Janitorial Liability: Protecting The Owner Of A Cleaning Company


By D. Brownlee


Let’s face it, running a janitorial company is not easy. It’s not glamorous. And, at time’s, it’s not very profitable. But, when you add the ever lingering possibility of lawsuits by your employees and customers and worker compensation claims, you begin to see why a lot of company’s don’t make it past their 3rd year!

Look in your local yellow pages, and you’ll discover an unending line of lawyers, all waiting to file a claim against someone, anyone, for just about any reason imaginable.

If you’re a small company, you may be dependant on your customers paying you on time, so that you can meet your payroll cost. That’s too bad. Why? Because, many business owners are habitually LATE on their Account Payables. And, this means that you have to borrow the money to pay your employees and of course, pay it back with interest OR you have to tell your employees that payroll will be a few days late, and risk them quitting or worse, going to the Labor Board.

Now, consider the cost of dealing with Workers Compensation claims. Even if the claims are true, you have to stop running your business (sales, management, supervision, etc.) and fill out papers, possibly meet with their attorney, and a hundred other task related to the case.

But, what if it’s a false claim (your employees wouldn’t file a bogus claim against you, would they?)

Now, you have to hire your own attorney, and gather witnesses, and drudge up documentation supporting your case PLUS stop running your business, filling out forms and meeting with the plaintiffs attorneys, etc.

What’s at risk? For starters, your time, and lots of it. And, thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees and damages. And, quite possibly your personal assets (if you’re not incorporated).

There are a couple of ways to protect yourself.

The first way is to clean all of your buildings yourself. That’s right. Every square inch of buildings that you currently have…. Clean them yourself. After all, you’re not going to file a claim against yourself, right? If you did, YOU would have to pay YOU!

Of course, you wouldn’t be able to take on any new business, if you couldn’t find the time to clean it yourself. This would basically create a ‘glass ceiling’ on your income, and lock you into being an employee for as long as your company continued to operate.

If this doesn’t sound like the way to go, you’re right… it isn’t. A more feasible alternative is to merge with another company, and allow them to bill your customers, train your employees, and deal with the headaches of running a janitorial company.

This would free up your time to do more selling, quality control, etc. Furthermore, you would have more time for your family and friends, social activities or anything else you’d like to do. But, most importantly, you would transfer all liability to the other company, thus protecting your company’s name, assets and reputation.

In return, you would pay them a small percentage of the business that they’re managing for you. The percentage would have to be negotiated in advance, but expect to pay around 10-15% of your gross billing. But, when you factor in the protection from liability AND the freedom of time that you receive in return, 10% is a steal.

It’s better than hiring an employee to do it for you. After all, if you hire an employee and your company is sued, YOU (the business owner) are still at risk.

For more information on how to find and select a company to merger with, visit http://www.breakthecycleokc.com/Opportunities.html .

D. Brownlee http://www.BreakTheCycleOKC.com

D. Brownlee currently works as a Territorial Area Developer for a large janitorial company. He manages in excess of $1.5 million dollars of volume, overseeing hundreds of janitors. For more information on his company, you may contact him at http://www.BreakTheCycleOKC.com


More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Management Information:

Related Articles


Take Control of Your Paper in 3 Easy Steps
Do you have piles of paper on your desk. Many do and don't know how to deal with them.
The Truth About Performance Reviews
Now that it is January, many of you are putting together, or have just finished putting together your annual Performance Appraisals for your staff. Feedback on performance is certainly one of the most critical aspects of personnel development and one that deserves to be taken very seriously.
The Few & the Many: Free Trade, Outsourcing, & Communication
Have you noticed that some sound ideas get bad publicity? Two Ihave in mind are outsourcing and free trade.No doubt you could name others, but looking at these two initiatives helps us understand a communication challenge for many companies and not-for-profit organizations.
How Your Business Can Pick A Software Developer
Eventually, your business is going to need to have some software development. Your business is unique - you can't rely on a huge, faceless corporation to handle your unique needs with a shrinkwrapped, mass produced, production-line solution.
Top Ten Tips About People Management
To get the best results you have to be very good at Managing People..
Employee Motivation: It's More Than A Paycheck
Managers often ask, usually with exasperation, "How can I keep my employees motivated? I pay them decently. What else is there?"Offering competitive salaries is certainly important.
10 Fundamentals for Effective Meeting
Here are ten fundamental concepts that characterize an effective meeting.Definition: A meeting is a business activity where select people gather to perform work that requires a team effort.
Delegate Tasks to the Right Person
SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON: To whom should tasks be delegated? Selecting the right subordinate to do the work is an evaluative process, and managers must be able to identify individuals both capable and willing to handle responsibility.DETERMINING EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITY: A careful review should be made of past assumptions about personnel.
It's Not All About Cheese: The Missing Component in Employee Development (Part 2)
In part one of this article I told you about how perceptions are changing in the workplace. In part two, I want to tell you more about the "Merge Point Method" and how it helps you create training programs that lead to stronger collaboration between individuals and teams.
Micromanagement and Delegation
Recently I had a long discussion with a friend of mine about Managers and managing. She is a former HR Manager for several major companies and was bemoaning the fact that training for managers has been cut back so significantly in recent years and that managers no longer receive the type of help, guidance and assistance that they received just a few short years ago.
The How-Tos of Firing Incompetent Employees
CATEGORIES OF OFFENSES: Most organizations have two categories of offenses in their policies. One category is for flagrant actions which are cause for immediate termination.
Dealing with Marginal Performers: The Therapeutic Approach
--PREPARATION: The purpose of the therapeutic approach is to spark an employee toward improved performance through counseling. The manager's goal is to help the employee recognize the existence of a problem, accept the need for change, and formulate his or her own program for improvement.
10 Ways New Managers Become Great Leaders
"It is a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead and find no one there." - Franklin D.
New UK Laws on Staff Dispute Resolution and Disciplinary Procedures
October 2004 saw the introduction of the Employment Act 2002, which has brought a new approach to staff dispute resolution.It has long been acknowledged that disputes in the workplace are disruptive, stressful, and costly – both for employers and employees.
Executives and Emotional Self Awareness
A major problem impairing an executive's performance is his Emotional Blind Spots. Emotions, whether we like them or not, have a significant impact on one's decisions.
How Bad Communication Can Hold You Back and How to Break Free of It
The reason jobs are often not done right and employees are fired is because of lack of skill. Right? Wrong! Poor communication and ineffective human relations are the major causes.
Across The Interview Table!
Job interviews are easier for the interviewer or the interviewee if you plan and prepare and use proper interviewing techniques. On this page are job interview questions and purpose of each interview question, because there is a purpose behind each and everything that we do and similarly there should be a purpose behind each and every question that we ask in interview.
Dont Let Your Measurements Mislead You
Don't Let Your Measurements Mislead YouThere aren't too many words that can strike as much fear and loathing into the hearts of your internal customers, and sometimes your own employees as the words "Operational Measurements". Operational Measurements often get a bad rap because of their misuse by well intended, but misinformed management.
Document management : A dream of paperless office
What is document management: When we think about "Document Management" we usually see a picture of paperless office. It is not an easy task to make an office paperless due to several existing problems based on Industrial needs.
Business Opportunity - Leverage Your Employees!
As a business asset, they don't sit well on the P&L statement. They aren't valuable like a piece of machinery, or an office block.