Manager of branch conflict of interest

Here's a good one:
Rather than contract with a cleaning service, manager of branch (small manufacturing facility) decides to form a "cleaning company" with her assistant and clean the branch themselves.

Here are some problems I see:
- obvious conflict of interest - branch manager is buyer of service and provider of service
- not bonded and insured - worker's comp claim waiting to happen
- inappropriate boundaries with subordinate (how can you be objective about someone you have formed a company with outside of primary job)(grey area - so hard to police)

Any others?

The only prohibition our company has to outside employment is if it conflicts with job at our place.

I'm sure these ladies do a good job cleaning, but this doesn't pass the smell test. Any of you had this experience?

Thanks for any comments -
Catherine


Comments

  • 11 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • Yes, I have had something similar. It is an obvious conflict, breach of trust and an absolute liability to your company. As pOrK would say: SOMETHING STINKS IN DA HOG HOUSE AND IT LOOKS LIKE MANURE!

    Stop the practice immediately. You have a ton of exposure ranging from FLSA to WC and general liability.

    Gene
  • Stopped it this a.m. Found out about it last night (sunday) been going on since December. Thank goodness nothing happened.

    Can always count on you for good advice -
    thanks!
    Catherine
  • I agree with Gene. This situation as described is not appropriate.

    We have an "Outside Employment and Personal Business Activity" that I would be happy to share with you. e-mail: [email]paulknoch@cbcc.net[/email]

    We created this policy a few years ago when our rec center director wanted to start his own personal fitness business using our equipment.

    It might be helpful as a starting point if you don't already have such a policy.
  • Our conflict of interest policy:
    No employee of XYZ shall have a financial interest, direct or indirect, in any contracts entered into by XYZ during employment tenure or for one year thereafter. No employee shall be employed in any capacity by a contractor doing business with XYZ. Employees are encouraged to obtain written opinions from XYZ prior to engaging in any act which could be questionable as a violation of this section.

    I removed industry-specific prohibitions. We also address gifts and gratuities in the next subsection.
  • We have all of that and more covered under our "Code of Corporate Conduct" policy.
  • Interestingly enough, this admission came up after I sent our new 12 page "Code of Conduct" policy to the managers for their review and execution - the e-mail from the manager began . . . "I want to make sure there is no violation of the CoC, but I have this cleaning business I started in December, and I clean the branch facility. . ." So, I thought the CoC would be a big awaste of time and effort, but it yielded this "confession" almost immediately.

    Our CoC and Handbook pretty much track one another in many subjects -

    Thanks-

    Catherine
  • Both you and Jiterbug above mentioned a code of conduct policy.

    I do not have a code of conduct policy. Would one or the other be willing to share what is contained in this policy?

    It may help with my situation with the disagreements between my foreign and US managers I have been trying to settle.

    Thanks for your help.

    Shirley
  • sure - my e-mail is [email]cthomas@envinks.com[/email]

    CoC, among other things, are required by Sarbanes-Oxley (Enron, Worldcom reaction law) - even for private companies!
  • Dependent on your specific issue I'm not sure a COC will do what you need but I'll be happy to send you a copy of ours (it's a booklet).
    Under my name on this post click the second icon and send me your address. I'll get it in the mail to you.
  • Shirley McAllister
    AIM International
    3923 E. Flamingo Ave.
    Nampa, ID 83687

    Thank you I really appreciate the help. I have not spent that many years in HR and I am still working on policies, precedures and such.

    Shirley
  • It is on it's way to you as you read this. Good luck with the rest of your policies/procedures!
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