HEY! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?!... A problem lawn care employee.

While one of your employees may not be a bad person, they CAN be a bad lawn care employee.

So what do you do about it?

You should identify the issue, then assess if you need to coach them... or can them. And if firing them is the right move, you’ll need to do it the right way.

First, and foremost…

If you have specific questions on terminating a lawn care employee, it’s best you seek the advice of an employment law professional (an attorney or human resources consultant).

Each HR issue is specific to the size of your lawn care company, type of company, state in which you do business, and etc.

The goal of this blog is to give you a few recommendations as a starting point when dealing with lawn care employee issues. It’s not to be taken as legal advice.

Read on, as we walk you through some pointers with insights from Jason Cupp, a leading Human Resources consultant with specialties in the lawn care and landscaping industry. Jason has guided all types of services businesses through both big and small HR issues.

How to Identify a Problem Lawn Care Employee

You try to be the perfect boss, and yet your employees still go rogue.

Even the most successful lawn care business owners have to occasionally deal with problematic employees.

So what you should you look out for when it comes to problem areas? Here are a few recommendations:

• Did they steal from you?
• Are they continually late?
• Do they constantly call out sick?
• Have they ever “no showed” for a job?
• Did they start a physical fight with another employee?
• Did they steal from a client, or speak disrespectfully to one?
• Are they lazy on the job or just not doing a good enough job?
• Does your new hire really have the experience they say they do?
• Do they hurt your company’s morale or bring other employees down?
• Did you catch them bad mouthing you, other team members, or the company?
• Do you suspect any type of drug or alcohol use? If so, this could be a HUGE liability for you if an incident happens while they are working.

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The Best Process for Dealing With Your Worst Lawn Care Employees

You found the problem… and the problem lawn employee. Now how do you address it?

1. Make sure you gather all the facts. The last thing you want to do is falsely accuse someone.
2. You could speak with the individual. (For sensitive conversations, it’s best to make sure you have another manager or HR professional present. Otherwise, make sure your conversation is private and not in front of other co-workers.)
3. Address the situation frankly but with compassion.
4. Allow them to explain their side of the story.

Once you have all the facts, you’ll have to decide your next move.

Depending on your specific business situation, possible ways of handling a problematic employee issue could be:

• Suspend them.
• Write them up.
• Place them on probation.
• Terminate their employment with you.

If You Write Up Lawn Care Employees...

Provide written documentation to your employee with a detailed account of the events and advice for corrective action.

Be sure to have your lawn care employee sign any write ups.

“If they refuse, tell them to write ‘I refuse to sign this’ at the bottom and have them write their name (not a signature),” states Jason. “This document, and it’s signature, or it’s refusal to sign will cover your liability significantly.”

Written documentation is super important for you as a business owner.

You’ll want to document EVERYTHING.

Should that employee ever question your decisions, you’ll have all of the dates, times, and incidents listed in their file.

If You Put a Lawn Care Employee on Probation...

A probationary period would last a certain amount of time, such as one week, 30-days, etc.

This means they have a certain amount of time to correct their behavior.

Once the probation is over, you would re-evaluate your lawn care employee and give them a status update.

If they are doing great, let them know it!

Unless... it's something HUGE.

When to Fire a Problem Lawn Care Employee

There are a few extreme circumstances that could possibly lead you to firing an employee.

Hopefully you’ve built zero tolerance policies into your Lawn Care Employee Handbook, and your employees have signed off on the handbook.

The handbook shows that you mean business and have already warned them that certain actions won’t be tolerated.

A HUGE zero tolerance action could be any of the following:

• Extreme insubordination
• No-shows for more than 1 day
• Drinking or using drugs while on the job
• Starting a physical fight with a client, a co-worker, or you
• Use of inappropriate or offensive language with you, a client, or a vendor, either in-person or over the phone

If an employee commits a zero tolerance act, you should consider immediately removing the lawn care employee from the field, but only if those are outlined in your handbook.

Make sure you extensively document the situation. Write down:

• Who was there
• What occurred
• Where it happened
• Date and time it happened
• Any conversations you had with the employee or other employees who witnessed the event

“If you have proof, the liability is significant,” Jason explains. “IF you have a handbook that says you can terminate them for what they did (i.e. drinking on the job), then you can fire them.”

Tips for Firing a Lawn Care Employee

There are definitely a few things to consider when firing a problem employee such as:

• Be honest
• Have an employee handbook
• Have everything documented
• Communicate all legal requirements
• Make sure you’re firing for just cause
• Stick to the facts and choose your words carefully

If they are working on a Visa…

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), there are specific actions you must take should you terminate someone who is a H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Worker. Typically, you have only 2 days to notify USCIS.

There are additional pieces of information that you must include with your notification to USCIS. You can find those details, along with contact information, on the USCIS website.

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Dealing With a Problem Lawn Care Employee

Don’t be afraid to fire someone if it’s truly warranted.

Remember: keeping a problem lawn care employee on staff could cause you a BIG headache down the line.

They could get into even more trouble if they continue to stay out in the field.

Plus, they can bring your business to a grinding halt if they step too far out of line.

Don’t let this one problem cause 10 more for you and your lawn care business.

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Related: Motivate Lawn Care Employees All Year Long

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Originally published July 31, 2018 9:06 AM, updated April 20, 2021 3:39 PM