Employee Trouble.....Need help.

[drstrangelove]

Don't follow any of the above advice that effects their employment or salary without first talking to an employment lawyer. The advice about having a discussion with the employee and documenting your concerns is spot on. In most conflicts between employer/employee the employee will win unless the employer has done everything by the book. Of course if you just want to get rid of her(him), just pay them sufficient severance and be done with it.

 

[Ref]

I take it you are a small company.
Employment standards identifies the minimum you have to pay in notice and severance.

Pay the notice and the minimum severance. You can pay common law severance which would be about 2 weeks for every completed year of service, but before you pay the severance have them sign a release. There are lots of samples of termination/severance letters on the net.

If they lawyer up then prepare to negotiate. Stick to what you want to pay as long as it is reasonable from a common law perspective.

 

[Tony2000]

In addition, I would put a plan in place for how you are going to meet the customer need that this employee was fulfilling. You don't want to fire them and then be left hanging.

To be honest, it sounds like this person is not doing much work. It could be easily outsourced. Do a simple Google search to see what companies provide this type of service. You will probably save a bundle.

UpWork is a good source of freelancers with niche expertise. In my business, I contract with a guy to help with some technical aspects of website development. It doesn't cost me much and I then bill the client directly for it.

 

[Malibuk]

This is such bad advice. Always document as much as possible when it comes to HR. I've let employees go with seemingly no possible reason for them contest the reason, and have had them turn around and file a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal/ discrimination, and the main thing that saved me was how documented the process was. And yes, they were paid the appropriate severance and then some. Some people just see possible extra $ and go for it.

Please give us some examples of documentation that saved you from frivolous lawsuits.

 

[funstick]

A lot of good advice here. Written documentation that expectations are not being met is very important. It could be the wake up call the employee needs and he/she may turn it around. If not, the documentation helps facilitate termination, especially if you decide to terminate with cause. If the legal required amount for severance is manageable, strongly consider termination without cause and paying it out, even if performance was poor. It helps avoid litigation, and if litigated anyway, your written documentation will be invaluable. After performance review, if you do not see immediate improvement, quietly start recruiting a successor.

 

[Malibuk]

Why do some people think that employers needs to have a good reason or grounds for dismissal in order to let a non-unionized employee go?
This is total bullshit.

"Your services are no longer required", is all that is required, as long as you pay the proper severance.
Whether proper is ESA or case law is debatable.
They don`t need documentation to prove that you are no longer needed.
They don`t need documentation to prove that your work is shit.

If an employee turns around and claims they were let go because they are black, gay, or whatever, the onus is on them to make their case.
Yes this can be a hassle but the onus is not on the employer to prove that they are not racist bigots.
What kink of document is going to prevent a meritless lawsuit?

 

[Malibuk]

Second Choice = Cut to the chase and fire them right now and follow the law

Of course if you just want to get rid of her(him), just pay them sufficient severance and be done with it.

Exactly, no need to prove you have the right to let someone go.

 

[Jenesis]

Holy Cow!!!

I did not expect all these replies but I thank you all for each and every one of them. I did read them all..

First, I should have added some info so I am sorry for the lacking information.

1. I did purposely use the pronoun they. I didn’t want gender to be an issue but most assumed/figured out it is a guy.

2. Non unionized employee

3. I have documented everything I posted to date. When the internet issue were happening, it only got “fixed” once I stated he had to get it fixed that week or the following week I was sending our IT guy out. Everything except one phone call has been recorded.

4. I have software that tracks logins and stuff. Employees have no idea. So I know when he has been lying about doing an actual client’s job. He could be doing prep work before logging in to add it, but it still shows some of the times he has been lying.

5. I am not trying to fire this person. I feel that is the way it is headed, but I was truly hoping for ways to motivate at home working because I understand it can be an adjustment and one that some have more difficulty with then others. I am trying to be understanding and helpful. To the best of my ability, but he is making it harder and harder as the deadlines pass.

6. I always give my staff a different deadline then the client. He is starting to learn that but it is generally a week or two difference in the deadline timeline. Sometimes though, and with his department, it can be shorter which makes it more difficult.

7. His workload varies. Sometimes it is full because he is developing the product for the client, sometimes it is slow because he is only doing maintenance. Lately it has been the latter

8. I can do the maintenance and stop offering the service to new clients, but I would like to continue on with it if I can.

9. Staff are all back to work next week. They have Christmas off. We take the two weeks every year so that my staff can spend time with their family/kids. Most are women with kids and it keeps from needing daycare. I am hoping to have a plan for him drafted by then.

10. He has only been employed with me for a little under 2 years.

I figured out one thing I will do since it is looking like I will have to get rid of my receptionist. She has helped him on some projects and learned a little. I will see if she wants to learn more, we will work out all the training, etc. She can then transition in the company to his field. I have never lacked a back up with the exception of him and his field. This is the exact reason why but when he approached me, it was to experiment and see. Things went well for a year and then when we would be looking at expanding and training, etc COVID happens and we just never get to it. Which if I was smart, I would have used this time to get my receptionist on board.

So now I have to come up with a way to let him know his job is on the line and he is on a short leash or he is being let go. I personally can’t deal with chasing him to meet his deadlines. It is a huge pet peeve of mine. I feel like a mother chasing after a kid to do his chores. Not a boss with clients, and other staff who need my time. I just want to do it in a way that lights a fire under his butt, not make him bitter and resenting.

I am not worried about law suits and all that. I am worried about employee sabotage though. Going after my clientele to keep them with him for this part of their business. I would be mortified if my clients were brought into our company drama. It is something known in the industry I work in. Not often but enough to make me worry.

I can honestly say I have never really had this issue with other employees. Back in the beginning but I have been much better at vetting resumes and interviewing. Before him there there no new hires for about 5 years.

Oh and I will be treating salary increases and bonuses differently. It will be based more on performance then just the naturally expected raise and Christmas gift. Well maybe the salary increase. I don’t think I can make the bonuses based on performance. I don’t think I could handle giving different people, different amounts at Christmas.

Anyway, any suggestions on how to motivate this person. Anyone have any tips about working from home? How to get out of the “home“ space and into the “work” space? My problem when working from was that I worked too much. Work was always “available” so I did it non stop and did not live “home” life enough. So I am the opposite of him. I don’t know how to relate to his issues.


Hope that cleared some of questions. Thanks again for all the replies.

 

[Hoppers]

Please give us some examples of documentation that saved you from frivolous lawsuits.

I have instances where terminated employees tried to make cases they were terminated on grounds of ethnicity, disability, gender, and even once "bad faith" because they claimed to be treated differently than another employee who was a "friend of the family". All of them were dealt with in short order because of the detail and consistency of our documentation around performance, pay increases, job descriptions, and disciplinary actions.

There is no good reason to avoid documenting the process outside of laziness or if you are actually knowingly breaking the law. And while you would hope that the onus would be on the employee to prove their case, it often isn't. And documentation mostly serves to keep opposing lawyers from wanting to bring a case to court rather than just settle. Because unfortunately it is often more worthwhile to give in a little than it is to pay for lengthy legal battles. Even getting to early points of third party arbitration can be insanely expensive.

 

[Malibuk]

I wouldn`t let him know that he is on a short leash as then he would not be willing to help train his replacement.
Just tell him you want to give him some assistance so he needs to train his new assistant.

Did he sign an employment agreement with a non-compete clause?
Even if he did, these are not easy to enforce, unless you give him a package that covers this time.

 

[Fun For All]

It's virtually impossible to motivate a person who doesn't want to work.
If your work isn't getting done - why keep this person around?
All you need to do is simply make it clear to your employee that you'll have to part ways if results don't improve.

I like that idea^^^...you can get rid of them and keep the labour board happy by paying the legally prescribed severance...if you don't want to pay the severance and fire with cause you may have a court battle.

 

[curvluvr]

Anyway, any suggestions on how to motivate this person. Anyone have any tips about working from home? How to get out of the “home“ space and into the “work” space? My problem when working from was that I worked too much. Work was always “available” so I did it non stop and did not live “home” life enough. So I am the opposite of him. I don’t know how to relate to his issues.

I have an office job. I've been working from home since March because of the pandemic, and I'm not expecting to return to the office until spring, at the earliest. We're a small company (only 7 people in our Toronto office). Luckily, with a small company, we all know our individual roles, so when we have work to do, we gotta do it, because nobody else will pick up our slack.
I love working from home, but I can tell you that the amount of distractions is much higher. Anything from family members walking around, to somebody watching TV, taking the dog out for a walk, deciding to go grocery shopping in the middle of the day, and the fact that I'm napping a lot more during the day too. This causes me to work different hours, but I'm OK with that.

Apart from setting up a dedicated area to work (separate desk/table... not the dining table), just the knowledge that I have work to do and client deadlines to meet should be motivation enough for me to complete tasks at hand.
If your suspect employee can't motivate himself enough to get his own work done at home, there either are some issues at home that keeps him from working, or he simply is unable to work at home for reasons that you don't even need to know.
You'll have to start putting your foot down on some of these issues.

BTW, you have a lot of respect from us board members, both from those who have met you, and those who haven't. We're all more than willing to help you.
Good luck.

 

[Malibuk]

Because unfortunately it is often more worthwhile to give in a little than it is to pay for lengthy legal battles. Even getting to early points of third party arbitration can be insanely expensive.

News travels and in the long term it could be more expensive to set a precedent of giving in and rewarding despicable behaviour.

 

[wazup]

Lay them off and be done with it, who cares about a pandemic. To owe a severance they need to have worked for you for 5 years and you need to have a payroll of 2.5 million. Shortage of work, the end.

 

[Jenesis]

Lay them off and be done with it, who cares about a pandemic. To owe a severance they need to have worked for you for 5 years and you need to have a payroll of 2.5 million. Shortage of work, the end.

There is more involved then just that.

Like I said, he handles a niche part of my business. He came to me and offered this service to be added to my companies list of services. He was subcontracted at first and then after a year, he was hired full time.

I don’t have anyone to fill his shoes at the moment. I could hire out but admit I am an amateur in this field. I really put my faith in this person. It is not something I want wasted.

If I have to let them go, I would, at the very least, like to ensure my ducks are in a row before hand. I want to make sure my customers are taken care of and we can maintain what he has started.

 

[squeezer]

I am not worried about law suits and all that. I am worried about employee sabotage though. Going after my clientele to keep them with him for this part of their business. I would be mortified if my clients were brought into our company drama. It is something known in the industry I work in. Not often but enough to make me worry.

Many great suggestions. Document everything and run it past a good labor lawyer if it comes down to termination is always money well spent. These are 2 of the suggestions I think are common sense and follow religiously in my own situation.

I suspect he's already planning to start his own business and gathering up clientele if his work ethic has completely changed, only a hunch.

 

[Malibuk]

Lay them off and be done with it, who cares about a pandemic. To owe a severance they need to have worked for you for 5 years and you need to have a payroll of 2.5 million. Shortage of work, the end.

Termination notice, or pay in lieu of, needs to be given.
People use the word severance generally speaking for any money owed.

 

[wazup]

Termination notice, or pay in lieu of, needs to be given.
People use the word severance generally speaking for any money owed.

I believe most people view severance as additional pay for years of service (2 weeks pay per year worked for example), not 2 weeks notice before a layoff. Severance and notice are the words used in these circumstances imo.

 

[Robert Mugabe]

Fire dat beeeeeotch already!

 

[Malibuk]

I believe most people view severance as additional pay for years of service (2 weeks pay per year worked for example), not 2 weeks notice before a layoff. Severance and notice are the words used in these circumstances imo.

I think most people have no idea what the difference is and in most cases it really doesn`t matter.
Most lawyers will negotiate around 1 month per year of service.
Whatever percentage of this is considered severance, if any, is totally irrelevant.

Severance Pay in Ontario | Employment Law Basics (stlawyers.ca)
Severance Pay Ontario
Severance pay in Ontario is provided to non-unionized employees when they are terminated without cause from their job. When an employee is “let go”, they are entitled to either working notice, pay in lieu of notice (which is commonly referred to as severance pay or termination pay), or a combination of both. The size of the severance package varies from one individual to another, depending on the situation.
When your employment is terminated, you qualify for severance pay.