Other 'job' 15

[controlnovice]

I just started working for another company, and now have 5 technicians working for me. They are Non-Exempt, Hourly, non Union. These particular technicians are a special group in that only one can back up for another. So, two are on one system, two on another, and I back up for the third.

One of the technician's hobby is refereeing highschool and younger football in the fall. 5 nights a week plus weekends.

I've only been here two months, and I've already heard that last fall, there were issues in the plant and he just left because he had to 'ref' a game.

I am now running into an issue where we need him to travel this fall, where he will miss his 'hobby'. He already said, not only will he not go, but he can not go because he already signed a contract to ref. He does get paid for some of the games.

I can understand family issues or emergencies precluding work, but this behavior is not desireable in the workplace.

Where do outside interests conflict with work and what can be done with an hourly worker who decides he doesn't want to work overtime? Again, we only have one other person to cover for him, and due to vacations, etc. he is not always available.

How is this handled?

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

You can do nothing to someone who does not wish to work overtime other than replace him with someone who does. It is his prerogative to work the required hours and no more. The only argument you could make is the position requires someone who is a little more flexible with their time and therefore he needs to be replaced. What he does after work is irrelevant... the situation is exactly the same whether he refs football games or helps his ailing mother in the nursing home.

You can either choose to work around his inflexible schedule, or find someone who is willing to work around yours, plain and simple.


Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[DonPE]

Is there a pay differential for working past scheduled hours? What is the remuneration for travel expenses? Is he taking this part-time "job" (as he does get paid for it) because he needs additional money or because his kid is on the team? What are the penalties if he breaches his contract with the league? Why is the other guy always taking vacations when he is needed to back up this guy?

Maybe he would be more amenable if you offered him more. Just a thought. Today your workers are not unionized. But that doesn't mean tomorrow they sign the cards.

 

[TheTick]

There is an implied risk in having two jobs. If one can not assume additional responsibility at one job, then the consequences are reduced performance, poor perception of one's performance by management, and thus less likely to get promoted and more likely to get mediocre reviews and raises.

No need to force the employee to count the cost. Just find another player.

Of course, if there are no benefits to be had with increased travel and responsibility, I would be in the same camp as the "ref".

 

[IRstuff]

Unless he signed a contract requiring travel, he's under no obligation to do so.

Given his lack of cooperation, the next time there's a downsizing, I can guess whose name will top the short list. Certainly, it would appear that his uncooperativeness would lead to resentment on the part of the others that must take up the slack, and you might wind up losing someone else, who is more cooperative; a lose-lose.

Overall, I wonder if having only one backup is realistic. One might also wonder if training an additional backup might give him food for thought. As a general rule, we liked to have all the technicians cross-trained, to eliminate problems such as this.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[apsix]

Just something to keep in mind, refereeing kids is an important 'hobby'. Imagine the ramifications if every employer could force their employees not to referee.

It's just unfortunate for you that you have one on your team.

 

[IRstuff]

5 nights a week plus weekends and no travel whatsoever is not a hobby, it's a lifestyle.

Even when I was single, I only bowled league 3 nights a week, which I would dump if I had to make a business trip.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[GregLamberson]

The plant has requirements, a guy was hired to fill the requirements, if he can't or won't - get someone else.

Greg Lamberson, BS, MBA
Consultant - Upstream Energy
Website:

http://www.oil-gas-consulting.com

 

[PSE]

We have a secondary employment or moonlighting policy. If the second job does not interfere with normal business activities or compete it is OK. You cannot do work related to secondary employment on company time or use company resources in support of secondary employment.

I would recommend carefully looking through your policies and job descriptions for the position. This gives you some sort of framework hopefully to work from. HR can hopefully help you a bit there as well. I would definitely take a look at some additional cross training within your group.

As for ethical concerns, from what I can tell, there are not really any issues present as the employee appears to be working within (perhaps strictly by), the rules.

Regards,

 

[controlnovice]

Is there a pay differential for working past scheduled hours?

1 1/2 times normal pay.

What is the remuneration for travel expenses?

Full reimbursement of all expenses. 1 1/2 times normal pay anything over 8 hours/day. No weekend work or travel.

Is he taking this part-time "job" (as he does get paid for it) because he needs additional money or because his kid is on the team?

Don't know if he needs the additional money. Personal finance is his responsibility. These positions are the highest paid for non exempt in the plant. His kids are not on the teams.

What are the penalties if he breaches his contract with the league?

Not our problem.

Why is the other guy always taking vacations when he is needed to back up this guy?

If one person were travelling for work or taking vacation himself, then the second person cannot take vacation. This is a completely different situation.

Maybe he would be more amenable if you offered him more.

Highest paid technicians in the plant. He is not refing only for the money. He doesn't get paid for the games during the week, only the weekends.

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This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[controlnovice]

Now:

What changes if this person was the engineer? Salary, no overtime pay, exempt.

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[Ussuri]

Does the employement contract this individual holds dictate he must be available to cover his back to back colleague or travel as part of the business? If so, and he is refusing to do so then he is in breach of contract. Set the lawyers on him

If the contract doesn't say anything like that, and it is 'expected' he does so, but not formalised legally, is he breaking his contract? Nope.

By not refereeing he claims to be breaking the contract he holds with the football association, which potentially means he has put himself in a position where he cannot fulfil both contracts.

Sounds like the lawyers will be needed, and a judge to determine which contract has legal precedence, especially if the chap is fired and this ends up in an employment tribunal.

 

[MadMango]

Everyone should have activities beyond work, it is what grounds us and makes us stable and productive. Employers should respect (maybe encourage) these activities if they want happy and productive employees.

Having said that, employees shouldn't neglect their responsibilities to their co-workers and employers for the sake of extracurricular activities. If they do, they shouldn't be surprised when they will have to look for a new employer.

Travel plans "in the Fall" is ample time to give any employee to make arrangements to be prepared for the trip. I know I get upset when I am told at 11am that I need to travel somewhere "tomorrow". If I am given a couple days notice I can manage issues at home for the trip, no worries.

I would talk with your supervisor, tell him the situation, and what you think should happen (tech goes on trip). Your supervisor should back you, but since you have only been there for a short amount of time, your supervisor may have some insight that you don't. Take it all in, then make your choice... and maybe look to hire a new tech before the Fall.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

 

[eliebl]

I'm not a lawyer but there must be consideration whan a contract is involved. He cannot be found in breach of contract if he is not paid, i.e the weekly games.

Just my 2 cents

 

[casseopeia]

MadMango is right. Do you really want an employee who can travel at the drop of a hat because his life outside of work consists of sitting in front of a TV drinking beer and watching Wheel of Fortune?

At least this guy is providing a community service, and staying is good health. He is out running, getting fresh air and exercise! That alone is worth a great deal to his employer.

You walked into a pre-existing situation. Why not take a more blameless stance?

Assume that Mr. Ref either did not know about the travel ‘requirement’, or it is a change in his work situation, or that there was a tacit acceptance of the time restrictions imposed by his hobby. Whether true or not, try to put yourself into that frame of mind.

Ask Mr. Ref if the league in which he coaches can provide a substitute referee for the time during which he will need to travel for work. Explain that he is valued at work and he is needed to be off site for an important task. Tell him you are very happy that he has this noble outside interest and that you would like to help him keep it as much as practicable.

There must be someone who organizes the league. Offer to talk to them to see what you can offer, perhaps a small donation or corporate sponsorship. Have your company buy a couple of cases of Capri Sun juice boxes for the team, then drop them off with the organizer and have a little chat. If you try a different approach, you can work out something that feels good for everyone.

But if you are determined to use the big ‘ol government stick, here’s a pretty comprehensive site describing Federal law that does not burden you with a lot of legalese. There is also a link to find out your State’s labor laws.

If it were me, I’d keep the government out of it. No one will end up feeling good about it.

http://employeeissues.com/overtime_pay_2.htm

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[HgTX]

I'm in sort of a similar situation. I have a semi-paid hobby that includes contracts for certain dates, booked months in advance. Mostly it's evenings and weekends, but sometimes I take vacation days or comp time. No problem there; our vacation and comp time exists to be taken (with sufficient advance notice, of course).

I'm supposed to travel here and there for work. I can schedule these trips myself, and I work around other conflicts (not just the hobby, but other normal aspects of having a personal life).

Lately, though, there has been a project involving lengthy travel, and I have not had control over the dates. For the most recent trip, I had 14 days' notice to be gone for two weeks (and those two weeks turned into almost three). To do that, I had to find a substitute for a gig that I had a signed contract for. (And even if I didn't have a signed contract, it was someone's wedding. Can't just cancel for that.)

This is not what I signed up for when I took this job; in fact, I took this job so that I would be able to pursue my hobby (and my employers at the time were quite aware of this). If I have to spend the next year of my life ready to travel at the drop of a hat (and 14 days counts as hat-drop timeframe in my world), that means I can't commit to *anything* for the next year. It would be a bit of a financial loss, but mostly it's a major blow to my quality of life. And although I'm hardly starving on an engineer's salary, I am sure as hell not paid nearly enough to give up what, in the absence of children and pets, matters to me most.

I finally sat down with my boss & said I can't live that way. Fortunately for me, he agreed that I shouldn't have to. The tight scheduling should mostly go away, and that will give more flexibility for scheduling the trips. Unfortunately, it's still not really working for me because I can't pin down the schedule far enough in advance; if I know I have to go "sometime in December or January", that still ties up two months for me, and possibly more as the schedule inevitably slips.

So I understand the ref's position. He had his plans already made that were consistent with his job expectations, and then the expectations were changed.

Can he make some of the trips and have the other guy cover the others? Other than that, I'm with Casseopeia.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[Comcokid]

So, this employee works-to-live rather than lives-to-work?

Last I heard, slavery was outlawed around the world. So what you need to do is hire someone who doesn't have a life.

Or - - - decide the glass is half-full and let things be.

 

[IRstuff]

Everyone has a choice; his is to decline travelling by whatever means possible. Mine would be to start looking for his replacement. In a reasonable world, there could have been a reasonable compromise.

I don't see that it was unreasonable to occasionally ask for a business trip. To flatly reject all business travel is unreasonable, given the parameters of the job.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[MacGyverS2000]

I don't see that it was unreasonable to occasionally ask for a business trip. To flatly reject all business travel is unreasonable, given the parameters of the job.

I disagree. From the OP's description, it sounds like this travel is something new this year. If the guy went into this job under the assumption of "no travel", he's well within his rights to put his foot down and stay in town. We have no idea what's going on in his life... maybe a family member is ill or special needs and requires constant care.

Point is, it's none of our business his reasons for denying the travel. Unless the job description specifically mentioned travel, the company has no leg to stand on, legally or morally. Change the guy out with someone new if the job description has changed, but don't spend time thinking of ways to light a fire under his rear, it's not appropriate.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[GregLamberson]

Disagree - a company has to adjust to market conditions, competition, client requirements, sales volume, whatever. They have an obligation to do so to the stockholders/owners. We live in a fluid world. If an employee can't or won't make the adjustments needed to be made by the company, that's his right, but it's the company's right to replace if him/her if they need something done and he'she can't/won't.

What does a company have to do - foresee forever when they hire someone all of the possibilities that may come up in his job form that point until eternity, anticipate those and put them in a contract or job description and it's just tough luck if a situation changes.

Greg Lamberson, BS, MBA
Consultant - Upstream Energy
Website:

http://www.oil-gas-consulting.com