What should I do about a new employee who didn't mention their second job or planned leave?

Question

I'm an inexperienced software engineering manager and recently I hired an employee (a software developer). The technical skills of the guy look good, but I encountered several things which he didn't mention during the interviews.

Right after we signed the contract he said that he has planned a vacation next month and he wants to take unpaid leave for two weeks. Also, only after hiring him did I find out accidentally that he's working part-time at another job and that he wants to stay there while working full-time for us at the same time. Since he's a remote employee, it's hard to say how much time he is spending on that other job. Also he started asking about changing the payment schedule as an exception for him for the first month despite the fact that we agreed to the schedule in the contract.

I understand that it's my fault that I didn't do the best work during the hiring process, but still I feel that we've been cheated by him a little bit. What would a good manager do in that situation? Should I just not worry about this?

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We have set up a probation of 2 months.

We don't have a point about side jobs in our contract. We will need to add it.

Answer 1

Set some clear expectations that your employee needs to meet in order to pass their probation period.

Right after we signed a contract he said that he have planned a vacation in the next month and he wants to take an unpaid leave for two weeks.

Is this OK for the company? If it's not then say no.

Also, only after hiring I found accidentally that he's working part-time at another job and that he wants to stay there working full-time for us at the same time. Since it's a remote employee, it's hard to say how much time he spend on that other job.

Don't measure your employee's performance based on time, measure it based on results. You can't say how much time any remote employee is putting in, but you can easily measure the results they deliver.

Also he started asking to change the payment schedule as an exception for him for the first month despite the fact that we agreed the schedule in the contract.

Similar to the first point - as a representative of the other party who signed the contract, you can say no if this isn't OK.

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Have a meeting with your employee, and let them know clearly that you're not happy with the way they've conducted themself so far. Set clear and measurable expectations for what they need to do to make it through their probation period, given their current conduct.

If they meet those expectations, then great: you've got an employee who can do what you need.

If they don't meet them, then that's what probation periods are for. Let them go.

Answer 2

I agree mostly with Player One's answer, that this is something that needs to be solved during the probationary period. You need to find a (polite) way to tell him "Dude, you're springing a lot of unpleasant surprises on us. We'll see how it goes during your probationary period, but this is not a good way to start."

Aside from whether you're okay with him having side jobs or unpaid vacations, is that he's undermined trust. This is someone who doesn't tell you stuff that you need to know. That's a big strike against him during his probation.

So I don't entirely agree with setting specific measurable goals to pass the probationary period. Sure, there are minimum thresholds that must be passed. But part of the probation is to be a catch-all for anything you didn't even anticipate (and thus didn't put in the requirements).

Answer 3

I understand that it's my fault that I haven't done the best work during the hiring process, but still I feel that we'are been cheated by him little bit. What would good manager do in that situation? Should I just don't worry about this?

You cannot travel in time, and instead of trying to do so you have to deal with the situation at hand. And the way I see it you have two issues at hand:

1. Vacation time. This may very well have been a slip on his part, I sure have done that in the past when only later down the road I remembered that I have XYZ planned and will need to be off. It happens, especially when in the middle of stressful times like job hunting. The best way to handle it is to call the employee and figure out a compromise. In the end of the vacation doesn't derail your company plans, then you should simply allow it, no reason to make a thing out of it for no good reason.

2. The other job. This is none of your business. You didn't ask, your contract doesn't prohibit it (although those clauses are often non-enforceable anyway, that depends on jurisdictions and details), and you found in some less-than-direct capacity about it. As this is none of your business, don't make it your business and leave it alone.

As for trust, I wouldn't be too bothered. Having multiple jobs at the same time is something "normal" in certain countries and cultures, so just calling it a lie is a stretch. Likely just like you assumed that the employee will have just one full time job, he assumed that there is nothing wrong with having a few, even fault on both sides, or more precisely no fault on either party.

With that in mind, I wouldn't make more of those two issues that needs to be done. Remind the employee about company vacation policy for the future, and make sure to stay on track of whether the agreed work is getting delivered in a timely fashion and to professional quality. If it is, you just got yourself a great employee. If it doesn't, then you can handle it.

Answer 4

Obviously, the vacation part is up to you. Is it okay for the company or not? I had this case once myself. Vacation already payed for. But I told the employer so during the interview (at the when can you start part) so it was not problem at all. Maybe a good opportunity to have a talk to that employee about company culture in regard to vacation (extent and notice period ...)

The second job is more concerning. Where I live, it is customary on full-time jobs that the contract forbids any side gigs unless approved by the employer. This can not only affect his work-performance, but also if it is similar to his main job, generate conflict-of-interest situations you don´t want. If you don´t want your codebase or worse, your clients data be misused, proceed with extreme caution!

Answer 5

In my experience good managers tend to be those that are ...

1. Honest (as much as they can be)
2. Direct
3. Adjust/adapt their expectations and practices as new information becomes available
4. Learn to make (quick) decisions based on objective information (what is happening vs how you feel about what is happening)

Has anything that has happened so far cross a threshold for you (or your company) that would outweigh the possible value they could provide?

If that threshold has been crossed, figure out what you will need to do to re-hire for that position.

If you can see a path forward after this initial learning period; focus on setting boundaries, clearly communicating your expectations, and be consistent. As long as nothing in their contract contradicts the rules you would need to establish to avoid a similar situation in the future, do so.

On a personal note, some of the most difficult experiences I have had as a manager came from managing engineers that provided an incredible amount of value to our company but would test boundaries and complicate my life in ways I didn't realize were possible. I also did everything I could, for as long as I could, to keep them on the team. If an individual does not perform, is not reliable, and impacts the performance of the team (directly or indirectly), thats an obstacle that needs to be removed.

Answer 6

Do you have an HR department? If so, you need to get them involved TODAY to protect the company's interests and to make sure you don't do anything on behalf of the company which will come back to bite you.

For the vacation issue, how about: "Sorry, we don't offer unpaid leave to employees during their probation period. What we can do is agree to a new start date after your vacation?" (This is an example of something you need to run by HR; what exactly is the policy about unpaid leave?)

For the outside job part, I don't think this is a valid concern. Sure, you won't be able to track a remote employee's effort level, but you can track their results. Just like you won't know if he is spending time working on his other job, you also won't know if he is sleeping in, watching movies, or washing his dishes during the day.

Unless there is a "your butt will be at your desk and available by phone 9-5 M-F" clause in his contract, what difference does it make if he is working mornings, nights, or weekends for you?

Answer 7

I understand that it's my fault that I didn't do the best work during the hiring process

No, it is not your fault.

This is either regulated by the law (in France for instance by default you must be "free to work" for your employer. This is usually part of the contract but if not it does not matter as this is the law anyway), or someone in HR made a mistake.

You have a probationary period. What does the law says about this period? (you are not the one who is supposed to answer this question). Again, taking the example of France this si a time when anyone can say good-buy without providing any reasons.

It would be best if you added a country tag.

Answer 8

It looks like not only you have little experience in hiring, but your company also hasn't mastered the basic things.

The 'planned' vacation - why are you actually asking? Either everyone takes their vacation when they want - and it's not relevant if they work for 2 weeks or 20 years, or you have, hopefully, some procedures and unless vacation is approved there's no vacation.

As for 2nd job, it's the absolute standard for employment contract to forbid any side jobs without the explicit allowance from your employer. If your company forget about such clause, then honestly, you can't blame that guy from not complying to the non-existing rules.

For the future: improve your recruitment process. For the current case: ignore and judge the guy based exclusively on the results, or negotiate, but beware, that you're really not in position to dictate anything that's not covered in the contract.