[Adam P]

we have always worked with family/friends so have never needed to do things the offical way and as a result are still fairly new to employing people.

we have an interview arranged at a local coffee shop with a girl on wednesday and would like some advice as to what we should do. i know we need to explain what we are looking for etc but anything else i should do to be prepared?

also how do people advertise a vacancy? we put advert up on gumtree and only response was from indian people who couldn't speak english so got husband to ring up etc, and also job centre but so far only one person who has a chance replied yet she doesn't seem likely to be permanent so unsure what else we can do.

also the trouble we have is we are stuck in a catch 22 situation, we can't take on much more regular work as we are pretty much full, so any more work comes in we need to give to staff, but i can't take staff on until i have the work sitting there for them. what did people do when in same situation?

[nat1]

Hi Im in the same predicament at the moment I have 1 member of staff who is actually a mum from the school where my children go, so I didn't have to interview.  I am now in a catch 22 as i want more work so I can expand but need to pass it onto staff, so what do we do? advertise & when people call wanting cleaners say we will have vacancies in a few weeks & hope they don't go else where, then try & find the staff or plan B, which at the moment I dont know what this is.  So if anybody can shine some light on this problem, I would appreciate it.


Many thanks guys


Nat

[Adam P]

i suppose there is no harm in advertising for free in places like job centre explaining you're looking for someone that can be put onto books and then as and when work comes in it's theres, and then in future if work does come in advertise for a fuller time person etc. it does suck as one method we are considering if giving our regulars to the cleaners, but this runs the risk of the client not liking the new cleaner/the cleaners standard isn't as high as ours and client leaving resulting in less work for us, and no work for the cleaner.

[absolutecleaning]

the cleaners standard isn't as high as ours

This shouldn't really be an issue if trained properly.

advertise & when people call wanting cleaners say we will have vacancies in a few weeks & hope they don't go else where,

This is what we did - in general I think that if someone has chosen you for the right reasons in the first place I dont think they will mind waiting a little while.

[suffolkclean]

If you already have a few hours per week for a cleaner eg.6 hrs & want to give more when you get it. You can:-

a. advertise for 6 hrs week when they come to see you tell them they will get more hours when new customers come up.

b. advertise 6-10 hrs per week which you are allowed to do. explain when to meet them starts off at 6 hrs & increasing to 10+

Barbara

[Robert Parry]

Hi all,

Not wishing to put you off, but please be aware of the following:

When advertising vacancies, you need to ensure that the advert is legal and descriptive.

The regulations regarding work permits and immigration.
Membership of trade unions.
Criminal Records.
Data Protection - Employment Practices Codes.
Monitoring.
Race, Sex and disability Discrimination.
Direct Discrimination.
Indirect Discrimination.
Victimisation.
Codes of Practice.
The Commision For Racial Equality.
Equal Opportunities Commision.
The Disability Rights Commision (DRC).
The Information Commisioner.
Advertising Employment Vacancies.
Application for Employment Forms.
Rejection Letters.
Monitoring the Equal Opportunities Policy.
Interviews.
After the Interview.
New employee Induction.
Probationary Periods.

These are just some of the regulations that have to be complied with, there are many many more.

If this is the first time that you are advertising any vacancy, please ensure that you take advice and that you comply with the legislation.

Regards,

Rob

[suffolkclean]

My goodness Rob - thats enough to put anyone off!

[nat1]

I agree Suffolk clean  it's amazing that anybody would want to take the plunge after reading that!  However thank you for the advise Rob where would you say the best place is to go to get advice on recruiting staff etc?  I know Business Link are good would citizens advice be able to help on this?.  I have just got a call of a good friend who lives in a apartment block who has lots of friends who now want cleaners asap and I now need staff asap ARRRG!!!


Any advice of any of you guys would be grand



Ta Nat

[dianegreenwood]

Hi all

The best advice I was ever given regarding employing people is to hire someone when you can only half afford them.  Its amazing what creating a vacuum can do. 

All my team get a minimum of 4 hours per day and if we're not busy on any day we go flyering!  Having said that we haven't done any flyering since August and I now have 10 staff after just 19 months trading so it does appear to work.

Take the plunge, you won't regret it and trust me, if you spend your days cleaning you'll miss far too many enquiries and you'll not be spending time growing the business so roster yourself out asap and be sickness cover only as much as possible.

Best Wishes

Diane

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

[Robert Parry]

If the govts head laywer can get caught out we all can, only I have a feeling saying sorry and paying a small fine wont be good enough for us mere mortals!

My previous post, was not meant to put any one off employing staff, after all in order to grow, we need to employ.

But we all should be aware, that it is not a decision that we should take lightly!

Until you get to about 5 staff, my advice would be to avail yourself og the help offered by the following agencies:

Business Link
Accountant
The Job Centre
ACAS
HM Revenue & Customs

The above will keep you on the straight and narrow!

Once you employ more than five staff, a whole new set of rules come into play, you should then consider an HR specialist.

Failure in any one area could lead to fines and in extreme cases criminal prosecutions.

I hope the 2 letters below will help!

Letter 1 - Unsuccessful Application

***Date***


***Name***
***Address of Unsuccessful Applicant***





Dear

Application for the position of Part Time Cleaning Operative


Further to your recent application, we regret to inform you that you have not been short listed back for interview on this occasion.

We would however like to retain your application on file, if this is acceptable, and contact you if a suitable opening appears. If you do not wish us to retain your application details on file, please advise us accordingly.

We thank you for your interest in our company and wish you every success in your other job applications.






Yours sincerely,



Robert Parry
Managing Director


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Letter 2 - Succesful Application


***Date***


***Name of Candidate***
***Address of Candidate***






Dear

Application for the position of Part Time Cleaning Operative

Further to your recent application in connection with the above vacancy, I am pleased to invite you to attend for interview on ***Date***, at ***Time*** with Robert Parry/Managing Director.

A map indicating the location of our company is enclosed.

On arrival would you please report to reception from where you will be collected.

If for any reason you are unable to attend, I should be grateful if you would notify me by telephone on (01604) 412352



Yours sincerely,





Robert Parry
Managing Director

Hope you find them useful!

Regards,

Rob

[Daria Taylor]

Diane do you mind giving me your e-mail i wanted some advice of you?or you can mail me first if you wish its daria-taylor@live.co.uk

Regards

Dash T

[dianegreenwood]

Hi Dash

No problem, I've sent you an email

Cheers

Diane