Worthless Employee Rant...sort of

[crashdown]

Story of this employee's (and I use that term loosely) work (that term is loose too) at my company:

• Day 1. She comes in a few minutes late and starts her training, most of which is a video presentation and workbook. She tells me a couple hours before quitting time that she has to go pick her kids up from school because she doesn't have anyone to do it, but says she will have it covered the next day.
• Day 2. She comes to work a few minutes late again, finishes the self training part, and then I work with her for a couple hours on training and paperwork procedures. I get called away at 1pm, she tells me again she has to leave at around 3pm (2 hours early) because she has nobody to pick up her kid. I hear later that she actually took off minutes after I did (4 hours early).
• Day 3. Calls in because her kid is sick, but apologizes profusely and says she needs this job
• Day 4. Saturday
• Day 5. Sunday
• Day 6. Calls in, kid still sick.
• Day 7. Calls in, other kid now sick.
• Day 8. Calls in with two sick kids and personal issues. Quits, but asks if we can "keep the door open" for later..... right!
• Day 9. Thursday.
• Day 10. Calls in to make sure we are going to mail her a check for the two days (term used loosely as she came in late and left early) she worked (again... term used loosely).

I know this isn't much of a rant, and I don't expect a high score, but seriously WTF! I understand if she actually worked, but she did NOTHING! She was late and left early both days she was here. She tied up HR with background checks and new hire paperwork. She cost us 30 bucks for the background check. She will waste my book-keepers time processing her payroll. She wasted my assistants time who sat with her personally during her training. She wasted my time having to write this to vent.
How could someone have the nerve to asked to be paid for completely wasting everyone's time?!?
Wonder who she voted for with her sense of entitlement.

[Bailey Guns]

Well, frankly, I think that was a great rant. Specifically because you maintained a pretty good attitude throughout the entire thing, you didn't call her a bunch of names and you shared this without a lot of hysterics. You get bonus points for not being in jail for choking the life out of her around Day 8 (though that would've made for interesting and compelling drama).

The Judge from Bailey gives it a 9.

[OtterbatHellcat]

Damn, brother.

[mb504]

The lesson you learned was priceless!

[KestrelBike]

Take it out on the people who interviewed her (double beating if it was just you)

[KestrelBike]

now you policy should read " un paid training, unless you last a month, at which time we will pay you for the two days"

Unfortunately I do not believe this is legal. "Minimum wage" training with a starting bonus to make up for that training time wage after a month sounds good though.

[CroiDhubh]

Sounds like typical employees these days... This should give you a good chuckle:

Retail Comic by Norm Feuti

[J]

Unfortunately labor law will side with her and dictate you pay her for time worked, regardless of how useless she was.

Was she hourly, if so pay her for only the exact number of minutes she worked.

[TheGrey]

I thought it was a really good rant. Everyone recognizes the frustration that social loafing brings to a workplace environment. I would have kicked her out the moment she left early- and I would have given her a warning the moment she waked in late. That's ridiculous! Hope your boss tightens up the policy a little, so you don't have to deal with that again.

[crashdown]

Unfortunately labor law will side with her and dictate you pay her for time worked, regardless of how useless she was.

Was she hourly, if so pay her for only the exact number of minutes she worked.

Base, so pretty much salary. I will prorate the monthly base to hours worked.