trial period just say its not working out bye.

you haven't gave enough info to advise best

[Paul Coleman]

If you go the redundancy route and you have other employees who have worked for you for less time,. he would have a case for unfair selection.  This is the equivalent of unfair dismissal.
If you make him redundant, you're not supposed to fill his job for 6 months (I think) because you are making a position redundant in the first instance - a position that happens to be occupied by him.  A lot of regs are waived for companies with less than 5 employees - not sure which ones though.
I say that if he continues to work for you, you have to let him continue using a non ladder method at least for the top floors.  You could end up in deep doodoo otherwise.
Another thing that comes to mind too:  I found that when I've subcontracted domestic work from other shiners, the rate of complaints is always higher than with my own work (I rarely get one these days).  I don't treat the subbie work  differently from my own.  I think it's just easier for customers to feel that they can complain if they have a buffer zone (you) between themselves and the cleaner.  It's easier to complain about someone than to someone.
So as far as work quality goes I think you ought to check on his working methods before acting.  As for the van - well - it can happen to anyone (I reversed mine into a mini skip a while ago but that's my privilege because it's my van).  .  Annoying I know but no-one's perfect.  You may have some justification for charging him for a repair - or at least the excess if an insurance job.

[Anlaby]

My advice is seek expert advice it might save you thoussnds if this employee finds out you have been discussing him on this forum you could be encountering major problems. What a lot of your replies have not mentioned is his contract of employment if he has not got one then you are in big trouble, i have subcontractor who was in your similar position he had problems with bad employee who had worked for him for approx 6 years they parted company 3 months later the subcontractor is in a meeting with ACAS across from him with the old employee grinning like cheshire cat it cost the subcontractor £15,000 he lost the case mainly because he got his procedures wrong the main thing the  employee did not have a was contract of employment it does not matter how many employees you have they must have current a contract,relevant H & S policy and certified insurance policy that protects them and to cover you completely a method statement for each job. We give all our window cleaners a starter pack with all the required documents and will only let them start work when they sign to say they are fully conversant with all our procedures it has protected us so many times admitedly there is a cost but its a one off cost that gives peace of mind. There is a fantastic company called EEF Leeds they advise us on all legal and H&S problems in fact anything we are not sure of they have never let us down try them.SEEK EXPERT ADVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AuRavelling79]

My advice is seek expert advice it might save you thoussnds if this employee finds out you have been discussing him on this forum you could be encountering major problems. What a lot of your replies have not mentioned is his contract of employment if he has not got one then you are in big trouble, i have subcontractor who was in your similar position he had problems with bad employee who had worked for him for approx 6 years they parted company 3 months later the subcontractor is in a meeting with ACAS across from him with the old employee grinning like cheshire cat it cost the subcontractor £15,000 he lost the case mainly because he got his procedures wrong the main thing the  employee did not have a was contract of employment it does not matter how many employees you have they must have current a contract,relevant H & S policy and certified insurance policy that protects them and to cover you completely a method statement for each job. We give all our window cleaners a starter pack with all the required documents and will only let them start work when they sign to say they are fully conversant with all our procedures it has protected us so many times admitedly there is a cost but its a one off cost that gives peace of mind. There is a fantastic company called EEF Leeds they advise us on all legal and H&S problems in fact anything we are not sure of they have never let us down try them.SEEK EXPERT ADVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anlaby - you might apply that advice to "someone" airing on this forum grievances with an aluminium pole supplier! 

[Clive McDonald]

Maracus
now that you've been brought up to speed a groveling apology from you to the way wayward lad, a rise possibly, and proper dinner breaks.

I operate a doughnut and pasties policy.Stuff 'em full of free food and they think the job's blinding.

I've bumped my van a couple of times and mines the proper job, and i get complaints too.Sometimes (often) i'm at fault, other times it has more to do with what's going on in the customers life.Shiners point about complaints is very true, customers often give my lad a bollicking.

I am an equal opps employer.I only have numpties.Anyone else will steal your business.