[TerraVerde]

Anyone got a good employment contract they would be willing to share with me? I am puting one together and want to make sure I get all the relevant items in before its all signed sealed and delivered.

Also wondering what your policy is about paying sick pay when the illness is self imposed ie due to drunkenness?

Thanks
Susan

[TrickyDick]

I don't think employment contracts are very common in the states. I have never had one in my life.

We don't do sick days. We work for 9 nine months. People can get sick in the winter. If we did have sick days, vacation days though drunkness, assuming we were 100% sure that's what it was, would be be either unpaid or a vacation day. There would very few of those before it turned into a permanant vacation.

[TerraVerde]

Thats interesting that you dont have them. We have to by law provide a contract to employees staing a whole lot of terms and rights, holidays, payrates etc. It is very hard to change one legally after it has been agreed so I am just wanting to get it right first time.

Seems the USA is more on the side of the employer and the UK sides with the employee...maybe its our guilty conscience for all those centuries of exploiting people all over the world!

[TrickyDick]

Most of Europe has a little (in some cases a lot) more of a socialist streak than we do here.

I thought Scots and Welsh tended to disavow any association with that part of British history.

[PSUscaper]

"I don't think employment contracts are very common in the states. I have never had one in my life."

After hearing this said, and seeing it in practice all over the industry, doesn't it make you think that maybe, this is part of the problem why we do have the problems with employees that we do?

Do professional business people take a job without some sort of contract?

And by saying contracts aren't common place in our business, isn't it kind of saying 'professional' workers aren't common either?

After hearing all the complaints about finding good people, it really is a shot in the back to hear something like this. Maybe, just maybe, the real problem isn't so much we lack professional people to fill the jobs, but we lack professional employers to higher professional employees?

This is not a direct comment towards anyone in paticular. Just a observation.

[TrickyDick]

I have worked a lot of jobs in my life, including at least one I would consider as being a "professional", and I've never had a contract other than an employee handbook that tells me what my legal rights are (which I have with or without the handbook). I may be wrong but I don't think employment contracts are used in this country unless somone is being employed under unique circumstances (different from other employees of the company) or as a independent contractor/ consultant, etc.

"the real problem isn't so much we lack professional people to fill the jobs, but we lack professional employers to higher professional employees?"

I think that's partly true. This an industry with almost no barrier to entry- no licensing, minimal need for equipment or up front capital. So anybody can do it. The market is flooded with inexpensive and/ or inexperienced service providers which devalues the service across the board. Combine that with the fact that what we do has an inherent value in people eyes that is lower than say, professional services, so there is a limit to what we can charge and still get work. So there is a limit to what we can pay and still make money on the work. So there is a limit to how many good people are willing work to work for that.

[TerraVerde]

Just for your interest (?!) Here is my first draft covering the essentials legally...

1 YEAR CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT


Between: Name (the ‘Employer’)
123 Anywhere

And: Name (Employee’)
456 Anyplace

Starting date of the Employee
Employment Start Date: Specific Day

Job title and description
The Employee’s job title is: Landscaper
The work involves all aspects of hard and soft landscaping including mixing cement, laying paving, wall construction, drainage installation, pond and water feature construction, fencing, turfing and planting. Each employee is responsible for ensuring that their work is carried out efficiently, skillfully and on time complying with Health and Safety regulations.
.
Address of the workplace
The Employee will work in various locations through the greater Glasgow area and Scotland. Te employee may be asked to carry out work that requires short periods away from home and this will be voluntary.

Salary
The Employee’s salary is £16,640 per annum. Payments are weekly by BACS directly in to the Employees bank account. The rate of pay will be reviewed periodically.

Hours of work
The Employee’s working week will consist of 40 hours not including the lunch break, but including two 15 min tea breaks. The hours are from Monday to Thursday 8 am to 5pm, and 8am to 3.30pm on Fridays. The lunch break is 30 minutes: timing to be agreed with immediate supervisor. From time to time, the Employee may be asked to work outside of the contracted hours. An hourly rate of 1.5 times the normal hourly rate will be paid.

Holiday entitlement
The Employee is entitled to 25 days paid holiday per annum including public holidays. Holiday entitlement will be reviewed annually with a view to the minimum number of days increasing for all employees.

Sickness entitlement
Statutory Sick Pay will be paid if the Employee is sick for a period of over 4 days in a row and illness must be confirmed by a doctor’s letter. There is no payment for the first three days of sickness.

Pension
The option of a Stakeholder pension scheme is provided for all employees. Details are available from the Employer


Grievance procedure
The Employee must report any grievance directly to the Employer.

Disciplinary procedure
Where the Employer believes that the Employee has acted in an unfit way in the course of carrying out their duty, or the Employee brings the Employers business in to disrepute, the Employee will face a disciplinary inquiry.

If the Employee is found to have committed misconduct, there is the option of a verbal warning or a written warning depending on the severity of the misconduct. After two written warnings the Employer has the option of dismissal.

For more serious misconduct, the Employer has the option of a verbal warning (in writing), a written warning, a final written warning, or instant dismissal. The Employer also has the option to suspend the Employee where the Employer needs to make an inquiry into the misconduct.


Notice periods required from both the Employee and the Employer
The minimum notice periods are as follows:

Time in Employment Minimum Notice

Under 1 month No Notice
Over 1 month 1 Week
2 years’ service 2 Weeks
3 to 12 years’ service One week for each year to a maximum of 12 Weeks.

The Employee must send a copy of their notice to the company’s address.

The Employer will send a copy of the notice to the Employees address.

In the case of the Employee being dismissed for serious misconduct, the Employer will decide if any notice period will be applied and/or worked.

Restrictions on employees taking second jobs
For any other job undertaken outside work hours the prior permission of the employer is required. Permission will be refused if the second job competes with the employee's first job or would be detrimental to their first job.

Use of protective clothing & equipment
Clothing and equipment is supplied by the Employer which complies with health & safety regulations. Failure of the Employee to wear such equipment as directed will lead to disciplinary action or summary dismissal (if a serious breach).






__________________________________________

By signing this contract the employee_agrees, to waive their rights to make a complaint of unfair dismissal, _either on completion of the one year contract or before the contract expires.

I agree to the above terms and confirm I have received a copy of this Contract.


…………………………………….………

Name

Dated……………………………….…….





……………………………….……………

Boss #1
Boss#2

Dated……………………….…………….

[spiderlily]

I do love that "tea breaks" are included in the contract. So civilized!

We don't have an employment contract, but do have a form that employees sign that affirms that they have read our "employee guidelines."

[PSUscaper]

this is obviously a very big stretch but, I'll say it and see if it true at all.

From my observations, it seems like landscaping in other countries europe, is not considered a business, but more of a art, and taken more seriously.

I'm not saying they don't have their share of problematic employees, but, it seems much more family oriented, meaning, people do it because they like it, not just to make money.

It just seems like the attention to detail is much higher. I mean, whenever I see really nice stone work, it is always a copy of something done over there. When I do internet searches, and find sites for landscape companies in England and other coutries, there just seems to be such a old world craftmanship to the work that is done.

I don't know, I could be wacked out of my mind, but it just appears that way. It just seems we've done nothing but commercialize the living daylight out of the industry. For instance, if someone wants a stone wall in england, they get a stone wall. Here, we sell them a segmental retaining wall because quite frankly, its easier and less true craftmanship is needed. Do you think we are just lacking the true skills in this country?

[Lawn Lad]

In Ohio we have what's called 'at will' employment. Anyone can be fired or leave employment with or without cause. No notice is required.

That being said, it's important to put the relationship in writing so that both parties know what's expected of them. It seems much of what's in the employment contract by TerraVerde is what you'd find in employee policy manuals here in the states.