hiring part time workers...rules?

[huggytree]

i slow way down in a few days, so im going to take the time to research getting out of the union, getting health care from a builder association and look into hiring a part timer to help on busy weeks

the union has been hit hard and it may be a good time to h it them with a legal letter asking them to release me.....they havent had a contract in over a year and a 1/2 and i may be able to just say good bye with no legal issues....im small potatoes to them, so im hoping they dont fight since i dont even have any union members working for me...

i will most likely look for a part timer on the internet....probably a retired plumber looking for 300-500 hours a year

questions:
interview:
1. can i specifiy a clean and neat appearance
2. can i specifiy that the job requires lifting 75 lbs occasionally


part time:
1. how many hours a week max?
2. how many hours a day max?
3 how many hours a year?

as a part timer my understanding is i dont have to pay any benefits....just the typical taxes, SS and workmans comp

if i lay them off i pay no unemployment right?

[Steve B]

Hoooray!

1. Yes you can ask that.
2. Yes - as a matter of fact you have an obligation to be clear about the physical requirement of the job. You just need to be sure that you ask it in a way that does not exclude people that could do the physical aspects of the job if there was a reasonable accomoation made for them. In your case, the accomodations would be very minor and affordable things.

1. At the size of your business, your part-timers could work as many hours a week as you want since you probably won't be offering benefits. Your state may have a restriction that I'm not aware of however. Under federal law, you will have to pay time and a half over 40 in a week.
2. That's a union thing - you don't have to have a rule on this if you don't want. Most companies do, but it's for safety so employees don't have an accident because they're too tired.
3. Same as above.

Your state determines the unemployment rules. In the states I worked you would be liable for the unemployment if you laid them off.

Anyone you should hire should sign a confidentiality and non-compete document.

I think I told you this before, I use my employees to work around the house during slow times. I've gotten lots of stuff done - just yesterday we worked on my kids treehouse. That may not make sense for a plumber, but you get the idea. Get away from the union and you will get away from stupid rules that have made it hard for you to be a job creator.

[nealrm]

I couple of things I would suggest. Look for a payroll service. Quickbooks has one that is an add on. It will handle calculating the taxes due and filing the paper work. You will want to files all the forms and payment electronically. That is the best way to assure that payments all go to the right place. Both the fed and state have messed up applying my taxes when I paid manually. In Missouri, unemployment insurance is held out on each paycheck. Nothing additional is due when someone is laid off or let go.

[dave@businessecon.org]

Don't use Quickbooks unless you are really familiar with how payroll works. Use one of the national chains like paychex. For one employee you'll pay about $75 a month to process the documents etc. Quickbooks has a $200 a year fee just to have access to the tax tables. Furthermore, with Paychex, all your forms are filed, the W-2's go out from their office, no postage, you get the idea. The marginal cost is around $350 per year to use them over QB, an Accountant, Forms, Postage, and dealing with IRS letters. So use the national chain of providers. I do this stuff for a living and I KNOW what a pain it is.

As for your dilemma, I would not hire someone yet. Stick it out with better notification from the customer. Write them all a personal letter and tell them, its not easy to just drop what you are doing to serve them. They need to provide some lead time. This will help you with relations, and you'll be surprised by the outcome.

Good luck.

Dave

[Freelancier]

dave@, you're over-paying for payroll services. Look at Intuit Online Payroll (formerly PayCycle)... or SurePayroll. I used to use PayChex and they were just too expensive for what they provide to a super-small business, which is to be able to do everything online electronically.

huggy, check with your state's Dept of Labor for specifics on min/max hours and unemployment. When you look at health insurance, see if you'll be required to cover them. Consider if you can use someone as an independent contractor instead (but that means you contract between you for specific projects and not control their time outside that).

[MyITGuy]

Don't use Quickbooks unless you are really familiar with how payroll works. Use one of the national chains like paychex. For one employee you'll pay about $75 a month to process the documents etc. Quickbooks has a $200 a year fee just to have access to the tax tables. Furthermore, with Paychex, all your forms are filed, the W-2's go out from their office, no postage, you get the idea. The marginal cost is around $350 per year to use them over QB, an Accountant, Forms, Postage, and dealing with IRS letters. So use the national chain of providers. I do this stuff for a living and I KNOW what a pain it is.

That may be the case if you want to use Quickbooks (the software) to calculate and print checks, however Intuit has an online payroll service that is extremely easy to use to issue paychecks (Printed or direct deposit) as well as calculating and filing the appropriate tax forms and payments electronically.

Usually the service runs around $40 a month (For 5 employees I think)...however if your a Costco member then it can be obtained for about $25/month with a generous trial/free period.

[nealrm]

I'm using Quickbook in injunction with Intuit payroll service. The yearly charge for up to 3 employees is only $329 (~$27 /month). That includes electronic filing of the necessary forms, calculating the taxes and printing of the checks. It also allows for printing and filing of the W4 at the end of the year. I do use the direct deposit option which adds a small charge for each check, but also gives my employee electronic access to paycheck information and W4s.

They do have pricier options that will do everything for you. Basically you put in the hours and pay rate, they do everything else. The version I use requires that I tell it to create the paychecks and file the forms.

Also, be careful about using them as an IC. The IRS is cracking down on that. If you are telling them when to work and what to do, it would be hard to call them an IC. In general for them to be an IC they need control of time, how a job is done and some risk related to profit and loss. If you are telling them to show up at 8:00am and managing the tasks they are doing all day, they are not an IC they are an employee. Treating them as an IC will land you in hot water with the IRS and could result in fines, interest and back payment of taxes.

[huggytree]

to get out of the union i may need to do a pay out....another plumber in my exact situation had to pay $4,000 to the union to get out...it was to cover his education....ill be calling a lawyer who handles these things

health insurance....my middle daughter has mild epilepsy....so if i stop the union insurance i may end up paying for her pills out of my pocket....Obamacare may fix this issue.....ill look into it and it may be something i can just wait a year or 2 until Obamacare kicks in more and she will be covered reguardless

hiring a part timer would free up more time for marketing.....so it would help my business grow and get me to the next level where i can hire full time

i have no issues hiring a full time worker and giving full benefits and paying union scale.....i will do it for whom ever i eventually hire.....but to get to that level i need a part timer and the union is standing in my way.....

sad i have to pay more for insurance and most likely pay thousands to buy my way out of the union....just to hire a part time worker....

[nealrm]

I have a hard time understanding how the union can force you to remain a member or force you to pay what is basically a termination fee. It sounds more like extortion than worker protection. If any other "professional" organization that type of garbage they would be hit with lawsuits after lawsuit. Plus the DA would be investigating them.

[huggytree]

i actually like my union in a greedy way...they keep my wages high and protect my license

i have no issues paying their wages and benefits to a worker

i have no issues with their schooling or even union dues


i have a problem with 1 rule!!!.....they will not give me a retired journeyman to work part time while there are 'normal' journeyman on the bench

they want to give me a 'normal' journeyman part time.....problem? the ones they give me are next on the list for full time, so every week the part timer i get will go to someone else when a full time position opens up...if all i wanted is a body yea it works, but i want an employee w/ a long term plan

when i signed with the union 5 years ago they told me if i wanted out to just stop paying dues.....they'd let me out...exact words=='we dont want someone who doesnt want to be in our union'...we will see what happens

the health insurance issue w/ my daughter is the main complication on what im going to do