Rebuild Your Business: Rehire Your Employees

Well, here we are!  It is time to start reopening your business.  We have been flooded with questions on rehiring employees and what you need to do to get started on the right foot.  So, your HR Branches team took a few minutes to address your most common questions about rehiring your employees during this truly unique time in our history.  

Now that I have the PPP loans do I need to rehire that poor performing employee with nothing to do?

Of course, all of us should be looking at bringing back employees... the right employees at the right time.  Moving forward, it will be imperative that we maneuver through the reopening of our businesses with strategy and a well thought out plan.  This starts with rehiring the right employees.  Make sure that you are only inviting employees back into your business who add value and have been a great contributor in the past.  In addition, make sure that you have value-added tasks lined up for them.  This means that your rehired employees' job description will drastically change or you will have to hire someone else. 

If you are hiring employees back, just because you took out a PPP loan and need to fulfill the 75% payroll requirement, you may be doing more harm than good. 

My employees are making more on unemployment and don't want to return to work.  What do I do?

One of the primary qualifiers to receive unemployment is that the claimant is available and ready for work.  If they are not available and ready to return to work when you ask them to return, they are no longer qualified for unemployment.  Essentially, when you are ready for them to return to work they either have to return to work or face losing unemployment.  

Do I need to have all of my employees fill out new employee paperwork again?

Yes, you will need to great each rehire as a new employee.  You will need to collect the following:

W-4: Make sure that you have your rehire complete a new W-4

I-9: You can reverify the rehired identification and complete the rehire section on the original I-9

Emergency Contact Information- It is a good idea to collect updated emergency contact information

Updated Policies & Procedures: With all of the changes happening in our businesses, it is in your best interest to have your employees sign off on any updates.  Download our COVID-19 Operations & Safety Policy HERE. 

With all of the changes happening in my business how do I get my rehired employees up to date?

Training will be essential as you rehire your employees.  Even though they worked for you before, it is likely there have been many changes you have implemented within your business.  Take the time to think through all operational and health-related practices and procedures you have put into place.  Training your employees will ensure that you are working at full capacity in no time.

Check out the above video for more information....   

^{Disclaimer: HR Branches provides general information about Human Resources. Please note that the information provided, while reliable, is not legal advice. Please seek legal assistance, or assistance from State, Federal, or International governmental resources, to make sure your legal interpretation and decisions are correct for your location and circumstances. The purpose of this information is for guidance, ideas, and assistance on general HR matters.}