New hire quits
![jrmvt](http://blr-hrforums.elasticbeanstalk.com/plugins/DefaultAvatars/design/BlueAvatar.jpg)
We are a nursery with a lot of seasonal employees. Each Spring we go through the process of adding 20 or so seasonal employees (who work 4-6 months) to our year-round base of 15 employees. Unfortunately, we end up needing to hire 30 or 40 employees to get 20 that will stay. We have many who quit after only working anywhere from a few hours to a few days once they realize the hard work involved.
My question is, do all of these people have to go through the payroll system? Is there a minimum number of hours they have to work before you have to start withholding taxes? In the past, we have always run them through the system. But this year we had a few that did not provide all of their tax papers (W-4, etc.) the first day. They worked for 3 or 4 hours and quit and I don't have any idea what to withhold.
Thanks!
My question is, do all of these people have to go through the payroll system? Is there a minimum number of hours they have to work before you have to start withholding taxes? In the past, we have always run them through the system. But this year we had a few that did not provide all of their tax papers (W-4, etc.) the first day. They worked for 3 or 4 hours and quit and I don't have any idea what to withhold.
Thanks!
Comments
David E. Nagle
Editor, Virginia Employment Law Letter
[email]dnagle@leclairryan.com[/email]
Without knowing more about your hiring process, we forumites can't help much with your turnover problem. I would like to think you are taking them out of the interview office into the work area and letting them see exactly what the job entails. Perhaps you can talk to those who have quit and get their feedback. After all, it was a waste of their time too. You may have a supervisor out there who treats them badly, inadequate tools, etc. If you're paying minimum wage for a hot, dirty job, you're doomed to high turnover.
Yes, we know we are pretty much doomed to high turnover. This industry typically doesn't pay very well and it is hard work, but we usually start people off about $3.00 above Minimum. The problem is that most of our applicants are women ranging from 20 to 60 years old who have the misconception that working at a nursery is going to be like working in their gardens at home. We do give them all the gory details when they apply (long hours, work in the rain, work in the sun, work in the dirt, a lot of bending and lifting, etc. - sometimes I wonder why most don't withdraw their application after that) and give them a 15-20 minute "crash course" in the field. Yet, the most common reason we get is "it wasn't what I expected" or "it was harder work than I expected."
Thanks again!
Actually, some of our best and most dependable workers are 20-60 year old women, so we don't want to ignore that market. Its just that there are a lot that don't make it.
I hate to state the obvious, but what about a temp agency? They specialize in solving your stated problem, i.e., providing employees that you don't necessarily want to put on your payroll.
Our company, located in GA, routinely needs short time help in working with our manufacturing suppiers in VA. We need strong, reliable workers to work 1-6 weeks, organizing & loading our seasonal material. We send a company supervisor, but rely totally on local temp agencies for the bulk of the workers; no taxes, no workers'comp fees, no social security/medicare, no payroll issues, etc. If things go well, we provide a small bonus at the end of the job, which rewards the workers and also encourages the temp agency to get us the best available workers the next time we call. You can even set up an on-going relationship with one or two temp agencies. They would love to have an annual contract where they know they can provide 20 workers on a regular basis. You usually get people that are out of work, but quite often will get individuals that only want seasonal or part time work. Good luck!
E Wart