Employee nightmare

[Clisty1989]

If he supplies his own van, tools, work wear and has other work then you're okay. If he doesn't then he could be classed as an employee. I am actually amazed your Accountant hasn't said this. Personally I would be seriously looking for another Accountant 

I work with my father in law on a self employed basis, have own tools, own round and work on a 6 month contract which automatically renews (works permanent but just a formality to cover our arses) you could add as a clause to any contract that they're not allowed to work any areas you work/supply work for the period they work for you + 18 months after, breaching this would meaning they'd be liable for damages of £xxxx (get a solicitor to write this contract, make sure it's enforceable) to stop any poaching.

 

[Daniel Perkins]

If he supplies his own van, tools, work wear and has other work then you're okay. If he doesn't then he could be classed as an employee. I am actually amazed your Accountant hasn't said this. Personally I would be seriously looking for another Accountant 

She has said as much mate, she said when time comes she will go into more detail with it. As for her competency, she's a genius i go to her for a reason

I wonder are the regulations for subcontractor different over here in Ireland than the UK?

 

[KWClean]

The only thing that I have noticed which motivates a human is money. The more the better, like a bonus system, quality may suffer though.

Scottish actually hits on something here.  The banking crash was caused by bonuses being awarded for the wrong things, it basically placed a huge financial reward on doing a job badly (there is more to it than that, but that was the long and short of it).  How about a bonus for "no complaints".  You can put some pressure on getting them up to speed, but vocally, and financially reward them for no complaints.

 

[KWClean]

She has said as much mate, she said when time comes she will go into more detail with it. As for her competency, she's a genius i go to her for a reason

I wonder are the regulations for subcontractor different over here in Ireland than the UK?

There are three main classes of employment in the UK.  Employee, which I am sure you know what that is, Self-Employed which is tested by usually working for more than one company, and Worker, which is someone who mainly works for one company and gets some of the benefit of being self employed, and some of the benefit of being an employee.

A worker is allowed paid holiday, rest, and a few other things like minimum wage, protection from having financial penalties placed upon their wages and they are even allowed sick pay if they can not reasonably find someone to cover their shift... if for instance you do not let them sub-contract to someone else.

The distinction between what is self employed and what is a worker is grey, but, is tested in courts quite often these days and so is becoming clearer.  If the worker does mainly work for one company though, whilst not being an employee, they will almost certainly be able to argue for paid holiday.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Scottish actually hits on something here.  The banking crash was caused by bonuses being awarded for the wrong things, it basically placed a huge financial reward on doing a job badly (there is more to it than that, but that was the long and short of it).  How about a bonus for "no complaints".  You can put some pressure on getting them up to speed, but vocally, and financially reward them for no complaints.

I have studied history about wars and conflicts and I realised it was all about money. Strikes are the same. 99% of politics is about money and 1% comedy but sometimes it seems the other way round.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

This is the book you need. 

www.indicator-flm.co.uk/en/employment-law-from-birth-to-death

And this is the web page you need

www.employersdirect-uk.org/employment-law-advice/free-expert-advice?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=%2Bemployment%20%2Blaw&utm_campaign=Employment-Law-B-TP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwy9LVBRDOARIsAGqoVnvE69SZ2GMMFJJS0KSkD3P6VqzxnQk_PWM9tO7G3jNIZ0awYhGd-tAaAnYvEALw_wcB

 

[Azah678]

When I think back to when I first started off, some of my jobs were dreadful. I was working all day and on this forum for hours each night learning what to do. I was thirsty for knowledge. Your boy probably hasn’t got that thurst because it’s not his buisness ( fair enough I think) but he will get there given time I’m sure. Good that he is prompt for work and seams reliable. Don’t fret too much hopefully it will click .

Why were your jobs dreadful when you first started? I am trying to get up and running and learning more before jumping in. So any tips / info would be appreciated.

 

[BigFoot]

Why were your jobs dreadful when you first started? I am trying to get up and running and learning more before jumping in. So any tips / info would be appreciated.

Why were your jobs dreadful when you first started? I am trying to get up and running and learning more before jumping in. So any tips / info would be appreciated.

Didn’t have suitable tools and worse technique. I started from scratch by myself nobody to tell me where I was going wrong, some of it I worked out the rest I just researched on here and YouTube. The best decision I made was to go wfp early and continued to learn on the job. My tips would be get out there and make mistakes and research all you can on the forum and YouTube. Cif is a great help on first cleans as is ubik 2000. Be regular with customers and get to know them. I make an effort to be positive when dealing with customers even if I’m not having a great day, I force smile sometimes! Be in control, It’s your buisness, you make the decisions not the customer. Get paid! I now have four methods 1. GoCardless ( my preferred). 2. Cash on day ( retired technophobes) 3. iZettle for ‘no cash in the house’ customers ( over time I’ll transfer theses to GoCardless ) 4. Bank Transfer customers  ( over time transfer to GoCardless).

I could go on and on but it’s all on this forum, best of luck in your buisness!

 

[Azah678]

Didn’t have suitable tools and worse technique. I started from scratch by myself nobody to tell me where I was going wrong, some of it I worked out the rest I just researched on here and YouTube. The best decision I made was to go wfp early and continued to learn on the job. My tips would be get out there and make mistakes and research all you can on the forum and YouTube. Cif is a great help on first cleans as is ubik 2000. Be regular with customers and get to know them. I make an effort to be positive when dealing with customers even if I’m not having a great day, I force smile sometimes! Be in control, It’s your buisness, you make the decisions not the customer. Get paid! I now have four methods 1. GoCardless ( my preferred). 2. Cash on day ( retired technophobes) 3. iZettle for ‘no cash in the house’ customers ( over time I’ll transfer theses to GoCardless ) 4. Bank Transfer customers  ( over time transfer to GoCardless).

I could go on and on but it’s all on this forum, best of luck in your buisness!

Thanks mate, looks like I may already start off easier than you (no offence!). Going straight wfp, looking on youtube at videos, so may have an easier start. only thing I need to research is new payment methods, so thanks for including them!

Much appreciated mate and thanks for the reply.  :1f603:

 

[Chrisshep76]

Hi mate.
 
I set on a part timer a month ago.
 
He was out with me and first week he slowed me down obviously having to show him what to do. 
 
Second week a bit faster he just about covered his wages. Still having to correct him.
 
Third week better still but I quickly realised that working as a 2 man is t very efficient. I would be waiting for him to finish, we would get in each others way etc.
 
So fourth week and I thought sod it and bought another van and sent him out on his own.
 
Well what a difference it's made, he's not as fast as me but he is out there and he is making me a profit now.
 
I am water fed pole btw so I would have thought it's easier to learn than traditional, no footing of ladders needed etc.
 
Get him out on his own.
 
The other thing I would say is if you are going to employ someone who has no experience you have to realise that you need to be patient and give them time. You can't judge them in a week. A month would give you a beer indication and I wouldn't expect them to be up to my speed for a good few months. Just realize that they won't do as much as you even when up to speed 

Hi mate I would say cut your losses for a couple of days and train him up on your houses !
Shadow him on every window he does , show what he’s done wrong and why, and if he still struggles then you have to explain to him that window cleaning ain’t for him and get someone else! It’s a bit harsh I know but it’s business


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[adamangler]

Just an update on how things are going for me incase anyone is interested in employing for the first time.

So I took a part timer on mid Feb. For a month he worked with me, profits were very low.

But this last month or so he has been out on his own. At first the numbers he was doing was a bit lower than I really wanted.

But I'm glad i stuck it out as he is now doing the figures on average I expected. On a few occasions he's surprised me and completed worksheets an hour early. 

I've also started trusting him with first cleans. 

So far I've only had one complaint and that was for leaving a gate unlocked. I also had an issue where he forgot to leave a note and the customer did not believe it was done. But no compliants for work quality yet.

There are downsides in extra admin and you have to make sure the second van is all sorted etc. But overall it's nice to have a hand

I was 2 weeks behind with work when I took him on. 2 weeks ago we got to the point of being done for the week by Wednesday.

If it stays working well hopefully I will either increase his hours (don't think he wants more) or look for employee number 2 later this year.

I'm going away for 2 weeks in may so the big test for him will be to get some work done whilst I'm away. I'm hoping this will be one of the benefits of employing in keeping the money rolling in and customers serviced in my absence. We shall see how that goes..

 

[ashley john]

Just an update on how things are going for me incase anyone is interested in employing for the first time.
 
So I took a part timer on mid Feb. For a month he worked with me, profits were very low.
 
But this last month or so he has been out on his own. At first the numbers he was doing was a bit lower than I really wanted.
 
But I'm glad i stuck it out as he is now doing the figures on average I expected. On a few occasions he's surprised me and completed worksheets an hour early. 
 
I've also started trusting him with first cleans. 
 
So far I've only had one complaint and that was for leaving a gate unlocked. I also had an issue where he forgot to leave a note and the customer did not believe it was done. But no compliants for work quality yet.
 
There are downsides in extra admin and you have to make sure the second van is all sorted etc. But overall it's nice to have a hand
 
I was 2 weeks behind with work when I took him on. 2 weeks ago we got to the point of being done for the week by Wednesday.
 
If it stays working well hopefully I will either increase his hours (don't think he wants more) or look for employee number 2 later this year.
 
I'm going away for 2 weeks in may so the big test for him will be to get some work done whilst I'm away. I'm hoping this will be one of the benefits of employing in keeping the money rolling in and customers serviced in my absence. We shall see how that goes..
 
 

Good luck mate hope it goes well.

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[Richardsons]

If you have just picked up 50 new cleans (which takes longer) and have a new employee who doesn't know the round and is new to window cleaning it will take a lot longer to get through the work.

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[Tuffers]

This might sound cynical but....you have been in business 3 months. Personally I would say that you yourself wouldn't be up to speed in that short space of time. You also haven't had a complaint in years???

Give the kid a break and try and show him where he's going wrong and not expect miracles.

 

[Iron Giant]

This might sound cynical but....you have been in business 3 months. Personally I would say that you yourself wouldn't be up to speed in that short space of time. You also haven't had a complaint in years???
 
Give the kid a break and try and show him where he's going wrong and not expect miracles.

[emoji471][emoji471][emoji471][emoji471][emoji471][emoji459] Winning answer Tuffers totally agree

County Durham Lad

 

[ashley john]

This might sound cynical but....you have been in business 3 months. Personally I would say that you yourself wouldn't be up to speed in that short space of time. You also haven't had a complaint in years???
 
Give the kid a break and try and show him where he's going wrong and not expect miracles.

I been working on the windows for 10 years so got plenty of experience and am well up too speed. Just because I been in business 3 months must mean I haven't done the job before?? To be honest I've shown and shown and there is no interest there and ain't the hard type in fact a pushover so therefore feel I'm being taken this **** out of because I still pay the same!! Oh yeah and when people only been doing half windows for some reason and customers complaining at me and I'm loosing sleep over it yeah why not give the kid a break.

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[Part Timer]

The problem is finding someone with the same attitude and work ethos that you have. Sometimes it's easier to take a rain check and only do what you can. Then bring someone in slowly and when you've found the right one then go for it. The biggest mistake though is when you do find a good one pay him accordingly 

 

[ashley john]

The problem is finding someone with the same attitude and work ethos that you have. Sometimes it's easier to take a rain check and only do what you can. Then bring someone in slowly and when you've found the right one then go for it. The biggest mistake though is when you do find a good one pay him accordingly 

Well that's the thing ive still got him giving him the benefit if the doubt the only thing I'm stressed about is the laid back part. Push him and fall over lol. Nice boy don't get me wrong just loads of people say good luck because just not interested lol.

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[Part Timer]

No matter what he's like personally if he's not doing enough you need to get rid and start again. Without being an old man, there's not many 20 year olds that have the drive to improve their lot. We have had a Government that educated them that no matter what they did the Government would look after them. 

 

[P4dstar]

Well that's the thing ive still got him giving him the benefit if the doubt the only thing I'm stressed about is the laid back part. Push him and fall over lol. Nice boy don't get me wrong just loads of people say good luck because just not interested lol.

Sounds like he needs an incentive to pull his weight. There is a simple resolution, make him self employed instead of PAYE (assuming this is all legit and you’re not paying the lad cash in hand) give him a percentage of what each job is. Obviously complaints would result in none payment for that job. His work rate and the quiality of his workmanship will shoot up if he knows he has the chance to earn more than a set wage?

I know there are things to consider legally on this side of things and I can’t really comment on them but it’s definitely doable. I know a lad who works like this as a plumber. The chap who owns the company supplied him a van and tools and he goes off to earn his own wages. If he gets through more jobs he earns more money, that simple. 

 

[ashley john]

Sounds like he needs an incentive to pull his weight. There is a simple resolution, make him self employed instead of PAYE (assuming this is all legit and you’re not paying the lad cash in hand) give him a percentage of what each job is. Obviously complaints would result in none payment for that job. His work rate and the quiality of his workmanship will shoot up if he knows he has the chance to earn more than a set wage?
 
I know there are things to consider legally on this side of things and I can’t really comment on them but it’s definitely doable. I know a lad who works like this as a plumber. The chap who owns the company supplied him a van and tools and he goes off to earn his own wages. If he gets through more jobs he earns more money, that simple. 

Sounds awesome actually might give It a try. Don't know if any other window cleaners find this but i know a few boys who say it's hard to find good staff and keeping them. I think people see it as an easy job until they actually do it day in day out.

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