should i sack him!!

brutus1983

I work for a small electrical firm that my family runs and i was tasked into hiring an apprentice and took on a young lad he was a 2nd year student in college already and was the only person that stuck out from the other to applicants due to him having a driving liscence and cscs card.

in the last 6 weeks of working under my supervision hes turned up for work hungover twice.
refuses to work saturdays so he can play on his playstation even tho hes got a baby on the way in 4 months time
always on the mobile phone on facebook or something even after told to do something like tidy up or not paying attenion when im either explaining how to do something or how something works

whats topped it off today hes managed to loose an expensive drill which will cost nearly 300 to replace

hes a bight lad i want give him the chance but i cant see me letting him out on jobs on his own even if he does manage to get qualified

andygb

brutus1983 wrote: »

I work for a small electrical firm that my family runs and i was tasked into hiring an apprentice and took on a young lad he was a 2nd year student in college already and was the only person that stuck out from the other to applicants due to him having a driving liscence and cscs card.

in the last 6 weeks of working under my supervision hes turned up for work hungover twice.
refuses to work saturdays so he can play on his playstation even tho hes got a baby on the way in 4 months time
always on the mobile phone on facebook or something even after told to do something like tidy up or not paying attenion when im either explaining how to do something or how something works

whats topped it off today hes managed to loose an expensive drill which will cost nearly 300 to replace

hes a bight lad i want give him the chance but i cant see me letting him out on jobs on his own even if he does manage to get qualified

I am afraid that people have to learn the hard way, and as it is probably his first real job, he should get his head down and try harder. I would be worried about the drill, because are you sure that he "lost" it (How very cynical of me;)) and didn't sell it on?
I think you may have to knock this one on the head and look for another apprentice.

Emmzi

have you given him a warning about his behaviour? have you explained the work standards required and the consequences of failing to shape up?

ILW

He sounds like a waste of oxygen.

Loads of youngsters would love the opportunity, sack him and give it to someone more deserving.

elsien

I'm with Emmzi on this one.
Sit him down, spell out your expectations in words of one syllable, and tell him you'll be showing him the door if he fails to meet them. And I'd be tempted to say if he "loses" anything else he'll have to pay for it.

TrickyWicky

Sounds like a waster if you ask me. He probably doesn't realise the difference between education and work yet - IE thinks that you have a budget provided by the state and don't have to worry about the loss of tools etc as they'll be magically replaced.

If you want my opinion there is one way to shake him out of it - suspend him for a week or two. I don't know the legal implications of it but its got to be better than putting him out of work surely?

Also sounds like he may be rebelling against you for some reason. Have you trashed him lately either through no fault of his own or for an unfair reason? - Sounds to me like you might need to set the record straight if thats happened. I've been there and done that, been dumped on by the bosses for no apparent reason and then rebelled against them - it's the only way they listen when they're determined to blame you for almost anything. I've always rectified this though when they finally decide to get to the bottom of it and I've always worked hard and done my best to keep them sweet.

I'd suggest you talk to the kid, ask him whats going on in his head, does he still want the job because he's close to getting the sack etc. He probably thinks he's secure now because he's one step ahead of his mates and doesn't realise he's still vulnerable to the sack.

If he still doesn't sort it out then get shot of him.

Emmzi

TrickyWicky wrote: »

If you want my opinion there is one way to shake him out of it - suspend him for a week or two. I don't know the legal implications of it but its got to be better than putting him out of work surely?

Suspending with pay won't bother him.

Suspending without pay has all kind of legal hoohah and requires proper procedures.

Googlewhacker

How long has he been with you, if you have some time before the 1 year (presuming he was hired before Apr 6th) then go through a disciplinary (good practise for you as well) and outlay all the problems....if he still isn't getting it then get rid of him before the 1 year is up (inc notice!)

duchy

I'd sit him down with a list of your expectations and where he's failed to meet them -and inform him he has two weeks to meet the standard or you'll regretfully be sacking him.

He will either shape up or not but he won't be under any illusions as to your expectations.

midnight_express

How much are you paying him ? Is it a proper indentured apprenticeship ?
How old is he ?

DCFC79

You say he's bright yet cant see what hes doing wrong, maybe he needs a reality check especially with a kid on the way.