Witches! Ghouls! And…old handbooks? Some workplace problems may not seem frightening at first, but overlooked performance concerns, outdated policies, missing documentation, worker misclassification, and mishandled accommodation requests can quickly become costly HR nightmares. The good news is that employers can prevent many of these issues by recognizing the warning signs and taking action early. Here is a rundown of five common HR mistakes and the practical lessons that can help keep them from haunting your workplace.
1. The problem employee everyone hoped would magically improve:
Most companies will have an employee with performance issues at some point. However, the way managers approach this issue will determine whether the employee gets back on the right track or if the problems continue. Avoiding difficult conversations doesn’t help and can make matters worse, including lowering employee morale and productivity.
Managers should avoid shying away from the situation and address performance issues
early and consistently. These conversations will provide the employee with necessary
feedback and set expectations as well as show other employees that performance
standards are applied fairly and consistently.
2. The handbook frozen in time:
Handbooks are important for companies. It provides employees with a useful resource of company policies and reflects the company culture and expectations. So once you’ve gotten a handbook in place, you’re all done, right? No!
Handbooks should be reviewed regularly to help ensure that they remain consistent with federal, state, and local laws and are still in line with company practices. For certain states that provide richer employee rights, such as California and New York, reviews and updates should be more frequent, preferably once a year.
3. The termination with no documentation:
You realize it is time to terminate an employee; their performance has suffered for months, they call out of work every week, and they just have a bad attitude. Plus, you’re an at-will employer (unless your business is in Montana), so you can let them go at any time! Two weeks after termination, though, you get hit with a discrimination claim. While the vast majority of employment is at-will, terminating an employee without any type of supporting documentation, such as corrective actions, coaching, performance reviews, etc., can leave your company open to many types of costly claims, including discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. When you notice an issue, address it (as mentioned in the first point) and document it. If the issue does not improve and the employee is terminated, you will be better able to prove that the termination was in no way related to an unlawful reason.
4. The independent contractor who wasn't really a contractor:
Sometimes a company needs to use 1099 independent contractors, but what if someone approaches you and says they would like to be brought in as a contractor rather than an employee? Should you honor their wishes and save some money by not having to cover their workers’ compensation, benefits, and other costs associated with employees? Contractors and employees are not interchangeable, and the decision is not up to the worker. If there is a substantial amount of control your company will have over the worker, such as dictating when and where they work, requiring compliance with company policies, expecting them to use your company’s tools and resources, or imposing noncompete agreements, then they are most likely not an independent contractor. Also be aware that misclassifying an employee as a contractor can result in penalties, including monetary fines and even jail time.
5. The accommodation request nobody recognized:
You have an employee who has recently started missing a lot of work. In response, their manager decides to write them up and says that any further missed time could result in termination. The employee mentions that they have been dealing with debilitating migraines, which is why they have missed work.
The following week, the employee calls out once again, and they are terminated. The manager should have recognized that this employee may have a disability, and this disclosure should have triggered conversations about whether the employee could be reasonably accommodated. Moving to terminate employment without this conversation could lead to the employee filing a claim for disability discrimination. Managers should be trained to spot when an accommodation, whether for a disability, religion, or another protected reason, may be needed and to have those conversations.
During this spooky season, don’t get caught unprepared when it comes to these common HR
mistakes. Reaching out to your FrankAdvice HR Consultant before taking action, making a
classification decision, denying leave, or terminating an employee can help keep a minor issue
from becoming a scary situation.