Name | PerformanceTerminations |
Description | an Acumen Final video |
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Duration | PT1860S |
Upload Date | 2017-03-17T19:37:45+00:00 |
Transcript |
Welcome and congratulations on
becoming an employer of record!
We are pleased to be your Fiscal
Agent and we look forward to
working with you and your
employees! This video training
series presents general
information to support and
assist you in your role as an
employer. NOTE: Always check
with your Program to verify
details of this information and
specifics of the law as they
apply to you. If you have
questions, please contact us.
Terms to know. Important NOTE:
Self-directed services means
that Participants, or their
representatives if applicable,
have decision-making authority
over certain services and take
direct responsibility to manage
their services with the
assistance of a system of
available supports. “You” in the
following descriptions is
inclusive and refers to the
Participant and/or designated
representatives. Acumen – The
Fiscal Agent that helps you
manage employer-related
financial and other
responsibilities pertaining to
your self-directed services.
Authorization – Documentation
that specifies approved
services, service codes, and
number of units, hours, or
dollars for delivery of goods
and services included in the
Plan of Care. Case Manager –
Person assigned by the Program
to work with you and facilitate
details of your self-directed
program (a Case Manager may be
known by other titles, depending
on Program terminology).
Employee – Person who works for
you and provides services to the
Participant. Employer – Person
who hires and supervises staff
to provide services to the
Participant (the Employer may
also be the Participant). Fiscal
Agent – (Acumen) provides
payroll processing, tax
services, payments and other
administrative functions
authorized by the Program.
Participant – Person receiving
services authorized by the
Program (the Participant may
also be the Employer). Payment
Services – Payroll Services
(employee-related payments and
processing); Vendor Services
(vendor-related payments and
processing). Plan of Care – Plan
you create with your Case
Manager and team to determine
Participant needs and how to
meet them, based on the
Participant’s preferences,
choices, and abilities. It
assists the Participant in
directing their services. It
includes the number, type and
duration of approved goods and
services. Program Administrator
– Entity that manages the
Program and/or waiver funding.
Welcome to the module Employee
Performance and Terminations.
This module covers topics to
help you be an effective
employer. We hope you will find
yourself working with motivated,
helpful, hardworking staff who
take their job seriously. Topics
we will cover: set clear
expectations for employee
performance; create and maintain
good working relationships with
employees; recognize and
appreciate employee’s efforts
and good performance; address
employee performance issues
promptly with appropriate
disciplinary action and
documentation; terminate
employees properly without
violating labor laws; review
what happens when terminated
employees file unemployment
benefit claims; provide
employment verification for
active and terminated employees;
complete required forms
(paperwork) within 24 hours that
are related to these topics
(information change, rate of pay
changes, and termination). In
the hiring process, you
identified specific work an
employee must do to support the
Participant. You searched for,
found, and interviewed
interested applicants. Finally,
you selected an applicant who
meets the criteria for the job
to be done. Welcome aboard! In
your own experience, you’ve
probably noted employees work
best when they’re satisfied and
happy with their job, and with
their boss. Here are some ideas
to help you start a good working
relationship with your employee.
On the first day, set clear
expectations for the job to be
done. Refer often to the job
description you created. Explain
working hours, tasks, and any
other important information.
Train your staff well so they
can do the best job possible
providing services to the
Participant. Pay attention to
interactions between the
employee and Participant.
Encourage the employee to ask
questions and offer suggestions.
Going forward. Keep employee
information current. Use the
Change Information Form. We will
cover paperwork and forms
shortly. Provide regular
feedback to the employee about
what’s going well and what needs
improvement. Use Participant
feedback on how things are going
with the new employee. Ask the
employee how things are going.
Work with the employee to
correct minor issues and
continuously improve
performance. Don’t delay giving
feedback, both on good work and
when you see something that
needs improvement. Be
consistent. Do what you say you
will do. Follow up. Be tactful.
Keep good records. Ask the
employee to share work-related
ideas and use them, when
possible. Recognize and express
appreciation for good
performance. There are many
no-cost and inexpensive ways to
show appreciation: a note, a
good word, positive feedback
from the Participant,
remembering special occasions
(birthday, anniversary of first
day of work, etc.) Encourage
your employee. Say “please” and
“thank you.” Even if your staff
is small, perhaps just one
employee, you can create a
workplace where there is trust,
respect, and compassion. This
will benefit the Participant,
the employee, and you. When
things don’t go well. Finding
the right employee for the job
can be difficult. The employee
you hired seemed perfect in the
interview, maybe even got off to
a great start, but then started
to display certain behaviors
that you consider unacceptable.
Some performance issues are less
serious than others, and can be
corrected by talking through
them with the employee and
working on a corrective action
plan. When there is a problem
that you feel can be corrected,
make sure the employee
understands what is expected. It
is helpful to write down the
issues and go over them with the
employee. This makes it clear
what needs to change and what
actions the employee needs to
take, and in what timeframe.
This will help you both avoid
misunderstandings, and you have
a good record of your
agreements. Simple coaching may
address other issues. Always
follow up promptly on corrective
actions to ensure performance is
improving. Reasons for
termination. Other actions are
more serious and may result in
further disciplinary action, up
to and including immediate
termination. Here is a list of
some issues: fraud; physical,
verbal, or emotional abuse;
theft; alcohol or drug abuse
while at work; behavior that
makes you or the Participant
feel unsafe or uncomfortable;
performance is poor; does not
follow instructions; argues with
you or the Participant; is late
frequently or fails to show-up;
does not pay attention to
Participant’s needs; cannot meet
your scheduling needs. Let’s
discuss two of these more
serious issues. Fraud. What is
fraud? Any misuse of funding is
considered fraud. This includes
submitting time worked for
services that were not provided.
For example, you might ask: What
if my employee fills out their
own timesheets? Your employee
may fill out their own
timesheets or enter their time
in a web-based system. But it is
your responsibility as the
employer to review all time
entries before approving them,
electronically or by signature,
to make sure they are correct.
By approving employee time
entries in a web-based system,
or by signing your employee’s
timesheets, you, as the
employer, confirm that the hours
being submitted for payment
accurately reflect services
provided. WARNING: Anything you
approve knowing it is inaccurate
could be considered fraud or
fiscal abuse. This has serious
consequences for anyone
involved. It may result in being
removed from the Program, and
possibly include prosecution,
and/or repayment of funds. What
if my employee changes their
timesheet after I approve or
sign it? Acumen will not pay for
any services that you did not
approve electronically or that
are not signed by you. NOTE: it
is your responsibility to check
your Account Statements
regularly. An Account Statement
is documentation Acumen prepares
and sends you regularly,
electronically or by mail,
showing the status of your
Program funds. Review your
Account Statement carefully. It
will show you what payments were
made. You can check these and
your available balances for
accuracy. You can plan ahead
with the information. The
Account Statement also shows if
your employee has any
certifications coming due (if
the Program requires). You can
also check this information if
you’re using a web-based time
entry system by running reports.
For more information, view the
module, Understanding Account
Statements and Pay Stubs, in
this training series. How do I
report fraud? If you suspect
fraud, please call Acumen’s
Customer Service Department
immediately at (866) 795-7163 so
we can notify the appropriate
authorities. You can also view
the Privacy, Fraud Protection
and Safety training module in
this training series. Abuse is
another harmful behavior that
must be avoided. Abuse comes in
many forms: physical, emotional,
verbal, and more. What is adult
or child abuse? Abuse is
neglect, exploitation, or
causing harm to an individual.
Anyone can become a victim. A
Participant might suffer abuse
from their caregiver, or an
employee might be abused by the
Participant or employer. No one
should have to suffer being in
an abusive environment. How do I
report abuse? If you suspect
abuse, neglect, or exploitation,
it is your responsibility, by
law, to report it to child
welfare or adult protective
services immediately so quick
action can be taken. To report
abuse, call your local Adult and
Child Abuse Hotline or contact
your local police department
immediately. Be sure to report
abuse to your Program’s Case
Manager, as well. Occasionally,
someone will report a situation
to Acumen. Here’s what to expect
if a report is filed with
Acumen. Acumen reports the
information to the Program
Administrator. We do not conduct
the investigation ourselves.
Acumen gathers basic information
such as how to contact you and
passes this information on to
the Program Administrator. The
Program may contact you for more
information, so be sure to keep
good records and documentation
of any suspicious activity. Your
Program may require you to take
additional steps after they
receive a critical incident
report. NOTE: Acumen is not able
to provide information about the
status of any pending
investigation. At the Program’s
request, Acumen may suspend the
account and temporarily stop
making payments for services.
Payments will resume only when
the Program notifies Acumen to
do so. Another important
employer responsibility is to
document employee performance
with enough detail so you have a
clear record of events if you
need to refer to them later.
Here are some suggestions for
good recordkeeping practices.
Documentation. We strongly
recommend that you keep a log of
employee performance. A brief
entry for each shift the
employee works will help you
recall feedback you want to
give. It’s good practice to
document both good and bad
incidents. You can refer to the
log to determine if the employee
should receive a raise if/when
funding becomes available or is
within your budget. You also
have a record of what needs to
be worked on when you have
performance review conversations
with the employee. At a minimum,
when an employee exhibits
unacceptable behavior or there
is some other performance issue,
log the date and time of the
occurrence and describe the
incident. You should address the
issue with the employee as soon
as possible to correct any
problems. Employee discipline.
While some behavior may have
obvious grounds for immediate
termination, you may consider
other behavior issues to be less
severe. As an employer, you are
able to take disciplinary action
when an employee’s performance
is poor. Appropriate discipline
practices can include: verbal
warnings; written warnings. All
methods of discipline should be
documented. Describe the details
of what happened in writing, and
note the number and dates of
occurrences. Verbal warnings
should be documented, and
include in your notes what you
said to the employee and the
employee’s response. Written
warnings should state in detail
the nature of the offense; what
the expectation is going
forward; what the consequences
will be if the offense occurs
again. Both you and the employee
should date and sign the
document. File it in the
employee record. The employee
may request a copy of the
document. By keeping a record of
any personnel issues, you have
the necessary back-up if you
need to discipline or even
terminate your employee.
Termination. NOTE: this is
general information. Be sure to
check with your state’s
Department of Labor (DOL) for
employment laws and rules,
exceptions and additional
considerations in your state
regarding employee discipline
and termination. These may
differ from state to state, so
be sure to check. If
disciplinary action failed to
correct your employee’s behavior
or improve poor performance, you
may choose to terminate
employment. You do not have to
tolerate bad behavior and poor
performance! In most states,
both you and your employee have
the right to terminate
employment for any reason, with
or without cause, at any time.
The term for this is
at-will-employment. THERE ARE
EXCEPTIONS. Be sure to check
with your state’s Department of
Labor (DOL) for rules in your
state. In states that are
exceptions, a different process
must be followed that may
require a probationary
performance period, and then
require cause. Even states with
at-will-employment law may have
certain exceptions that prohibit
disciplining or
discharging-at-will for such
things as: being called to
military service, jury duty,
political opinions or voting,
exercising right of association,
wage garnishment, filing a
Workers’ Compensation claim, and
whistleblowing. It is always
important to treat your
employees professionally and
fairly. It’s critical that you
do not violate any labor laws.
When you decide to terminate an
employee, the same laws apply as
when you were hiring. You may
not discriminate against any
employee on the basis of the
employee’s race, color,
religion, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity,
national origin, age, protected
veteran or disabled status, or
genetic information. For a
complete list of federal, state
and local labor laws, check with
your state’s department of Labor
(DOL). When you have made the
decision to terminate an
employee, things can be
difficult and tense. Here are
some tips for conducting a
smooth termination. Comply with
your state’s employment laws.
Follow the correct process
whether or not your state is an
at-will-employment state. Comply
with your state’s final paycheck
law. These laws may differ from
state to state. It is essential
that you notify Acumen within 24
hours of termination. You must
complete and submit the
termination form in the same
time period. This notice will
allow Acumen to prepare and
deliver the final paycheck in
compliance with your state’s
law. Keep your personal safety
in mind when you plan the
termination conversation. If you
have any reason to think your
own or the Participant’s safety
will be a factor, you may wish
to have another person with you
at the time of termination. In
an extreme situation, contact
your local authorities. If there
is no concern about the
employee’s response, you may
want to extend the courtesy of
telling the employee in person
that you will no longer be
requiring their services.
However, you also have the
option of communicating a
termination by telephone. Be
sure to ask for the return of
any personal property. Such
items may include house keys,
car keys, etc. Document the
termination, and include a list
of any property returned or not
returned at the time of
termination. Notify Acumen
within 24 hours. As the
employer, it is your
responsibility to report all
employee terminations within 24
hours of termination. This
includes completing and
submitting the termination form.
If you fail to notify Acumen
immediately, there is increased
risk of unauthorized payment, if
your employee submits time
without your knowledge. You, as
the employer, will be personally
liable for any incorrectly
issued paycheck resulting from
failure to notify Acumen within
24 hours of the employee’s
termination. If termination
takes place after business hours
or on a weekend, leave Acumen a
voicemail or email message and
then follow-up with us when the
Acumen office reopens. Here is a
sample of the form that Acumen
requires to terminate an
employee. It is called the
Termination Form which must be
completed and sent to Acumen
immediately. Instructions for
sending it to Acumen are printed
on the form. We’ll review forms
shortly. Unemployment benefits.
Will your terminated employee be
eligible for unemployment
benefits? Your former employee
may be eligible for unemployment
benefits upon termination,
depending on the reason for
termination and several other
factors as determined by your
local unemployment office.
Unemployment Insurance is
included in the Employer tax
that Acumen is paying on your
behalf. You can refer your
former employee to their local
unemployment office for more
information or to apply for
benefits. As an employer, you
will be required to complete any
unemployment paperwork. Acumen
completes a portion of this
information for you. We provide
the wages, hire date and
termination date, if known. We
also direct the unemployment
office to contact the employer
(you) for reasons for
termination. You are responsible
to provide this information when
the unemployment office requests
it. Failure to do so may result
in an increase of the employer
burden (taxes) which could have
an effect on the budget
available. What is verification
of employment? Sometimes current
or former employees may need to
show proof of employment. They
may need this qualify for
financial assistance, such as a
loan, apartment lease, or
unemployment benefits.
Information that is usually
requested: initial hire date; if
the employee is still employed
by you; termination date, if
any; how many hours the employee
typically works (or worked); how
much money the employee makes
(or made). Acumen will respond
to these requests on your behalf
providing we receive the request
in writing, showing the
employee’s consent to provide
the information. Acumen will
respond within five (5) business
days. Fax employment
verification requests to Acumen
at fax # 877-277-3049. There are
several required forms to
complete employee actions
mentioned in this module. These
are: Change Information Form:
Employee; Employee Rate Form;
Employee Termination Form
(required within 24 hours of
termination). You can download
all these forms from the Acumen
website. You may also request to
have them sent to you by calling
Acumen Customer Service.
Instructions are printed on each
form. All forms require your
signature as the employer. You
are also responsible to submit
completed forms to Acumen. Use
the Change Information Form:
Employee version to notify
Acumen of any change in employee
information. Here’s a sample
Change Information Form for
employees. The employee (the
person who works for you) should
supply the information. Examples
of changes that may require you
to use the Change Information
Form are changes of: name,
address, phone number, and email
address. it is your
responsibility to report all
employee changes promptly so
there are no miscommunications.
Use the Employee Rate Form to
make a change in the rate of
pay. Here’s a sample Employee
Rate Form. Use the Employee Rate
Form when you notify Acumen of a
pay rate increase. This may be a
raise that you choose to give
your employee, based on your
Program budget that is within
Program rules. It may reflect
adding a new service for the
Participant. Or it may be a
result of a tax increase which
impacts the employee’s wage.
Return this form to Acumen
promptly to comply with the
effective date of the change.
Use the Employee Termination
Form to notify Acumen of an
employee termination. Here’s a
sample Employee Termination
Form. Use the Employee
Termination Form to notify
Acumen of an employee
termination. This is highly time
sensitive. Submit the Employee
Termination Form to Acumen
within 24 hours of employee
termination. Remember to pay
careful attention to the final
check law in your state. Review.
We covered a lot of information
today. Let’s review the
highlights. Set and communicate
clear expectations for employee
performance. Create and maintain
good working relationships with
your employees. Recognize and
appreciate your employee’s
efforts and good performance.
Address employee issues
promptly. If you suspect fraud,
call Acumen’s Customer Service
Department at (866) 795-7163 so
we may notify the appropriate
authorities. To report abuse,
call your local Adult and Child
Abuse Hotline or contact your
local police department, then
contact your Program’s Case
Manager. It is your
responsibility to document any
and all personnel issues.
Discipline fairly and within DOL
laws and rules. Most states have
at-will-employment laws. This
means you and your employee have
the right to terminate
employment at any time with or
without cause. There are
exceptions to this. Know your
state’s laws/rules and act
accordingly. Do not
discriminate. Your employee may
be eligible for unemployment
benefits upon termination,
depending on the reason for
termination as determined by
your local unemployment office.
Both you and Acumen will provide
information to the local
unemployment office. If your
current employee or one who was
terminated needs to obtain
verification of employment, you
will fax a request, showing the
employee’s consent to release
information, to Acumen at
877-277-3049. Acumen will
respond within five (5) business
days. As the employer, it is
your responsibility to report
all employee changes, including
pay rate changes, promptly using
the correct forms. A termination
form must be completed and
returned to Acumen within 24
hours of employee termination.
Congratulations! And thank you
for completing the Acumen
Employer Training module,
Employee Performance and
Terminations. It can be
challenging to supervise people
and manage their performance. We
hope this module provided some
useful information and tools to
help you bring out the best in
your employees and deal
effectively and confidently with
employee-related issues. Welcome
to Self-Direction. Welcome to
Acumen!
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