The Boss of You

If you’ve been reading along through Should I hire someone? Parts 1 and 2 I’ve been talking about what to do when facing the prospect of needing more staff. So what if you’re ready for more staff and are on the hunt to hire someone. What next?

Well to borrow some advice from the illustrious Jenny Hart: get a contract. Seriously. Employee/employer contracts don’t need to be the big heavy legal buzzkill that is currently making your eyes glaze over — you can’t fool me, I saw you nodding off back there! — rather the opposite in fact. A contract of employment should help you and your employee set out the terms of your agreement beyond the basics of “hey, you come to work! I pay you!” and make sure there aren’t any nasty misunderstandings down the road. Beyond that should things ever go terribly wrong (which sadly they can) they will hopefully protect both you and your employee’s rights.

If you can’t afford legal council on how to write up an employment contract don’ t fret. The government (in the form of Labour Relations boards and Small Business Resources centers) should be able to give you sound advice and possibly even templates and guidelines. And, while I would be a total fool to suggest that the internet is your best source for solid contractual advice, there are some good resources out there to help you start figuring out just what an emplyment contract is and what some of your basic responsibilities as a newly minted employer are. I’ll start you off by sending you to this page of Human Resources Management info which should help you waste an afternoon surfing for info.