Ready to Hire? First Consult an HR Pro

Cindy Henry

When does your business need to address human resources? As soon as you?re ready to hire your first employee, says human resource management consultant Cindy Henry. When that employee comes on board, fundamental employment processes and documents need to be in place. ?You?ll also need employment practices liability insurance and worker?s compensation coverage.

There are a lot of things you don?t have to do when you?re small. But there are also a lot of land mines, says Henry, president of Integrated Resource Network. Don?t rely on your accountant to guide you. ?Employment regulations are too complex for someone other than an expert in HR to advise on them,? she says. In particular, California ? Henry?s home base ??is an expert at dreaming up how many people have to work at a company before something affects them.? For example, says Henry, as of January 2012, if you have 15 employees and one of them donates an organ, you have to provide a paid leave of absence.

Henry recalls one client, a successful restaurateur with more than a dozen employees. ?He knows how to run a restaurant,? she says. ?But he was foolish when it came to his role as an employer of people. When I was recommended to him, he had nothing in place, and the exposure from a legal perspective was huge.? His W-4 forms weren?t completed properly or completely, and he didn?t have any I-9 forms, which document that employees can work in the United States legally.

A big no-no: Don?t lift someone else?s employee handbook. Your handbook needs to be customized based on the number of employees and the type of business.

Henry also warns business owners they categorize workers correctly. ?The laws are very specific on who?s an employee and who?s a contractor,? she says. ?The penalties are severe and the tax consequences are ugly.? She explains, ?If I only work for one place, that?s a red flag. If I work in your building on your computers, and if you supervise me, then I?m an employee, not a contractor.?

Next, how to choose an HR advisor.

Source: http://www.womencentric.net/ready-to-hire-first-consult-an-hr-pro/

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