What would you do??

What should I do???

  • take the truck away

    Votes: 15 48.4%

  • Vehicle tracking

    Votes: 2 6.5%

  • Fire him

    Votes: 5 16.1%

  • Pay actual hours with Holiday pay

    Votes: 7 22.6%

  • Sing Kumbaya and forget about it.

    Votes: 2 6.5%
  • Total voters
    31
Scott Stone

Scott Stone

New member
Here is the situation.

I have an employee that is basically independent. This means that he has a take home vehicle, calls me when he is starting work, and faxes me his work report.

Here is the problem. He has decided that he really needs to get holiday pay, even though he is guaranteed 40 hours a week and seldom works it. That being the goal, he has decided that instead of it looking like he works less than 40 hours a week, he will pad his time ticket to show that he is working 40,remember he is guaranteed 40 do there is no theft involved, just paperwork fraud.
I am getting the paper work thing worked out. I don't think he thought that he was doing anything super dishonest by falsifying the paperwork, he was just trying to make a case for Holiday pay, which he is not going to get.
So here are my options that I am considering:
1. Taking the take home truck away and make him report to the yard for work so that I can more closely track his start and end time.
2. Put on a vehicle tracking system that will be his time clock, it will cost about $650
3. Fire him and let him deal with it.
4. Pat him actual hours worked, with a quota for productivity, and give him holiday pay.
5. Forget about it, make sure the paperwork is accurate, and live long and prosper.

Well those are the options, What do you think?

Scott
 
Hi Scott,

The one thing that you did not say is How Good an employee he is?

I don't think I would have started the take home vehicle thing! I like to see my people and equipment.

I guarantee my crew leader 40 hours and pay time & one half if over 40 hours. I do not pay for holidays. However since we seldom work any holidays, if we don't have work for him to do he ends up getting paid! We also provide health insurance coverage for him.

Time starts for all employees when they leave the shop and ends when they return. We pay travel time, meals, and provide all equipment (gloves, suits, boots, etc.) and a cooler of pop & Gadorade is always on the truck. Usually have donuts too!

Dave Olson
 
WOW, tough Job being the boss... i can assume this guy makes you money and your life alittle easier? fix the paper work and come to a fare adjustment. make him happy and keep a good employee. i'm not saying holiday pay, but something you can do to make a compromise.. Scott do you give vacation time? if not maybe give him a week vacation and let him take it any time. then on those holidays he can take the vacation days.
 
ron p

i dont think i follow what he wants.
Let's say wed is the 4th of july.
You need him to work that day.
You pay his reg. check for 40 hours and he wants What? 48 hours pay or 44 hours pay?
Also how meny days are we talking about?
Is there any chance he can just get his own rig and take the customer's he's washing now?
 
Scott, take home vehicle or not, that it is your decision. However, I will make a couple of points:
1. I'd put into writing what your pay program is. I have my employees sign the document.
2. Ditto on vehicle policy - use the IRS version, which basically lets them know that any personal driving they will be taxed on.
3. Before firing guy I'd document that he did not follow rules, or did not perform. In document state that any further problems he could be dismissed. Watch out arbitrarily terminating an employee without due process. You are looking at a unemployment comp case, esp. in the absence of a written policy.
Good luck
 
If he's a good worker and makes you money, show him you appreciate him. End of story.
Gav
 
As for the type of employee, he is a good one. Always comes to work, never calls in sick, and is basically dependable, although he needs to be watched on detail work.
The take home vehicle was mostly because I don't work out of a shop, and I did not want 5 trucks parked out front in my neighborhood. The neighbors don't get what I do for a living anyway, so the extra trucks would really confuse them, besides it could get unsightly.
As for pay on the holiday, no he wants 52 hours pay, time and a half for holidays, after all. Like I said, I am not going there. He is the only person in the company that has a schedule set in stone, and works Monday through Friday. That would be a thought, make him work with me, a Fate worse than death.
Arizona is an at will state, which means I can fire someone at anytime with out reason, and he would not be able to get his own rig and take the account for a couple fo reasons. It is not a normal pressure washing job, and it is under contract.:cool:
I guess I am in a quandary on what to do.

Scott
 
I thought this one over....and over....and over....

Ok. Scott has a guy that he must like over all. He pays him 40 hours, the guy does 30 hours work. First of all I see productivity problem. This could lead to a morale problem, if it is allowed to go on too long.

So, perhaps you should say ok dude, I'll pay you the 40 hours, but if you worked 30, you owe me 10 hours. When busy season hits, and I need you for overtime, you need to work it. I mean, if you are paying him a solid 40 hours you are essentially making him a salaried employee anyway, which means he doesn't qualify for overtime. Now if you have him set up as hourly, well, that should change if you are not paying actual time.

Of course you could have a nice big fat pool of hours he owes you, but gettinghim to work it might be impossible.

So consider making him salaried, find him things to do to keep him at 40 hours, give him his sick day s and vacation days and holidays, since either way it is pay and say hey if you are NOT working you need to use up some of the sick/holiday/vacation time (as appropriate) to make up your 40 hours.

Beth
 
If hes doing good work, do whatever it takes to keep him and therefore make your life easier. If you lose him, you might not be so lucky next time.
 
Isn't help fun,I say stay with your agreement with him,if you have to break down and pay holidays take the truck away that alone is worth more than paid holidays,you know that and I know that but he doesn't it seems.I did that once and it only cost me more than what he was worth,counting dinner and snacks he was making as much as I was and by you saying he's basically independent plus already stealing from ya stand your ground,its already costing you enough.If he stealing how on hours hahahaha dat ant the only thing he's stealing thats all ya know of hahahahaha,isn't help fun :D .
 
Scott, Does he have a computer? If he does and logs on this BB he knows what you can do to him by now. I suggest you have a talk with him soon to see what you both can decide upon. No sense getting aggivated clear it up now. You are too good a boss to be taken advantage of. Anna
 
If he finds this, or doesn't, I don't care. I doubt that he would be looking at this site anyway, because really I am just a job to him. One other little thing is that he is a legal immigrant, a colombian industrial engineer with an MBA. He used to run Mazda in Colombia, until they shut down operations there. Then he immigrated here as a poitical refugee, with his family, because they have a habit in countries like that of killing the upper class people. His wife was a university math professor.
As for the productivity problem, I have the job budgeted at 40 hours. I was always the most productive person at any place that I worked at. Usually I would shatter all records when I started wroking there. If I take a temporary position I am usually offered a job at a higher wage within a week, although one time it took two weeks. That is just the way I work, and I hate to be punished by being given more work if I get all of my work done. So that is not something that I like to do.
As for the additional stealing part, the only possibility is being worked out so that won't be possible, as well. I hate3 to lock people down like that, because I think it stifles them, but it appears that he has earned it.
I appreciate the comments and I am still deciding what I am going to do.

Scott
 
One major thing has been overlooked here.

That take home vehicle is considered SALARY, gas, insurance, milage etc. Figure out that cost and point it out to him.

Does he have free use of it on off time? If so remind him HIS insurance must cover that free use time.

I would require him to show his face to you more often, every night if the need be, starting and ending hours. That will make him know your keeping tabs on his actual hours worked.

He is just getting greedy with you and if you give in to him others will follow.

Salary or hourly I believe there is a federal law says you have to pay time and half if working holiday, not sure but I think so.

Sounds to me like you might want to find a yard to store all your equipment in and have a small office there with a time clock.

Tracking device on truck, very good idea. Better yet one of those that track speed, ideal time, driving time and distance and one or two other things.

You will know exactly what he is doing with the truck that way. Just have to change the round paper thing weekly so that means he has to see you at least one day a week.

Jon
 
We have had guys ask us over and over if they can take equipment home and just go to the jobs without checking in.

The answer is always the same. No.

Our reason is simple. The products and equipment you 'll need to perform a days jobs will vary from day to day. Also, there will be times when Rod will need to give you special instructions about a particular job. Therefore, you must report in, checkout the necessary equipment and products, get your route instructions and job tickets, and you can go from there. At the end of the day all equipment and unused product must be checked back into inventory and signed for by one of us. Any customer concerns or questions can then be relayed directly to the office, so that we can provide immediate follow up.

But that's just how we handle it. All employees have their own inbox, where we place maps, job tickets, etc....

Beth
:cool:

p.s. eliminates moonlighting... :)
 
You guys are missing something, this is not a pressure washing type of job. IN reality I wish that I had not started the take home truck thing. It is more of a hassle than it is worth. I also hate to take the truck from him, because it is now expected by him, and he sold his car that he used to drive to work.

The job he is doing is a government contract, and he does the same route every day. So there is really no chance of him moonlighting in that way.

As for the tracking device, it will not be one of those paper thingies. It will be a lot more high tech than that. It is an internet based system that records where he has driven in the last week, where he stopped, and how long he was there. It also is done in real time, so that I can see where he is at any given minute, and how fast he is driving, and how long he stays at any particular stop. It is really a pretty cool system. I can also hide the system from him if I choose. I would not do that, I would just let him ask what it is and why it is there. What to do, what to do???
:p
 
ron p

i would put down on paper what he is making,what the use of the truck is worth and the avrg. amount of hours hes putting in. Show it to him and ask where he wants to go from there.
Sometimes people dont relize what the perks cost a employer.
If he had to get his own insurance,gas,time to and from your shop,plus you keeping better track of his activites, I think he will see the light and back off.
a co. car is worth about $4,000 a year
[depending on miliage]
not having a boss up your butt priceless
 
Whats the verdict?

Scott,
What have you decided what to do with this employee?

I voted to pay him for actual hours worked plus holiday pay. That way all is fair for both sides.

If he is a valuable employee which he sounds like he is then I would do what it takes to keep him happy without him getting over to much.

Good employees is one of the hardest things to find and to keep them could be just as tough.

Good luck
 
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