How do you deal with a guy like this.

[Essex_boy]

To start with he is mildly competent in his job (but views himself as an IT genius, never passed an IT exam in his life having failed them all, educated to GCSE standard- Which appears to a bug bear with him as most staff have very specific degrees) helpful to customers, polite and reliable, rest of the staff see him (majority) as a pain in the rear and avoid him. The guy has always been a nuisance right from day one. He is a liar and we understand that in the majority of his working life he has had to 'leave' or be fired for theft with police being involved.

If he is asked to 'do' something he has a reason not to do it, even if its to open a window when he is 2 foot way from it, he will not complete a task unless he 'feels' like he wants too, on other cases and many other tasks he will refuse flat out to start the job. Often he will walk past an item ( a mouse for example) and refuse out right to bring it over to another staff member, sounds minor but several of our staff members are disabled so walking can be tricky.

Recently he has started ignoring staff, he will only speak when you speak directly at him using his name even though he will be right next to me and he is only person in the room, I'm not the only person who noticed this.

Short of speaking to him in front of personnel with a view to firing him.... Any ideas ?

Does he have a mental health problem ?

Someone please !

[toidi]

This guy will cost you good employees if you don't get rid of him asap. It almost sounds like he wants to get fired, so be sure you document his actions and your reasons for letting him go.

[topr8]

of course he has a mental health issue - even if it is just that the various resentments he has picked up in his life and is carrying around are affecting the way he interacts with other people and authority.

someone like this can drag everybody down.

you need to decide if you want to 'help' him or just get rid of him.

if get rid of then you need to go through due process in the uk, pick up on things like refusal to do work and ensure he gets the correct verbal warnings and warning letters and so forth.

if you want to help him, and clearly he needs help, then it is a much longer and more difficult process

[mack]

I think you need to look at this from a purely business point of view... What does this person bring to the company that a replacement would not?

I once worked alongside someone like this. the difference was the person worked hard.

I would suggest having a hearing. there may even be a work related reason the person acts the way he does.

Mack.

[graeme_p]

"Views himself as a genius" probably reflects a chip about not being as well qualified as colleagues. The rest of the behaviour you describe does sound like a mental health problem.

Do you think it is practical to start the process that would lead to firing him, while also genuinely trying to find out whether there is a problem that can be solved? You would obviously prefer to help and "helpful to customers, polite and reliable" are good reasons to keep him - on the other hand this would really worry me:

He is a liar and we understand that in the majority of his working life he has had to 'leave' or be fired for theft with police being involved.

it sounds as though keeping him is risky, unless the problems can be resolved quickly.

[not2easy]

Recently he has started ignoring staff, he will only speak when you speak directly at him using his name even though he will be right next to me and he is only person in the room, I'm not the only person who noticed this.

Might possibly be a hearing issue? That would also explain some of the non-cooperation issues. If they aren't hearing the request or certain of what they hear, they won't likely take the requested action.

I'm not trying to make an excuse for bad behavior or poor performance on the job - I've had to deal with a few terminations and can only suggest you keep detailed records of each issue, but it is possible they just don't hear well.

[engine]

Personal issue such as this are unfortunate, but, it could happen to anyone.

The business side, and the human side.
From a business perspective, you cannot have someone that is disruptive interfering with others. As was mentioned, you have to get to grips with it or you may lose other members of staff. You have to go through the relevant procedures to ensure the employers obligations are carried out, or it could end up with a costly (financial and time-wise) dispute. Just because someone has few qualifications means little, especially if they have many years of practical experience. That experience may count for a great deal more than qualifications. Having said that, when he was hired someone must have known about his past, and he was hired on the basis of what he was able to do. If it's not working out, follow due diligence with local employment laws, and follow procedures.

Could they re-deployed where they don't have to interact?

From a purely human point of view, if the staff member needs help, as another human being you have to be sympathetic towards your fellow human. Talk to them, discuss the issues at their annual review. The attitude may be a cry for help!

I've seen many, many different employment issues in my time, and every single one has been different because each person is an individual. For example, regular attendance issues, disruptive employees, medical and mental health issues, theft, and violence. It's happened more than once for each of those, some more than others, and each individual required different handling. It was never easy, but it won't get any better if it's not faced up to by the employer.

[Leosghost]

Unless you personally have the power to hire or fire him ?
Talk to HR , or someone who does have the power to hire and fire, about the problem..

[Essex_boy]

He is not deaf just being awkward and rude, we have sent on course's all of which he has failed last one cost £5000 ($7800USD) he really cant understand basic concepts for the love god ive tried and tried.

We have offered him a degree course I know he will fail in the first year if it goes on for that length of time.

The lies he tells are frequently aimed at someone to reduce their performance - 'I forgot to tell you that' - 'I told you that' etc

I think a private chat with and personnel - buck your ideas up or bye bye

[tangor]

Don't wait to address the issue too long. Labor laws in various countries have different aspects to be considered. In some a failure to performance as expected and terminated in 90 days or less will not result in unemployment compensation.

If you are not his manager, or boss, empowered with the ability to sanction (fine for failure to complete) or fire, then shove the issue to upper management IMMEDIATELY, with documentation for the problems, how long they have occurred, and any attempts you made to correct the situation.

And be sure this does not boil down to a "he said, she said" kind of thing and do not let it become personal in any way. Failure to perform the job is the issue, not rudeness.

[Leosghost]

You say "we". so your are his boss / company owner..?
So you personally can fire him?

If that isn't the case and you are talking about a co-worker ( you both work for the boss ? )

Then.as I said above..talk to HR..if the company has an HR dept..if it doesn't talk to the actual boss..

I hope the problem employee does not own weapons, some dismissals have played out very badly when the fired employee returned to say "goodbye"..

[Essex_boy]

Thanks leosghost, I just hope I dont become Essex_boyghost

[Leosghost]

As long as nobody essexorcised you, it isn't such a bad afterlife..:)

[lucy24]

I had to go back and reread the original post to figure out why there's a dilemma. Obviously there's some reason why you don't just fire him.

helpful to customers, polite and reliable

Hm, doesn't the rest of your post say that the main thing he can be relied on is to avoid doing his job? If the only thing he's good at is dealing with customers, and there's some hidden reason you can't get rid of him, can you shift him to a public-contact position? Or would that be just as complicated as terminating outright?

[londrum]

you might even be doing him a big favour by getting rid of him. i was in an office job that i didn't enjoy once (which it seems he is too), and getting made redundant was the best thing that happened to me, otherwise i'd still be there now. i'm glad they booted me out.

if you want to keep him maybe you could try shifting desks around and sit him next to someone he's friendly with. if he's happier during the day then his work will likely improve. ostracising him is probably feeding his bad moods

[piatkow]

I have known a couple of people like that in my working life. It can be difficult and if you are going to take any disciplinary action you must be 100% sure that you are following procedure. Take advice from an HR professional over each step.

Not quite the same issue but, in my pre IT days, I once had a guy on my team who was totally useless but also disabled. His previous manager dodged the performance issue by claiming that he couldn't do the job due to his disability. The union had a field day over that and we were left with our hands tied. Moral - do it right first time.

[Essex_boy]

Lucy24 : No real reason why we cant get rid of him, if one of the directors asks him to do something he does it right there, he holds you in contempt. Ive found out recently that he deals with his family the same way !