WWYD - Employer/Employee situation

[Nennie]

I own a small business. It's a store in a tourist area. Fridays are one of our busier days b/c most people come Sat-Sat, and the tourists "window shop" during the week, and usually end up buying towards the end of the week.

I have an employee "Anna" who worked during the day on Fri and then I had a teenager "Beth" coming in at 5pm to work with her as we get busier in the evening.

Anna texted me around noon to say she needed to cash her paycheck and could she close the store for 5 minutes to run to the bank. I didn't get the text til 1:30, at which time I called her back to tell her that I would cash the check for her at 7:30pm when I got there, or she could wait til Beth got there at 5, and then run out.

So I call her to tell her this, and she tells me "it's okay, my boyfriend is giving me some cash til I cash my check tomorrow." I think that's the end of it.

I just found out from the store owner next door, that she closed the store around 12 and was gone for almost an hour. He also tells me, that she closed the store again around 5:30, took Beth with her and went out to get sandwiches.

I do online banking, and see that her paycheck was cashed at 12:50pm at a bank that is a 20 min drive from my store, so yeah she shut down for about an hour. Don't know how long she was closed the 2nd time.

On top of lying to me about it when I called, she also filled out her timesheet for the day and put down that she didn't take any breaks! So she expects to get paid for the time that my store was closed???!!!

Up til now, I thought she was a good employee (she's only been with me since the end of May). I could possibly deal with her being an idiot and not realizing how horrible it is to close my store (twice!!!) on my busy day, but the lying and timesheet is over the top.

I'm leaning towards firing her. Am I being harsh? Should I talk to her, tell her what I know and that I'm docking her pay for the time the store was closed, and give her one more chance?

I've never had to fire anyone before....this stinks!

P.S. Not mad at Beth, b/c Anna was the one in charge. Plan on just talking to Beth and telling her that one person always needs to stay back at the store if someone wants to make a food run, etc.

 

[curious3069]

I wouldn't hesitate, fire her. Why would you ever keep on an employee who closed down your store OR one who fudges her time sheet? You can find someone much more responsible. No discussion needed and no second chances. Don't think twice about it, just do it and don't feel bad!!!

 

[PghLybrt]

I had an employee do the same. Closed one of my store to do who knows what. Another store owner informed me of this. He was fired the next day.
It stinks and maybe creates more work for you but employees just can't make decisions about when to close the door. If she lies about this what else would she lie about.

I now have ( in every store) cameras. I also have had alarm systems on the stores so I know when and who opened and closed.

 

[tluvstink]

I own a small business. It's a store in a tourist area. Fridays are one of our busier days b/c most people come Sat-Sat, and the tourists "window shop" during the week, and usually end up buying towards the end of the week.

I have an employee "Anna" who worked during the day on Fri and then I had a teenager "Beth" coming in at 5pm to work with her as we get busier in the evening.

Anna texted me around noon to say she needed to cash her paycheck and could she close the store for 5 minutes to run to the bank. I didn't get the text til 1:30, at which time I called her back to tell her that I would cash the check for her at 7:30pm when I got there, or she could wait til Beth got there at 5, and then run out.

So I call her to tell her this, and she tells me "it's okay, my boyfriend is giving me some cash til I cash my check tomorrow." I think that's the end of it.

I just found out from the store owner next door, that she closed the store around 12 and was gone for almost an hour. He also tells me, that she closed the store again around 5:30, took Beth with her and went out to get sandwiches.

I do online banking, and see that her paycheck was cashed at 12:50pm at a bank that is a 20 min drive from my store, so yeah she shut down for about an hour. Don't know how long she was closed the 2nd time.

On top of lying to me about it when I called, she also filled out her timesheet for the day and put down that she didn't take any breaks! So she expects to get paid for the time that my store was closed???!!!

Up til now, I thought she was a good employee (she's only been with me since the end of May). I could possibly deal with her being an idiot and not realizing how horrible it is to close my store (twice!!!) on my busy day, but the lying and timesheet is over the top.

I'm leaning towards firing her. Am I being harsh? Should I talk to her, tell her what I know and that I'm docking her pay for the time the store was closed, and give her one more chance?

I've never had to fire anyone before....this stinks!

P.S. Not mad at Beth, b/c Anna was the one in charge. Plan on just talking to Beth and telling her that one person always needs to stay back at the store if someone wants to make a food run, etc.

I agree with PP. I also work for a small company and we found ourselves in a similar situation. An otherwise good employee was fudging her time sheet and she was let go.

Firing someone isn't easy but sometimes it's the only option. Good luck!

Terri

 

[Christine]

No question. She should be fired especially if she's not young and stupid.

The leaving for an hour was bad enough. She has also committed timesheet fraud. While that is not a big deal with a small business, if you were working for the government or a contractor to a the government, it would be a huge deal.

 

[J Le]

Start as you intend to go on.

I agree with the previous posters about firing her. And I would tell Beth that she's not at fault, that she was obeying the 'chain of command' but leaving the store unattended is not permitted and more importantly, lying is not acceptable. I would also encourage Beth to ask any questions she has about rules/guidelines that you don't already have written down.

 

[abckidsmom]

No hesitation. Lying on the time sheet is grounds for termination.

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

And I think the worst part is she lied about not going. She had the opportunity at 1:30 to "fess up" and be "very sorry". And then to do it again in the evening after you told her you didn't want it closed. She has had more than one chance and she has blown them all.

 

[NMAmy]

It's the lying that would put me over the edge. She lied to you directly AND she put the incorrect time on her timesheet. Anyone can make a mistake--it's how an employee handles the mistake that would make the difference. I'd fire her.

 

[ksjayhawks]

No hesitation. Lying on the time sheet is grounds for termination.

Exactly. I would not hesitate to fire her.

 

[Laura24]

I agree with the firing. If she's lieing to your face about leaving and her time sheet, you may have other "issues" waiting to unfold behind your back. No trust, no job!

 

[lovesmurfs]

Yes, based on what you've described and the evidence you have, I would fire her, or at least do a written reprimand and start the file in the event you need to defend a later firing. She lied on her timesheet, and to you, because she said her boyfriend had loaned the money, but had already left to cash her check and returned by the time you got in touch with her.

What are her hours? I guess I would question if Anna the only employee in the building and for how long. If she's alone from 10-5 until the other employee arrives, I'm not sure that's good from either a safety standpoint or for a relief standpoint. When does she use the bathroom?

This is totally not my area, but I would check your state's requirements on hourly employee breaks. I think you need to allow unpaid breaks (XX time per XX hours worked), and I'm not sure that you can require employees to stay on site during those breaks. In that case, how could she leave without closing the store?

 

[tonilea]

I would fire her. In this economy too many good people are looking for jobs to deal with crap like that!

 

[OceanAnnie]

No doubt. Fire her without regret. She lied to you on the phone and on her time sheet. I would not keep an employee that is a snake in the grass. Wouldn't happen.

Don't feel bad about it. You might help her to realize how serious it is to lie.

 

[ilovesugar]

I would not hesitate to hire her. Apparently she thinks that she is the boss and is free to do whatever she wants.

There are so many people looking for work right now, get rid of someone who lies and cheats, and hire someone that is an honest person.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I would fire her. For one thing, you have no idea if this is the first time she did something like this and you make an exception once, how many other times would this happen? She has only been an employee since May so she still should be in her probationary stage so you would not need to document anything with warnings.

 

[LuvLDM]

I agree w/ everyone else, fire her.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Oh, I'd send a nice gift to the store keeper that told you! Now that is a friend! Maybe a bottle of wine and a fruit and cheese basket. More people should watch out for one another.

 

[Missy1961]

It's the lying that would put me over the edge. She lied to you directly AND she put the incorrect time on her timesheet. Anyone can make a mistake--it's how an employee handles the mistake that would make the difference. I'd fire her.

I agree--fire her.

and since it's a rare thing that almost everyone on the Dis agrees, I think the fact that we're all saying "fire her" should be a sign.

 

[Carly_Roach]

Another vote for termination. If she'll lie about one thing she'll lie about another. Dishonest employees are not to be tolerated. I'm glad you got this caught while she was still in her 90 day probationary period.