Re: Freeloader at work

B.B. wrote:
We have a guy at work who's actually managed to transcend useless. He does antiwork by virtue of being terrible at his job. Anyway, he's pretty reliable about not showing up the day after his paycheck goes through, slow, whiney, and generally a pain in the ass to have around.
About a month and a half ago he asked me if he could borrow $20. It was two days before payday and I figured he'd pay me back at least partially the day after the day after payday. Nope, nada. Since then he's had a bunch of excuses but no money. I complained about it to some other guys during lunch and learned that I was the first, but not the last. The next day I researched around the yard and totaled up that he managed to "borrow" close to $400.
But then it got better. He managed to whack himself in the finger with a wrench a week ago and insisted on going to the emergency room. The supervisor sent him just to get rid of him. Well, he returned two days later with his whole arm bandaged up and in a sling. Since then he's been at work doing even less than nothing since he can't use his left arm until he sees a specialist. Oddly, this is the first post-payday he's been at work. He sleeps a lot, and he doesn't seem to mind using his left hand when he thinks nobody can see him.
So I was wondering, as an employer what are the options when an employee pulls this sort of stunt? Are they just fucked? And what are some fun ways to emotionally abuse this guy without leaving my ass hanging out for some sort of silly lawsuit?

Whyinhell did you keep him on before he whacked his hand? I know that letting someone go is hard, but geez.

Here's my suggestions:

*  Don't play games.  He's not, so you shouldn't.  If he works his
   deal right you'll be supporting him for a long, long time.
   For our sakes, if not for yours, don't give him help with cheap
   harassment.

*  Get a lawyer.  All the anti-lawyer wackos will crawl out of the
   woodwork on this one, but:  the legal process looks clear cut on
   paper, but in reality it is strange and weird.  You need a native
   guide.  They're called 'lawyers'.  Get one _now_ to help you
   figure out all the stuff you need to do so that if you let the
   guy go all your 'i's are dotted and your 't's are crossed.

*  Get a _good_ lawyer, who understands the process and knows how
   to work on _this_ problem in _your_ jurisdiction.  Ask all the local
   businesses about your size doing similarly dangerous stuff.  Look
   for someone who seemed to get good results by competence.  Getting
   a bad one will make you start thinking like an anti-lawyer wacko.

*  The hidden camera idea, as well as finding the doctor who treated
   him, are good ideas.  Your lawyer (if he's good) will know how you
   should handle this sort of effort to best effect while minimizing
   pitfalls.

*  Remember that this guy is _purposely_ working the system
   to make you fire him in a way that gets him lots of money.  He
   sounds like he knows the basics, and he may know a lot.  You need
   to learn the system, too, so you don't hand him what he wants on
   a platter.

*  Expect to pay the guy off.  You've already let this go on too
   long by letting him stay to whack his hand.  You can stick to
   it and 'win' eventually, but your victory will still cost an
   arm and a leg.  Even if you could sue him for court costs _He_
   won't have any money to pay any judgments, so you'll be out.
   Your lawyer (if he's good) will be able to give you guidance about
   what's a good figure to settle for, and why.

*  Next time when you hire a deadbeat let them go _before_ they start
   the really funny stuff.  While I've never had to fire anyone
   directly (thank god) I've been involved in the process a number of
   times.  No one gets better by themselves.  Many people will shape
   up with talking to long before you have to threaten them with job
   action.  If they are bad enough that you do have to tell them to
   shape up or ship out -- plan on shipping them out.

Good luck.  This kind of stuff is the worst.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com
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