Starting your own business can be daunting enough, but adding employees to the equation adds another layer of anxiety, especially if you’re a first time business-owner!
The first and perhaps most important decision you’ll make is whether the help you’ll need will be a regular employee or a contractor. If your need is specialized and short-term, or sporadic and “as needed”, contract labor may be the right choice for you. Beware though, the IRS specifies rules for issuing 1099s to contractors you pay, and there has been recent attention to the issue of Independent Contractors with respect to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
If you need regular employees, whether full time or part time, you’re going to make a variety of decisions that may require guidance, but what if you don’t have time to research and manage it all? What if you aren’t confident in writing all the policies you’ll need? Understanding, navigating, and coordinating the interplay of employment compliance requirements is critical for your business, and there is help available. Working with an HR consultant could allow you to make the financial and business decisions required, but then leave the details to and experienced HR professional who can save you time and provide peace of mind for your compliance anxieties! Below is a beginning list of areas to consider and decisions to make. The nature and size of your business will significantly impact the extent to which each of these must be addressed, and the competition to attract and retain employees will impact others.
· Payroll processing and Payroll taxes, timekeeping
· Employee forms and records like the application and other onboarding forms
· Complying with allowable interview practices and pre-employment screening regulations
· Selecting vendors for HR service providers like background checks and HR systems
· Benefits and Workers Compensation
· Paid time off regulations and FMLA compliance
· Should you use e-verify?
· Responding to injuries and illnesses, providing light duty, and investigating accidents
· OSHA reporting and compliance
· DOT compliance and recordkeeping
· Compliance with state and federal drug & alcohol testing and policies?
· Do you need an employee handbook?
· Preventing harassment, investigating allegations and responding to claims
· Documentation of employee performance or behavioral issues
· Response to unemployment claims from terminated workers
While using legal counsel to support these decisions is one advisable option, enlisting an HR consultant may be a more practical approach to accomplish many start-up activities and ensure ongoing compliance with HR and Safety regulations. Many small businesses may not need professional HR support on a full-time basis; but most need it “on demand” for projects or in response to a particularly difficult employment issue or crisis situation. Call or contact us today to discuss how the consultants at Focus HR can help you simplify being an employer!