After a starting a business you are likely to find that you need to hire employees to be able to keep up with your business’s sales or just to be able to get some time away from the office. There can be issues when hiring employees. These steps will help you avoid these potential hurdles in the growth of your business.
The first thing you should do when you have decided to hire employees is obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN). This number is the unique identifying number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service for your businesses tax returns and to identify you as the employer for any W-2 employees you will hire. Click here to apply for an EIN
You will also need to get a record keeping system set up for the withholding of taxes from employees. By federal law you must keep records of the employment taxes for a minimum of four years. You will need to keep a record of federal income tax withholdings (W-4) and federal wage and tax statements (W-2). This is in addition to any state or local requirement for the area you are doing business.
You will also need to obtain workers’ compensation insurance either from a commercial carrier, through your states workers’ compensation insurance program or through a self-insured program.
You will need to post all required notices that inform your employees of their rights as workers and your responsibilities as an employer. There are federal notices that all businesses must post and in most states, there are additional notices as well.
Now that you have some ideas of the types of activities you must perform, how should you go about getting the right person to fit your business?
When interviewing, and reading resumes to select employees look for signs that the person may not fit your business. No matter how insignificant the job title remember that each employee reflects on your business. You should screen your potential employees for unwanted behavior and consider doing a drug screening for new hires.
When it comes time to interview you need to know that certain questions are totally off limits by law. You cannot ask questions that would be considered discriminatory based on race, age, religion, sex, potential disability or creed. You also will want to do a thorough check of an individual’s references before offering a position in your business. You may want to ask any reference about the individual’s work ethic and if that person would hire them if they had an applicable opening.