Second Thoughts on Second Jobs

One of our full-time sales associates just asked me whether I'd mind if she took a second job working Sundays at a shop down the street. I do mind - I really don't want to share her with another retailer, and I'm offended that she doesn't think the job I'm providing is good enough. Can I tell her that she can only work for us?

A: Well, you can tell her that, but you'll have trouble enforcing it. What employees do in their free time is not your concern, unless it impacts their availability to work or their job performance. But you really raise two separate issues: the conflict of interest that might result from your employee working two retail jobs, and the fact that you don't think she should want more work than you are offering.

In your employee handbook or employment contract, you can include a clause stating that employees cannot have outside employment with a competing business. For example, if you sell educational toys, you wouldn't want your employees working at another toy store in your market area. However, it wouldn't hurt your business if that employee helps out at a coffee shop in the evening, or works at a store that sells something other than products for children.

The second issue is why someone with a full-time job in your store would want to work elsewhere, especially if you are providing good benefits such as health insurance. The answer probably lies in hourly pay. The sad truth is that most retailers cannot stay in business if they pay wages averaging over $10 an hour. However, it is a real challenge for an individual to live on less than $10 an hour, especially if there isn't another income in the household to sustain the expenses.

A real eye-opener is Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (Metropolitan Books, 256 pages). Ehrenreich, a journalist, experimented by taking a number of low-wage jobs around the country, including that of sales clerk for Wal-Mart in Minnesota. She found that it is almost impossible for one person to live off of retail wages, largely because of the lack of reasonably priced housing. Most low-wage workers must have a second job to cover basic housing and food costs, to say nothing of clothing, transportation, and luxuries such as recreation or savings.

Ehrenreich points out that many employers make it difficult for employees to work two jobs by randomly varying their schedules from week to week. Once you have accepted your employee's need to take a second job (as long as it doesn't interfere with her work for you), consider making it doable for her by offering a stable schedule. A predictable schedule will reduce the chances of a conflict between her full-time and part-time jobs in the future.

Sensible Seasonal Celebrations

Q: 'Twill soon be the season to be jolly, and I'd like to host a holiday party for all my employees to show them that I appreciate their hard work. I'm nervous about my liability if I serve alcohol and someone ends up driving home drunk. Should we skip the party this year?

A: You are right to be concerned about your responsibility should one of your guests be involved in an alcohol-related accident after leaving your party. Sometimes even being a responsible host is not enough: An employer in our area recently offered to pay for a taxi for an inebriated employee, and ended up in the emergency room getting stitches after the employee slugged him. (One can only speculate as to this fellow's job status come Monday morning.)

By all means, your employees should have the chance to get together socially and to feel appreciated. These goals are important ones, worthy of a celebration. But instead of making alcohol the focus of the party, try planning an informal dinner or a dessert buffet, and limit the amount of wine or liquor served. If you do have an open bar, give each employee or spouse one drink ticket, and have the refills be on a cash basis (many people will drink more if there is unlimited liquor on the house). A holiday punch that is sweet but spiked can cause guests to imbibe too much without realizing it. Eggnog is a much richer drink, and therefore less likely to be consumed in excess. Also, be sure to offer a variety of nonalcoholic drinks, and ensure that no one drinks on an empty stomach by offering a selection of foods.

To limit your legal liability as much as possible, hold the party off premises, at a facility that has a liquor license. Schedule it so that employees go home before coming to the party, so that the event is clearly not an extension of the workday. This is called 'taking it out of the scope of employment.' Offer free rides home if necessary, preferably by taxi.

You might also want to think of activities that will make the party lively without an emphasis on alcohol. Everyone loves receiving gifts from the boss, and staff members are often willing to bring gifts for each other. We encourage our staff to make edible gifts or buy gift certificates to restaurants or food-related businesses, with a $10 limit. Each package is wrapped anonymously and given a number. It's fun to see people drawing their numbers, opening and comparing their gifts, and trying to guess the donors. We once had a young male employee make gingerbread cookies decorated to resemble each member of the staff, and no one could believe that he was the baker.

Carol singing is an activity that we have always found to be popular, as long as participation is optional. One year we even played kitchen gadget charades, acting out favorite products from the store. Looking around at all the laughing faces, I thought of Dickens' A Christmas Carol and the simple but happy Christmas Eve party given by Scrooge's benevolent first employer. A good time was had by one and all.

Holiday Bonuses and Gifts

Q: Our staff has expanded to include three salespeople, a bookkeeper, and a stock person. They are of different ages. Some are single while others are married. What can I give these varied employees as a holiday gift?

A: Money is certainly the most appreciated gift of all: Everyone needs extra cash during the holidays. Just remember that cash (or a check) given as a holiday bonus is considered income by the IRS and must be included in your payroll figures.

You will need to decide whether to give all employees the same amount or to reward those who work more hours with larger bonuses. We used to give the cash bonus as a gift at our holiday party (one year, we rolled the bills up and stuffed them into English Christmas crackers), but we stopped that once we decided to vary the amount based on the hours worked. After all, we didn't want the guests at our party comparing the size of their bonuses.

In addition to a small cash gift, we give Orange Tree Imports employees an annual dated ornament. Those who have worked for us for many years have quite a collection of orange trees and oranges! You might want to give a small gift relating to your line of merchandise - a mug or shirt with the store's name on it - or a gift certificate to the movies or a local restaurant. We also arrange for in-store chair massages for our staff the weekend before Christmas, and I think that, aside from money, this is the gift they appreciate most.