My first employee

TomBrady

I am seriously thinking about taking on my first employee. Any advice before i leap?

antoinolachtnai

Yes. Think about structure from the very beginning. Try to plan ahead. Recruit for the company you plan to be in 1 or 2 year's time, not just for what you need next month.

I hate to be an industrial relations and job-creation stick-in-the-mud, but if you can avoid recruiting by subbing in people or getting your accountant to do more work, do that.

If you do recruit (which you will eventually) be sure you are well informed. At a minimum, you should read _everything_ that the Department of Enterprise and Employment has published on its website about employment law. Really, you should go and do some sort of seminar about best practice in recruitment and retention of staff, and get a proper employment agreement drafted up. It will cost you what seems like a fortune, but really, it's only a few week's wages.

Best of luck with developing your business!

Antoin.

Victor

Agree a contract and put it in writing. Potentially give them a 90 day (you have additional responsibilities after 3 months) contract and then a further 270 (again additional responsibilities after 12 month total).

Talk to the Department of Entreprise, Trade and Employment www.entemp.ie and expalin your situation and ask for what leaflets they have.

Consider employer's liability and public liability insurance.

trap4

I completed the Enterprise Ireland EPP over a year ago and am unlikely to forget what was literally the most frightening day's 'training' we got. It was all about employment law (delivered by a lawyer) and it could be best summed up by say that "the Employer is guilty as hell until proven innocent and that's very difficult".

I made up my mind on that very day that I would do everything possible in my business to avoid taking on employees and happily myself and my business partner are still the only two 'employees' of our company and will continue to be for the forseeable future*. I'm sorry if that's not what the people at Enterprise Ireland want to hear but its their fault for frightening the bejaysus out of us.


*We are lucky in that our ecommerce business is highly automated and scales very well but I recognise that few expanding businesses have the luxury of not taking on employees. So sorry to sound so negative about it but its best you go in with your eyes wide open. Best of luck.



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EirePreneur
http://eirepreneur.blogs.com

mcguiver

Best of luck with the first employee. Try to be fair but firm..cos when employees see how much they can get away with they'll push it, that has the knock on effect when the next guy is employed he takes on the bad habits etc..cos so and so is allowed!
Trial period is a must, and when something bothers you say it immediately...avoids confusion in the long term.

virtual_old

Try a Virtual Assistant if it is admin work you need done. It's a great way for your business to save money and you avoid employment legislation. This method of working is very successful and is definitely the way forward, especially for the dreaded paperwork that entrepreneurs waste so much valuable time doing! See www.jw-ss.com and www.avaireland.com or feel free to email me at justwrite@btopenworld.com if you need more info.

theking

You could take a look at www.basis.ie

They have a whole section on employment issues.

http://www.basis.ie/topics/index.jsp?topicsType=LifeEvents&parentKey=WCList;id-31977&language=&Abstract=