Time and time again I hear from clients their frustration with firing bad employees and then watching the business unemployment insurance rate go up. Small businesses can’t afford to hire the wrong people. Some bad hires are inevitable but you can lessen the likelihood by just putting into place some basic employee policies and hiring practices.
Many small businesses do not put employee policies and hiring practices into place from the fear of becoming too corporate. This is a big mistake. To protect your business, you must put them into place. For example, a business with no employee policies such as a dress code and no formal firing process leaves the business open to employee lawsuits and government investigations. I will highlight this with the following example:
The Scenario:
Emily, who is a waitress at a local restaurant, wears inappropriate attire while on duty and is constantly treating customers rudely. After being warned multiple times by the manager with no change in behavior she is fired. Emily immediately files for unemployment and files a discrimination claim against the manager because she believes she was unfairly targeted regarding how she dressed.
The Results – Cafe Alpha with no employee policies in place
Emily is granted unemployment by the state and Cafe A’s unemployment insurance rate increases as a result. The state believes she was unfairly fired due to the lack of documentation of her inappropriate behavior. In addition, Cafe A is under investigation for discrimination and Cafe A will need to incur legal costs to defend itself against the state. (more…)
