Daisyboy

Ok, I am a long time poster on here but have re registered as my user name gives me away.

Basically I have a guy who has worked for me for a year or so, I always knew he was a bit of a jack the lad previously but it never really bothered me.

A couple of weeks ago we got a letter from the court service instructing us to take money out of his wages for an unpaid fine totalling £1400. On quizzing him he first said it must be a mistake but then admitted he had been to court for kicking someone's door in and also biting someone. He had moved a few times and thought he had got away with it.

He's always been ok at his job but he is almost too calm in his behaviour, as though he is trying to keep control of his temper.

The job he does is reasonably low paid but he always seems to have an abundance of disposable cash for nice clothes, meals, holidays etc.

My business doesn't specifically require the staff to be checked but they could be in a position of one to one with under 16's.

So my question is should I be concerned or should I ignore the signs and just judge him on his work?

dpb

I didn't realise court had teh power to instruct you his employer!

Daisyboy

Yep, it's called an attachment of earnings.

wrx300scooby

A mate of my frequently recoups rent he is owed doing the same thing.

Infected by sti

iTrader: (6)

Costs the company as well when you get an AOE.

Depends on what the job entails and do you think he could be a possible threat / liability, especially if any work is involved around vulnerable people etc.

If something was to happen in the work place, could you as an employer prove you done everything possible to make him and everyone around him as safe as possible in the environment they are in.

I work in the care sector where crb checks are mandatory, but if we had an inkling of something that looked wrong or out of place / character and we hadn't addressed it when something went wrong you can guess who would get the blame.

andy97

iTrader: (1)

tenants left a property of mine in a Sh! T condition, it has cost me £2k to put right. My insurance has picked up the case and have tracked them down. They will be offered a chance to make voluntary payments, but if they don't, it's off to court, then enforcement by the court so their employer to take cash from their wages.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

We all make mistakes in life. Sounds to me like this chaps temper got the better of him once for whatever reason and he doesn't want it to happen again, so he's learned his lesson.

Committing an act of violence doesn't make you a danger to the public or vulnerable people. By the sounds of it, it was a few years ago and he was a little silly for thinking that it wouldn't catch up with him. £1400 is a fair chunk of cash for a low paid person, so I think that punishment is enough in his current situation along with the embarrassment of having to come clean to his employer.

I would judge him on the basis of how he is now not something that happened in his past. I would also sit him down and explain the situation you are now in and let him know that you are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his past performance, but any hint of trouble and you'll have to let him go. Then thank him for trusting you with the information.

I am sure we have all at some time in our lives done something we are not particularly proud of, but that's life and we all live and learn.

PaulC72

Wat happened in the past should be treated as that unless it's a problem going forward...the thing that concerns me is the fact your business doesn't require crb / drs checks yet there are opportunities to interact with under 18's in a 1-2-1 position I would seriously check this out as I would imagine you may need to have something in place for this not only to protect your business but also the employees and to enable you to check, although like MOT's they are only as good as the day they are done.