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needing advice on Staff Wages?
I have been asked for a rise buy one of the staff. I am totally out of touch with what is a decent wage. He is 28 and he has worked for me for about eight years or more, he is good with customers and I can leave him to deal with the them regarding pricing and designing the job and on some jobs I don’t even need to be involved except when he checks the price with me. He has some bad points in that he’s always a few minutes late even though he lives the closest and is always on the net (which he has been told about on several occassions). But he’s good at his job and has more patience than me, and only ever taken two days off sick. (I also have a part timer but there is no problem there as he only earns a part time wage.) I would’nt want to lose him and I know people here will say "whats he worth to you" but the fact is I want him to be earning a decent wage but I’ve been self employed for 27 yrs so I’am out of touch.
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6 Replies
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This hit the news recently and could be worth while looking at
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Quick reply, ill add to if i get a sec…
No matter what sort of rise you give him, "if you give one", get the late time keeping stopped and the browsing of the net finished. if you are catching him on the net, i bet he is surfing it 10 times more than you know about.
if he is always a few minutes late, hes simply playing your good nature.your agreement with your staff is to pay them for a 40 hour week at the agreed rate, regardless to how well your company performs or gets paid by its customers.
his end of the deal is to give you 40 hours quality workmanship, regardless to his situation.
he is clearly undercutting you already… now he thinks he should be paid more for his end of his one sided deal.
this is all very well and if you think your company can afford the rise then give him a compromise. but i would certainly highlight "everything" you are unhappy about and that before anything, he puts in "40 hours" for the 40 hours he asked to be paid for already.you may think im being over the top, but mark my word, if at the end of every week you said, things are slow, theres a tenner short in your wages… or… we never got paid last week for all those signs, so ill give you half this week and half next. "he will walk out or he will also have you up at a tribunal"
anyway, you will know all this already im sure… just me ranting…
type up all his wrongs before you sit down and remind him of them once he
reminds you of his worth and why "he thinks" he should get a rise.
if you give him a rise, base it on "your terms", not his… and top of your terms is that the Internet and the late coming stop. list whatever else you can… ask him to sign an agreement…this isnt giving you any scope on what you should pay him. that really can only come down to what he is worth to you, but more so what your company can afford to pay on an ongoing basis.
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well we have 10 at present with us, so we have got everyone on agreements and staff reviews each year, if you are a band of 2-3 with PAYE in place then you need to stick to your guns and treat them as staff, maybe an xmas bonus could be used as bargaining chip if needed. If you offer 1 person a better new deal, the other 9 will come after you as we find from time to time.
As this is not posted in UKSG, I shall stop here.
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There has been negativity about staff here before but the fact is if you are a small business they are one of your biggest assets – pay him right for what he does, yes stop him skiving too much but lets face it how many of us are on here through the day. A bit of slack as long as it doesn’t go to far will keep it a nicer more relaxed place to work. Make sure being on the net isn’t when theres a backlog of work then it’s not really a problem. Being late on the other hand… well no excuse, if he is getting it a raise make him prove he can get there on time (or 5 mins early as the rules are here) before hand and let him know the raise is on condition of that continuing!
As for the amount, thats up to you and is going to vary depending on location, other business’ in your area are probably a better gauge than anyone on here.
G
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quote Gavin MacMillan:how many of us are on here through the day.🙄 the difference is we are the boss 😀
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Martin,
I agree pretty much with Rob, when I have worked for others I worked at least a 40 hour week only took minimum breaks. I never slacked or skived and always put in 100% around 5 days off in 8 years. I expect the same now, 40 hours or whatever hours they get paid for.
First I would say to him, when you stop surfing the net and stop turning up late we can discuss a pay rise tell him that’s the only reason why you haven’t offered one, lets discuss this a month after you do this if you catch him start the clock again. (that gives you another month at least)
Then rather than a pay rise id offer a monthly bonus based on punctuality and no time wasting so if you catch him on the net or being late he loses his bonus.
It depends on staff how you treat them and what you let them away with, I have pretty good staff now but have had some nightmares. I rarely need to say anything as they are well motivated and treated. They are paid well and given treats when I see fit, from laptops, lunch, dinner and holidays. I think sometimes something like this works wonders, beter than cash, but it has to be on your terms. It has taken me a long time to get to this and have had skivers, thieves and p.ss takers!
Nigel
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