Orthotown June 2022 - 26

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LotsOfSmiles
Member Since: 08/19/14
Post: 10 and 11 of 22
Get rid of the venom-spewing employee. The easiest way would be to terminate immediately
and present her a check for two weeks' severance, along with any unused PTO at the same time.
Collect offi ce keys, change all passwords on accounts/software she may have access to, and have
you or your offi ce manager escort her off the premises.
If you're an " at-will " work state, you don't need to even give her a reason. If asked, just say
that you are no longer in need of her services-nothing else. The two weeks of severance pay
buys you some time before she can fi le an unemployment claim (and maybe even avoid one if she
fi nds a job within two weeks). I would bet that the remaining two employees will have a major
reversal in attitude when the negative infl uence of this staff member is gone.
Do you have employees who are receiving orthodontic treatment sign a contract just like
patients? Mine do. In the contract, it states the full treatment fee, discounts, lab fees and such.
It also states that if they leave or are terminated before completion of treatment, any employee
discounts will be reversed and they are responsible for any remaining fees, which would then
be prorated according to the same formula used by the offi ce when a patient transfers out, and
they have 30 days to transfer to the orthodontic provider of their choice or arrange to have their
braces removed like any regular patient.
I also have a policy where only one staff member at a time can be in treatment, they must
have been employed full time for at least one year, and seniority is taken into account as to who
gets treatment. ■
3/21/2016
sunnyjames
Member Since: 12/25/05
Post: 12 of 22
LotsOfSmiles, I was going to mention just what you started to say. I have put her in braces
just this January and I do not have such a contract in place. I do offer ortho after one year of
employment in the offi ce, like you do. Right now, I just want to get done with this person's
treatment and somehow get rid of her. Yes, I am in an " at-will " employment state. All this stress
and drama were so unnecessary and from the things that this person made up in her head.
I happened to stumble on a bunch of communication going on from our offi ce communication
system between this person and the other two when I went to look up some charts from her system.
There were so many completely made-up things being said! I couldn't believe people can be so
creative in imagining things. I am going to contact my IT person to see if he can retrieve all this
communication as support for my case when I fi re her.
I feel like I learned a lot in these 2½ years in practice, mostly about people. I have always
looked for employees age 30-35+ so they have their situation fi gured out. Does anybody have
an idea where to look for employees in that age range? Typically we can look for new hires right
out of assisting programs, etc. I am so much against it right now. ■
3/22/2016
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26 JUNE 2022 // orthotown.com

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