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Subject: Sub-post- The Employee Clothing Issue -- Including Dress Code

Author: Dennis S. Vogel

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 21:14:36 11/12/05 Sat In reply to: Dennis S. Vogel 's message, "Small Business Innovation – Setting The Foundation For B2C Success Part 2 A" on 21:30:31 10/28/05 Fri The Employee Clothing Issue -- Including Dress Code All the advice I give shouldn’t be accepted as absolute answers. Things shouldn’t be fully implemented until successfully tested in low risk ways. Since each situation for a store & person is different, I don’t have firm advice on this clothing issue. I’m just posting questions to be considered. Since it’s so easy & understandable for store owners & employees to be wrapped in their own issues, I want to post both sides of the issue. As a third party, I’m not a mediator, but I want each person to understand the situation the other is in. In forums like this, many tend to read, but not post messages. But your views are invited on each of the issues here. What is the store policy for employee’s clothing if it’s damaged during normal work? I mean normal as fitting a job description, something ordered by a supervisor or while helping a customer or another employee. Since business owners are more apt to read this, I’ll start with this perspective. This can be given to employees to help them understand the perspective. But the employee’s perspective should be included to show this isn’t a one-sided argument. Each person involved should read both perspectives. Without having owned a business, people tend to think all business owners are rich. Many aren’t. Some just bought themselves a job that seems like a business to outsiders. Insurance rates are high & go up each year. There are policies for liability (for in-store injuries & damage & possibly product liability claims). Workers’ compensation is required in the USA. There are minimum levels for each kind of business with the necessity to pay the premiums or face exposure for uncovered claims & government actions. Payroll costs aren’t just what employees are paid, it costs money to have somebody administer it unless the store owner does it in addition to the rest of the work. Employers pay half of employees’ Social Security/FICA. Government get money for unemployment compensation from employers, not from general taxation. Tax laws, actually all laws, are becoming more numerous & complicated each year. Lawyers & accountants charge high fees for their advice, time & effort. Many charities ask for (some apply pressure) donations. Income taxes drain a lot of money, despite what we hear about tax loopholes & write-offs. Do some for-profit businesses not pay income tax? Maybe. But some have been prosecuted. Customers pay sales tax, but store owners either administer it themselves or pay somebody else to do it. In some states, business owners pay use or sales tax on things bought for business use. Property taxes are high & don’t always include the extra charges for maintaining public sidewalks. When some city governments have a sidewalk repaired, the property owner is billed, though the sidewalk is for public use. Interior climate control costs a lot. Whether a store owner owns the building, or pays for occupancy, costs of building maintenance are paid in some form. Store owners deal with employee theft & shoplifting -- prevention & what’s not prevented. Many times, merchandise is financed by the suppliers or bank loans, so finance charges are added. Store owners can’t afford to pay for every possible thing that can happen to clothes. Unless employees are inspected before starting work (which I strongly advise against), how will a store owner know, for sure, if clothing was damaged while working? Employees could wear something just to claim it was damaged while working? Maybe clothing is old or just worn out quickly, then damaged. Even if the damage was unintentional & job-related, store owners can’t afford to replace it, especially at full replacement cost. Though some businesses get a level of revenue of 2-3 times an employee’s wage, it’s not true 1) during training periods or 2) when employees are working while sick or distracted by personal problems. Customers might notice, but say anything, in the store, about employees wearing clothes not sold there. They might mention it to others. A potentially sticky issue for clothing stores & new hires - If a new hire has proper clothes for the job, but those items aren’t what the store stocks, how much pressure should be used to get conformity. Is pressure justified? Should the store owner supply new clothes & if so, pay the whole price or just supplement it? Somebody who needs a job & was just hired might not be able to afford to pay anything upfront for new clothes? It might even be hard for him/her to afford part of the cost being deducted from his/her wages. If the clothes are supplied for free or a supplemented price, what happens if the new hire quits, is fired, laid off or just let go because things didn’t work out? Even if the new hire leaves, for whatever reason, s/he might not be able to afford to pay for the clothes. But the clothes were still used & shouldn’t be sold as brand-new. If the employee paid part of the cost, but not his/her full share, should s/he get a refund if the clothes are returned? Would it be a full refund or pro-rated? [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Sear's Dress Code	Dennis S. Vogel	21:49:35 12/03/05 Sat