Hiring Your First Employee: A Step-by-step Guide - Softcover

Steingold, Fred S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1413308597 ISBN 13: 9781413308594

Publisher: Nolo, 2008

Synopsis

The only book that addresses the specific needs of anyone hiring an employee for the first time

Hiring anyone can be intimidating – but this is especially true if you're considering hiring your first employee. A new level of laws and regulations kick in, not to mention all the costs involved.

Fortunately, Hiring Your First Employee provides a complete, easy-to-read overview of hiring an employee, as well as legal and practical advice at every step.

Written by bestselling business author and attorney Fredrick Steingold, this tightly focused book will help you:

figure out if it's the right to time to hire determine the salary or wage consider benefits to offer obtain an employee identification number write a job description find and screen applicants prepare the necessary paperwork maintain employee files deal with health and safety issues deposit payroll taxes deduct employment expenses troubleshoot employee problems

Hiring Your First Employee provides 50-state legal summaries in plain English, sample forms and charts that compare the pros and cons when making decisions about hiring someone.

About this title

About the Author

Attorney Fred S. Steingold practices law in Ann Arbor, Michigan. An expert on small business law, he represents and advises many small businesses. He is the author of several Nolo books, including the best-selling Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business and The Employer’s Legal Handbook. His monthly column, "The Legal Advisor," is carried by trade publications across the country.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpt From Chapter 1
Options Other Than Hiring an Employee

If you're feeling frazzled or you're losing out on possible profits because you lack needed help in running your business, you may be able to address the problem--at least partially--by taking steps other than hiring an employee.

Adding a Co-Owner

If you're the sole owner of the business, you can bring in another person as a partner to share the work and the business concerns. And if you already have a co-owner or two, you can invite another one to join you. The downside of having co-owners is that you'll have to share the profits, so that you and any current co-owners will each receive a smaller share of the pie. And the more owners you have, the greater the chances that you won't see eye-to-eye on some issues--and management disputes can be draining.

Advantages of adding a co-owner:

* You don't have to worry about having enough money in the till to cover periodic paychecks.
* You're not likely to get stuck with half-hearted help. A co-owner has a stake in how well the business does, and almost certainly will work harder than an employee would.
* You'll have fewer cash worries, since a co-owner will usually bring an infusion of cash as the price of owning a piece of owning the business.

Leasing a Worker

Many employment agencies have a roster of employees you can lease. Technically, a worker hired through such an agency won't be an employee of your business, but an employee of the agency.

The agency handles all the necessary paperwork--including cutting the checks to pay the worker's wages and cover employment taxes. If the worker turns out to be a bad fit for your business, you're usually free to terminate the lease at any time, which can feel easier than firing an employee you have personally sought out and hired. If the worker is a stellar match for your business, you'll probably be able to hire him or her after a time. But there's no free lunch. The employment agency needs to make some money for its efforts, which usually involve advertising for qualified workers, screening them, and handling paychecks for you, so it will tack on a hefty charge. You'll typically pay more for leasing help than if you hired a worker directly, though this might not be true if your alternative is to pay for a protracted search for the right employee. And another possible drawback is that a leased worker is less likely to form bonds of loyalty with your business than an employee you search out and mentor. Advantages of leasing an employee:

* You avoid the time, effort and expense of a prolonged search for the right employee.
* You don't have to deal with pay checks and employment taxes.
* You can easily end the relationship if the leased employee is a dud.

Edition details

• Publisher: Nolo
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1413308597
• ISBN 13: 9781413308594
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 241