[Majestic]

We are doing a large job in Leeds and it needs to be finished by Wednesday. As it was Bank holliday Monday I asked my employee if he would work and I would pay him overtime for it.
Yes he said , so I was going to pick him up at 6am.
I had a text from him this morning at 5am telling me he was to ill to come in. I phoned him and asked why he had not called me yesterday so I could make other plans.He told me he did not have my home number, I told him to look on the back of his t shirts, sweat shirts as my number is on there This has really messed things up for me today, and I could not get all that I wanted to do today done .
So what would you of done

[nat]

depends wether he was worth the hassle?

if he is a valid employee i probably would have gave him a warning, if it happens a lot or he was a bit of a messer i would replace him with someone else.

Surely it can't be that bad? no chance of catching up over the next couple of days???

[Ian Rochester]

I can't vote on this as there is no clear cut decision

The things you need to clarify is:

 - How long has he worked for you? is it less than a year?
 - Have you had any previous occasions where he has done similar things and how have you dealt with it, formally or informally, do you have anything documented?
 - What is his absence record like, has he been off sick in the past.
 - What is the reason for his sickness, was he hungover and if he was, can you prove it?
 - Does he have written Terms of Employment detailing the actions he must take if he is absent.

If it's the first time it's happened then there is very little you can do, I would document the fact that he has failed to notify you in a timely manner.

[d s windowcleaning]

totally agree with lionheart on this subject .

[Majestic]

He has been with me for 10 months
He had a Monday off 3 weeks ago , his car broke down when he was out of town.

This time he has  said he had a cold.
In the past he has not had time off
I have lost a few jobs because of his poor work.
I have told him not to bother commng in anymore and will give him 1 months pay as notice

[jeff1]

He has been with me for 10 months
He had a Monday off 3 weeks ago , his car broke down when he was out of town.

This time he has  said he had a cold.
In the past he has not had time off
I have lost a few jobs because of his poor work.
I have told him not to bother commng in anymore and will give him 1 months pay as notice

Can anyone on here say they have never blagged a day off??
 
But after reading your last thread were it has cost you Jobs, this isn't just jobs thats lost but money, and the possibility of future work with those customers, If I had been in the same boat, I would first look at how reliable he was, if I had any  reason to have warned him in the past, if the answer is yes, then just like an unreliable customer I would bin him.

[Ian Rochester]

How do you pay him?  If you are on a weekly contract then you only need to pay him one weeks notice, a month's notice after only 10 months service is excessive.

In future make sure you have a contract of employment drawn up within the first couple of weeks.  I have a copy if you want one.

[Majestic]

He is paid weekly, I have mentioned to him about him missing windows but he has denied it . But so many customers cant be wrong, some of them I have had for a while as well. One of the jobs was nearly £1k per year, but I just put that down to them wanting a cheaper window cleaner.

Ian
If you could send me a copy.Thanks

[d s windowcleaning]

been in the same boat lads letting me down , at one stage i had 5 working for me . i now work on my own with wfp i must say this makes up for all the lads who worked for me . its up to me now when i start & finish . best move i made going wfp . by the way are you trad or wfp .

[Majestic]

Both ,On  most domestic jobs I dont make much from him, its just the commercial ones that I needed him for.

[d s windowcleaning]

give it a go on your own . i had one top class worker who i thought i couldnt cope without . how wrong i was i just do all the lot on my own took me some time getting used to being on my own but its worked out better for me by being on my own & not just money wise .

[NWH]

This is why i`ve said in the past that it`s just not worth the hassle if there ok now it won`t be long before there trying to lead you up the garden path,if you give him a telling off all that`s going to do is cause an atmosphere at work and that can be worse than having a stomach ulcer,the simple thing to do is get rid of him if it keeps up and it will i`m sure and get rid of every job you know you won`t miss or jobs that are average payers,keep all the cream work and go it alone you`ll earn more money by just sifting through the C*** work,employing people can make you feel that if you don`t have someone with you your never get everything done and you`ll end up rushing round to get things done,this is not the case.Working alone is all about using your head when selecting work to keep on or take on,this is the difference between earning really good money or an average wage,employing is not all it`s crack up to be i know from experience want to earn more money and have a stress free life,then go it alone and get quality work trust me.

[Majestic]

All that I was doing on the domestic jobs was finishing earlier, When he had time off I still did the same amount of work without him , but I just finished a bit later

[NWH]

Exactly what i`m saying John,i do at least the same 9x out of 10 i do more and normally finish about an hour later.But when your working with someone you yourself work slower and not so organised so when you add up all the chatting stopping for breaks and them not coming in on time etc,it`s a no brainer really.I thought i`d hate this job on my own,long live WFP.

[d s windowcleaning]

think nwh as taken the words out of my mouth . coulndnt agree more  . yes long live wfp

[DASERVICES]

Problem I found with employing young guys is they would come into work with a hang over, and Mondays was excuse day. Yes we have all done that but when it is your business that you have built up then you just have to give them the boot.

I'm still thinking about using Students as flexi as they are always looking to earn money.

[nat]

I'm afraid i disagree guys, i've had a few guys work for me, i've had the wool pulled over my eyes a few times but now my work and workers seem to be stable, i'm not saying that i will ever have problems again but everytime i have a problem i try to rectify it so it doesn't happen again, i have learned that treat people with respect and most will return it, if they don't then get them replaced, i try to be fair with people and pay them decent wages, sometimes i do feel that maybe i get lead up the garden path a little, but its a bit of give and take, if they take the total mick then i flex my authoritie. maybe i'm lucky i don't know but the bottom line is if i encounter a problem i try to solve it so it doesn't happen again.

I also don't agree with getting as much work done on your own, my figures always double with a 2 man team rather than a one man team

[d s windowcleaning]

problem with students they just want the money & dont give a poop about doing a good job ive tryed it mate .work on your own theres only one person to blame then and thats yourself .  

[NWH]

I`m sorry but i can`t agree with the double the work comment,that all depends on what you mean ie number of houses yes,amount of money earned no.

[NWH]

99 out of 100 couldn`t give a S*** about your name and reputation,the proof was in the pudding and i ate it.