July 10, 2008
Should I make a disciplinary example of our star performer?
I’m number two in a successful advertising agency that has just introduced a green bike purchase scheme to encourage staff to cycle to work. One of our creative stars, a big fat guy, jeered at this but then astonished us by applying for his grant of £800. A few weeks later he was overheard in the pub boasting he was using the money to pay the congestion charge on his flash sports car. This has been drawn to my attention and I’m wondering if I make a disciplinary example of him or ignore it, bearing in mind that he is a star performer.
Advertising executive, female, 49
Lucy’s Answer
There is so much in this to wonder at. First that your scheme allows staff to claim for a bike without having to prove that they have actually bought one. Most companies now require proof before reimbursing staff for a cup of coffee; it seems that advertising is more lackadaisical. The next is the prodigious amount he claimed. My bike, which is rather nice, cost £350, including mudguards, padlock and helmet. But that’s advertising for you, again.
Third is the loose talk in the pub overheard by spies who grass to managers who then take decisions based on such dodgy testimony – not a terribly good way of running a company. And finally there is the cynicism of the scheme itself. The agency dreamt it up cynically to boost its green credentials, and the fat guy cynically used it to subsidise his own less green mode of transport.
Still, this list of complaints doesn’t answer the question. You want to know if you should blow the whistle, and if it makes a difference that he is a star.
The answer to the second question is Yes, of course it makes a difference. It is absolutely fair to treat stars differently – they add more to the company than non-stars and if they were treated just the same as everyone else why would anyone strive to be one?
But should stars be able to break the rules? This depends on what the rules are. I suspect that in your company the rules are so ill-defined that almost everyone breaks them a bit, making it odd to single him out, unless you have decided that it is time to tighten up the whole operation.
So what do you do? You say you are number two. One of the beauties of being a deputy is that when passed a hot potato you can always respond by handing it on to your boss.
I would fire the idiot who is handing out company cash without ensuring that it is spent on what it was intended for. Your star performer has just turned in another star performance, exposing corporate stupidity and waste. Give him a bottle of champagne.
Posted by: Stephen, male, consultant, 60 | July 10th, 2008 at 7:50 am | Report this commentKeep in mind that this big fat guy is probably doing the planet a favour by NOT riding a bike. Surprising as it may sounds but food, especially meat, has a large carbon footprint. If this fat guy were to ride a bicycle he would burn far more calories and would therefore consume even more food. Just let the fat guy drive around for the sake of our planet!
Posted by: Johan | July 10th, 2008 at 9:11 am | Report this commentIf you will implement daft bandwagon policies you deserve all you get.
Posted by: joe, male, managing director, investment banking | July 10th, 2008 at 9:40 am | Report this commentIf you want to take the “political” element out of it, get the finance department to do your dirty work for you. Just get them to ask him for the receipt for the bike that he bought with the money - which (as has already been pointed out) should be standard practice anyway. If he can’t produce one, the cash should be taken back from his next paycheck.
Posted by: Rodger, 36, male, Finance Director | July 10th, 2008 at 9:58 am | Report this commentAdvertising agencies have long been reputed for poor systems and financial control on the one hand, and questionable creativity on the other. You have just re confirmed the first but the big fat guy has proved to be an exception to the second. Give him a raise and sack your CFO.
Posted by: Out of the box, 44, Male | July 10th, 2008 at 11:00 am | Report this commentI wouldn’t like to be that sarcastic, but I am wondering what kind of bicycle did you expect your employees to buy for £800? One to ride the “Tour de France” competition? A descent bike with a helmet shouldn’t cost more than £250. I also don’t understand why you “granted” the money and you didn’t negotiate a descent framework purchase agreement with a reputable bike vendor/producer. At lease you should ask for a receipt. Even if the fat guy couldn’t get advantage of the £800 bike, may be his family would, so that they don’t get that fat themselves!
Posted by: Agamemnon, 36, Male, Senior IT/Engineering Consultant | July 10th, 2008 at 11:04 am | Report this commentYou should now also work on extending this scheme beyond the confines of your agency, as a larger green initiative. Maybe you can offer $800 each to all FT readers who can persuade one person to cycle to work. I have already done so and will send you the bank remittance details shortly.
Posted by: Out of the box, 44, Male | July 10th, 2008 at 11:06 am | Report this commentGBP800 for a bicycle, no controls in place to ensure it’s spent on your specific “grant” and no red flag from your accounts department to approve the “wrong” purchase. You and the CFO needs to be disciplined for being slip-shod in your process and controls. Get the star performer to produce a receipt for the purchase and deduct from his next paycheck if it’s non-reimbursable. Leave the “strong” action to your number one. You do not need to make another boo-boo.
Posted by: Adeline; Female, 40s; Associate | July 10th, 2008 at 12:16 pm | Report this commentPut out a memo saying, all those who received the green bike money, please submit a receipt by such and such a date. If the deadline passes without submission of a receipt, call him in for a tete-a-tete and tell him you’ll have to deduct the GBP800 from his pay. Do it quietly, so he doesn’t lose face with others in the office.
Posted by: Knute Knutson | July 10th, 2008 at 2:22 pm | Report this commentDear Nr. 2: You should ask him to reimburse the £800 grant. Otherwise you are allowing misuse of the company funds - which you are supposed to protect
Posted by: Anon, 35, male, Director | July 10th, 2008 at 2:45 pm | Report this commentDear Nr. 1: Your Nr. 2 doesn’t have neither the required managerial skills nor the necessary understanding about integrity. I advise you to replace her.
I just think that your bike-plan is plain foolish. As a number 2 in an organization, you should have better thing to do. And 800 pounds for a bike? Geez
Posted by: jin | July 10th, 2008 at 2:46 pm | Report this commentLet’s throw in a different opinion to those offered so far. Yes, discipline him. You know he’s stealing money. He knows he’s stealing money. People who steal get into trouble. I was taught that years ago by my parents and by The A-Team. I agree that you seem to have been slightly lackadaisical about tracking company funds, but since when did that become an excuse? We have probably all had occasions when we could have taken company money without anybody noticing – but we don’t. That’s stealing. Or if we do, we shouldn’t be surprised if we get disciplined or fired. Or get a visit from The A-Team.
Posted by: Hywel, 30's, Male Manager | July 10th, 2008 at 3:38 pm | Report this commentThe bike issue is the least of your problems. Not only does the fat guy “game the system” but he also boast about it in front of colleagues.
His behavior leads me to conclude that he probably does not have much respect for you professionnally and his loyalty to your firm can seriously be questioned.
How indispensable to your business is fat-guy?
Posted by: Julien | July 10th, 2008 at 4:10 pm | Report this commentIt was wrong of the Fat Guy to take company money to meet his own expenditure. It should be a black mark against him, but it’s difficult to discipline him without exposing how poorly the bike scheme was implemented, or without making you look petty chasing “star performer” over receipts or a relatively immaterial amount. Amend the rules of the bike scheme, get a proper accountant/ CFO who has some controls. What about other areas of abuse? .. expenses, extra nights in hotel rooms, having wife accompany on business dinner or trips etc. Have all investigated. Get a dossier with evidence of those that have abused the rules and then keep it in your private safe for later use. Theft is a firing offence, no?
Posted by: Robert | July 10th, 2008 at 5:22 pm | Report this commentRobert, Male 38, CFO
I wonder whether you want to punish your creative star for being “a big fat guy” or for taking advantage of a sloppily implemented program? Give yourself two black marks: as Number 2, you probably had something to do with the give-away, and as a manager, you should know that someone’s size (or age, color, religion, etc.) really doesn’t have anything to do with it.
Cilla, 50’s, student
Posted by: Cilla | July 10th, 2008 at 6:18 pm | Report this commentIf this is true it is a matter for the police as fraud/embezzlement is a criminal offence and if you fail to report it to the police you could be jailed as an accessory.
Posted by: John | July 10th, 2008 at 6:59 pm | Report this comment£800 for a bicycle? My first bike (a Raleigh) cost £10. No receipt required when collecting the grant?
So I suppose that this is another joke entry
John, male, over 40, Consultant
You should be worry because the fat guy is a great example of a senior leader of the future. He found an unparalleled way to solve the problem with his work-to-the-home technology.
Posted by: read_books | July 10th, 2008 at 7:45 pm | Report this commentThe chances of him saying down the pub that he nicked the money are no higher if he really did steal it than if he didn’t.
In either case the point of saying it is not confession but the need to support his work-place “persona” as a reckless genius who doesn’t care about his health (a likely defence-mechanism if he has been teased before about his weight). He may well actually care however and be riding the bike on the weekends.
All this ignores the problem with “he was overheard” - either you overheard him (which I suspect you would have said explicitly) or you are really saying “someone told me that they overheard him”.
By the way, is it possible in England to just give 800 pounds cash to your employees with no receipt and presumably tax-free? If so, it’s a wonder anybody pays any tax at all.
And, isn’t there an unwritten rule that what’s said in the pub is stays in the pub? It seems that you have an ethics problem if you are getting reports about it. If not, then your employees are foolish to socialise together.
Also, have you considered just becoming a pure advertising company and simply not doing things that aren’t related to helping your clients sell?
Posted by: Samec, 30 | July 11th, 2008 at 7:28 am | Report this commentIgnore it! A boast overheard in a pub is hardly damning evidence. And if the scheme was so poorly designed that it could be circumvented in this way, if you made an example of this chap not only would you risk drawing others’ attention to this ‘loophole’ but you’d also look a bit of an idiot for offering it in the first place. The fact that he’s a star performer is neither here nor there.
Samec - re the question of tax, if employers give their employees cash in this way then it is classed as employment-related earnings and is indeed subject to income tax plus employees and employers National Insurance Contributions.
Posted by: GLH, female, 30, manager | July 11th, 2008 at 10:16 am | Report this commentGood for him - serves the sanctimonious idiots right. How individuals get to work is no concern of the employer. All this concern about receipts is misplaced. A grant to commute is not a business expense, and should be taxed anyway, receipts or no receipts. If companies want to add to their employees’ remuneration, fine, but this should be based upon their value to the organisation, not based upon what they do before and after work.
Fat male banker. 53.
Posted by: Duncan. Male, 53. | July 11th, 2008 at 3:06 pm | Report this commentOn the face of it the scheme is not very well-designed, but perhaps we don’t have all the details. In any case, there’s an argument that highly paid and intelligent employees shouldn’t need to be treated like children.
Is encouraging people to cycle to work a good thing or a bad thing? Should employers interfere? Human nature being what it is, people sometimes need encouragement to do what’s in their own best interests - so in principle I’m in favour of the scheme.
Should any disciplinary action be taken? No - that would be a childish response to a childish indiscretion.
Instead, since this guy is a star performer, put him in charge of organising the ride-to-work scheme. You may be surprised at the results.
Posted by: Peter, male, 57, CEO | July 11th, 2008 at 3:37 pm | Report this commentGood lord.
I think it’s all been said above re the abuse of benefits, the obvious loopholes re checks, etc. etc.
Would however like to note the UK government scheme http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/ re tax free bikes for work. Website has information about the government’s Green Transport Plan scheme for tax-free purchase of bicycles through an employer.
Basically, assuming this scheme is set up to tie into the above then, if he were buying a bike primarily for travel to work, it would indeed be tax free. In the stated circumstances however, this chap is not only defrauding the company, but also understating his own personal tax liability.
Posted by: M, accountant, 35 | July 11th, 2008 at 4:23 pm | Report this commentGoes to prove that he really is a creative star!
While he is skating with danger here, there is no need to necessarily fly off the handle. A quiet word might get him back on the right track.
Posted by: Longman Oz | July 11th, 2008 at 6:10 pm | Report this commentIt shows great weakness by this manager that she is in a quandry. The guy must be formally disciplined as should anyone who misuses company funds.
That said, this is the sort of Government initiative (just like the home computer idea of a couple of years ago) that shows how much they want to influence everything we do. Control, control, control…..
Neil, Chief Operating Officer 58
Posted by: Neil Woodcock | July 11th, 2008 at 8:39 pm | Report this commentFirst, if the contest is open to all then to attempt any kind of “disciplinary” measures based on an overheard comment off site from the main work premises would land you as the disciplinarian on the dole and your “fat” performer would just shine that must brighter. His comments cannot be confirmed/affirmed in writing nor can one control how the monetary award[s] are spent. It is rather excess for a bike; hence, i would lower the 800.00 quid down to a build your own model for less than 250.00 or make an in-kind donation to Oxfam to purchase bikes for others.
Posted by: Felix -carbon footerprint from 38K 16A, 50, male, IP law | July 14th, 2008 at 6:12 am | Report this commentManaging talent is really tricky. I remember when I used the company’s credit card at Stringfellow’s my boss went crazy when he had to sign off on the bill. But, it gave us a really big client and all was forgiven. The moral is that you should be able to do whatever you want, as long as it makes money.
That being said, having a fat employee can cause problems. I remember when I told my secretary she could stand to loose a few pounds, it was very disruptive for her productivity. You should punish him, but do it cleverly in a way that solves several problems. Buy him a new bike with a big ribbon that says “Biggest Loser” that should punish him, give him the right motivation and possibly save his life. That’s three benefits from doing one thing.
Posted by: Stellan Sjögreen | July 14th, 2008 at 8:31 am | Report this commentThis scheme appears to have been poorly implemented. The Cycle 2 Work Scheme is a salary sacrifice item and you should already be recleiming this through payroll.
In a circumstance like this, the employee should be (if you really want to pursue this) reported to HMRC, who would then probably lose all his information, so nothing would happen anyway.
Posted by: Steve | July 14th, 2008 at 1:19 pm | Report this comment800 quid for a bike! Brilliant. That is about what mine cost.
Can I join your company?
Posted by: Mark Cavendish, 23, Soon to be Olympian | July 14th, 2008 at 3:00 pm | Report this commentThere’s alot of doping in the cycling world - or should that be dopes?
Posted by: Conor | July 15th, 2008 at 10:02 am | Report this commentLighten up ! Go to the pub and enjoy some drinks at his expense (he’s probably a suitably crass bolly chap)
After sinking several leave and tip off the traffic police about the drunken fat idiot with the flash car
Clean hands and retribution !! The only downside is that no doubt some junior at your firm will have to buy a tandem to give him a lift to work
Posted by: bess | July 16th, 2008 at 1:54 am | Report this commentYour “star performer” has openly boasted that he has breached company policy re buying the bike and should be disciplines as a result.
Posted by: Anthony Blacker | August 22nd, 2008 at 11:06 am | Report this commentSecondly your companly policy for giving out loans, whether to purchase a bike or season ticket need to be tightened up. Ask for evidence i.e. the receipt, that the bike has been bought, better still ask to see the bike, if neither can be produced then ask Mr Star Performer to repay the loan (with interest)
I wonder if your disapproval is really to do with the fact that he (allegedly) got the grant but didn’t spend it on a bike, or whether the real cause of your venon is the fact that he is a “big fat guy” with a “flash sports car”. Presumably if he was a nice fit guy with a cute little Ford Fiesta you wouldn’t be so irate?
Its a stupid policy, he was right to jeer at it, and if he DID do what you allege, quite frankly I’m delighted. The fact that your company doesn’t even check that a bike has been purchased just goes to show how pathetic it is.
You just sound like a rather second rate and jealous employee.
Get a life.
Posted by: Si. | September 30th, 2008 at 4:53 pm | Report this comment