Trade Secrets

Motor,  Apr 2005  by Cerullo, Bob

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Resignation is one topic no one talks about until it happens. Having a written policy that an employee must give 30 days notice or forfeit some back pay saves heartache when an employee does tender his resignation.

In my opinion, Substance Abuse of any kind should be grounds for dismissal in any shop, although treatment programs are an alternative. Check with your state's Labor Dept. for information on providing such help for your employees.

General Shop Policy could be a catchall category, and should include anything you want your employees to understand as part of the conditions of working for you. You could, for example, include a section about dealing with customers, disputes with fellow employees, etc. There is no limit as to the topics you may want to include in this section.

The Trade secret is that having an Employee Manual can save you a ton of grief when potentially problematical situations arise. As a shop owner, you don't want to get into a battle of "I said, you said." By creating an Employee Manual and adding pages to it as issues come up, you have a vehicle for solving shop disputes legally and with a minimum of unpleasantness.

One final note: Make sure each employee gets an updated page and signs for it. Better yet, ask each employee to bring his Manual into the office so you can place the new pages in their books while they watch. That's the best way to avoid confrontation related to shop policy.

If you have a good story, comment or question for Bob, e-mail him at bobcerullo@aol.com, or write to him c/o MOTOR Magazine, 50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 100, Uniondale, NY11553.

Copyright Hearst Business Publishing Apr 2005
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