[bobby p]

i have a couple of part time lads work for me. The other week one of them asked could he borrow a squeegee etc to clean a friends house but i said no, the gears too valuable and not for borrowing.(i was a bit cheesed off he didnt put whatever job it was my way but wasnt sure what to say apart from no borrowing of tools)
 
 yesterday he let slip that he now has bought gear and is doing a few houses on his own

  he worked slow as a tortoise yesterday and said he couldnt understand why he was so slow.  ive now twigged he was probably slow as was knackered from cleaning  on the previous day which was his day off .

 i know its a free country and maybe im paranoid , he can do what he wants but im now thinking he could well be canvassing  my own patch. what would you do?

[Denise l]

Get rid of him. I had the same problem. Costs you money in the end as your work sffers. They think its easy to start on their own off your back.
If they want to start their own business, let them do it legit, register with IR, Insurance etc.

Denise

[easy]

Honest mate,just get over it and move on.There's plenty of work out there...he might build up a small roud soon,buy the work from him

[Smudger]

To be brutally honest with you - i think you need to look at what your paying them - if your being tight then your forcing them to find extra work

i dont think a mop and squeegee are hardly valuable ? - it's not like asking to borrow an SLX or anything ?

perhaps if you'd been more open ( and offered a finders fee ) he would have brought work to you...


nevertheless - there's tons of work to be had and i doubt he would be able to take any of your existing custy's - but keep friends and you may in the future be able to help each other out on big jobs etc...

... just never ask to borrow anything..

Darran

[Spruce]

i have a couple of part time lads work for me. The other week one of them asked could he borrow a squeegee etc to clean a friends house but i said no, the gears too valuable and not for borrowing.(i was a bit cheesed off he didnt put whatever job it was my way but wasnt sure what to say apart from no borrowing of tools)
 
 yesterday he let slip that he now has bought gear and is doing a few houses on his own

  he worked slow as a tortoise yesterday and said he couldnt understand why he was so slow.  ive now twigged he was probably slow as was knackered from cleaning  on the previous day which was his day off .

 i know its a free country and maybe im paranoid , he can do what he wants but im now thinking he could well be canvassing  my own patch. what would you do?

or he was busy doing his own work in your time...............

[bobby p]

To be brutally honest with you - i think you need to look at what your paying them - if your being tight then your forcing them to find extra work

i dont think a mop and squeegee are hardly valuable ? - it's not like asking to borrow an SLX or anything ?

perhaps if you'd been more open ( and offered a finders fee ) he would have brought work to you...


nevertheless - there's tons of work to be had and i doubt he would be able to take any of your existing custy's - but keep friends and you may in the future be able to help each other out on big jobs etc...

... just never ask to borrow anything..

Darran

Been paying 7 quid an hour, 16 hours a week so they stay under the tax threshold . this is on the books all legal ,and  my idea of them being partime is so that they can do other work elsewhere   without getting bored and no big commitment  apart from showing up on the days arranged  . 

( it wasnt the cost value of just loaning him a squeegee but its joe muggins here end up buying the rubber and washing the scrim isnt it. )

 im not sure what to do,as both the lads are very good friends of each other. the other lad seems happy to just work for me,put the squeegee down at day end and then go  and do different jobs on the other days 

[Craig 72]

I think immediately calling for the guys head is a bit strong.Who can honestly in their heart of hearts say that they wouldn't start thinking about doing exactly the same thing if they were in his shoes?Anyone with a shred of ambition would.It would be different if he was trying to pinch your work from behind your back but if he has a little sideline on his own does it really matter?I would talk to him personally.If things end nasty he may make a point of targeting the areas where you work and even trying to pinch some of your work.I don't work anywhere near whereI live so to assume he is targeting the same area as you could be wrong.

[Spruce]

Unfortunately if they are part timers then there is every possibility that they will find other work to supplement their wages doing what they do best - cleaning windows. There is nothing you can do about that.

What would be very tempting would be being legitimately employed by you and then earning cash in hand on the other days. Working for themselves would earn them at least twice what you are paying them per hour, so the reality is that they will eventually go off on their own once they have sufficiently built up their own business.

You can't have it both ways.

In the motor trade where I once worked, the mechanics were employeed on a full time basis and a clause in their employment contract stipulated that they weren't allowed to repair vehicles out of hours. But they could do anything else, ie plastering, TV aerial installation etc. no problem.

Spruce

[dazmond]

bobby have you ever thought of going wfp for most of your work and getting rid of any part timer helpers?

wfp on your own you can burn through your work like you wouldnt believe!once you get used to it!!

years ago i had lots of different lads working for me here and there.all of them were crap apart from one who went off to start up on his own.

the problem is if they are any good and have a bit of nous about them theyll go and start up on their own after a while.

the problems with shoddy work, missing windows out,still in bed when you turn up at 830am.etc,etc.in the end id had enough and vowed never to have anyone working for me ever again and i never have.

my working life is so much better.its simpler and no hassle.wfp has revolutionised my work.

regards


dazmond

[Simon@ Clearview contractors]

Think of it this way, if a customer, or anyone for that matter approached him whilst he was doing a days work for you and asked him if he did large jobs or even schools, do you think he would tell you? or do you think he would keep quiet and do them for himself?

It's a conflict of interests that may well end in tears IMHO.

[Poles R Us]

bobby have you ever thought of going wfp for most of your work and getting rid of any part timer helpers?

wfp on your own you can burn through your work like you wouldnt believe!once you get used to it!!

years ago i had lots of different lads working for me here and there.all of them were crap apart from one who went off to start up on his own.

the problem is if they are any good and have a bit of nous about them theyll go and start up on their own after a while.

the problems with shoddy work, missing windows out,still in bed when you turn up at 830am.etc,etc.in the end id had enough and vowed never to have anyone working for me ever again and i never have.

my working life is so much better.its simpler and no hassle.wfp has revolutionised my work.

regards


dazmond

same here , you dont need anyone when you got a pole , sack them all and go for it.

[H S and Son]

Get rid of him.

You can't sack someone on a whim or because he's doing something he's perfectly entitled to, even IF he us, you haven't got any proof he is either. He's just tired, perhaps he needs a holiday.

Sacking him for what has been described is a bit line charging someone with murder because you thought they looked like they could kill .


I'm taking someone on the same basis you are employing thus fella, when we finish work at the end of the day I don't give a poop what he does. You seem to have a lot of problems working with others, is it you or them?

[Pope vader]

what did you expect him to do on his days off  sit at home and watch jeremy kyle,   the thing with this business is we sit there saying we are making money   they see you doing 4 houses a hour at £7-10 per house  then he gets £7 per hour off you,  on his days off thinks i will give this  a chance and goes knocking  and before you know it he is leaving you, anmd taking some of your custys

this has just happened to a mate of mine with the last 3-4 lads he has had,  he give them a van with 3.5k worth of work a month, he expected them to clean, collect all for 1200 a month and couldnt understand why they where leaving and most of the custy cancelling on the next clean

[easy]

bobby p ,pay him more £10 per hour,share the tips,give him a bonus... then you will have a loyal worker

[Poles R Us]

and no money

[Scrimble]

£7 per hour and you expect him to be loyal to you, dream on! you dont own him and a squeegy a valuble peice of equipment? is this a joke??

8 years ago when i worked with my dad when i was 18 he employed someone trad (no wfp in them days) and he was on £10 per hour then.

you expect someone to slave away for you on pennys and be loyal to you, does he have MUG written across his forehead?

[H S and Son]

but im now thinking he could well be canvassing  my own patch.

Like all the other window cleaners who haven't got the right to canvass your customers?

what would you do?

I think I'd give up actually, you're not cut out to be a human being obviously 

[bobby p]

 ive only been in the game 3 yrs and trad only. im not sure why but i feel the WFP  wouldnt go down too well on the council estates where i mostly focus the work

 spose its obvious,as said above,  any lad with a bit of nous will be off on his own soon as. paying 10 pound an hour wouldnt make the difference i feel  ,theyd know they could earn more on their own .


  but you guys with YEARS  under your belt who employ , what type of lad sticks with it long term ? ?

  im starting to think maybe best  look for a DUNDERHEAD lad,no  not a psycho, just mentally challenged .  i  have seen this sort about

  

[cozy]

That's narrowed it down to about 2 million then!!!   I used to employ 18 year old wannabe students, people like that. You can tell in the first day or two if they can hack it. I always used to tell them what a headache it is to be self employed, tax, VAT, hidden costs blah blah blah. If they asked how much I charge, I'd always say 25% less than it really was.
I'd just paint a bad picture of self employment.

Also, I'd pay a small bonus now and then to keep them happy. Only a few quid here and there. If we called at a chippy etc I'd pay for theirs. Makes for a better feeling between boss and slave.

[Tom White]

I guess, unless your terms and conditions of employment specify otherwise (and there's probably legal restraints here) that you pay for your employees time, and in this case it's 16 hours per week.

Outside of that time, they can do what they want as long as it's within the law.

If your employee fails to maintain the required minimum standards while you're paying for his time, it's then time to do something about it.