EVIL HR LADY
DILEMMA OF THE MONTH
Should a New Hire Be Allowed to Take a Trip ?
BY Suzanne Lucas
ILLUSTRATION : JOHN CHASE
A new hire started today . He says he scheduled a trip before applying for the new job . He says he has all his reservations and has paid , so he will be taking the trip . He will finish the onboarding process and then go on the trip . What can I do ?
This is the type of thing your new hire should have brought up during the negotiation phase of the job offer and not waited until his first day to spring it on you . He probably thought this was a situation where asking forgiveness rather than permission was the way to go . There is some logic in this — you ’ re unlikely to fire him and start the recruiting process over . If any future job candidates are reading this ( and , really , we are all prospective job candidates ), don ’ t do this . Taking a job knowing you have a vacation planned and not revealing it to the employer during the interview process shows a lack of integrity and honesty . This is a case where permission is better than forgiveness . But since you ’ ve hired him , here are your options .
1 Fire him . Yes , this is harsh , and I actually don ’ t recommend this unless you have another candidate as a backup . You are under no obligation to keep this person ( unless you ’ ve signed a contract , but even then there is usually a 90-day probationary period ).
2 Tell him not to take the trip . The employee has made it clear he intends to go on this trip . You can clarify that if he chooses to go , he won ’ t have a job when he returns . This is slightly different from firing him because he gets to decide if the trip is worth the new job . My bet is that it is not , or he would have felt comfortable bringing it up during the interview and negotiations . But there are some significant drawbacks
20 comstocksmag . com | April 2021