For the purposes of various benefits offered by green garden gates, how are the employees classified?
We have four employee employment classifications;
Occasional
Seasonal
Permanent
Voluntary
Introductory
These employees work from one hours to 240 hours/60 days
Each employee is initially hired in the introductory classification. At the completion of the term which is sixty days or 240 hours, whichever comes first, he or she is moved to the next status, which is Occasional.
Compensation
Base hourly wage; 10.00 per hour
Other Compensation: None
Returning employees the next season to the same ggg store, who have completed the hours or days requirement, are automatically classified as Occasional or Seasonal depending on their accumulation of hours worked for previous season. If an employee skips a season or skips several seasons and returns, the store manager can decide where he or she should be classified, depending experience and previous work hour history.
When an employee transfers to another ggg location, that store manager has the discretion of moving the employee into a classification depending on experience and previous work history at the former location.
We want to be sure that the employee is stable and reliable after the move. Sometimes the move is within the same city or area and there is not much disruption in his or her personal life. Sometimes, however, it may be a move across the country which may cause some work instability. We hesitate in giving benefits beyond base wages until we know the employee will be satisfied with the location and the new store.
There are additional benefits for our employees after the introductory classification.
The medical contributions, product discounts, personal time days, and the added benefits of the store manager are expenced. The cash bonus fund and the ggg trust retirement programs are drawn from the net profits of the store after expences.
The following is a formula for these amounts.
The net profit distributions of green garden gates, after all store expenses
50.49% is retained by green garden gates
49.51% is given in programs to the employees
Of 100.00 in net profit
100.00
15.00 15% goes into the employee trust program
________
85.00
85.00
10.20 12% of the remaining goes into the employee cash bonus program
________ 8% for the seasonal employees cash bonus program
74.80 4% for the occasional employees cash bonus program
74.80
7.48 10% of the remaining goes to the floor manager as a bonus
_________
67.32
67.32
16.83 25% of the balance goes to the store manager
_________
50.49 Retained by
Occasional
These people are employed each calendar year for more than 241 hours/sixty days to 1199 hours.
This part of the staff is hired for the spring and early summer gardening rush. They generally start to arrive in increments beginning from about mid March to mid April and begin to leave in increments starting in about mid June. Some of these employees may return during the fall planting season.
Compensation
Base hourly wage: 10.00 per hour
All employees in this category are at the same rate
The Bonus Fund
Up to 4 % of 49.51% of the net profits of green garden gates go into a bonus fund for all the employees classified in this seasonal employee category. The employee must work at a minimum of 270 hours or ninety days which ever comes first, (at any classification) to be eligible for this bonus fund. The distribution is made according to shares. First season employees earn one share, three seasons, two shares, six seasons, three shares.
Employees who move into another classification during the season stay with the benefits of the previous classification through the completion of that season. Employees who, for some reason, drop down a classification, are eligible for the benefits of that new classification
The payment of the bonus is in two installments, 60% of the amount is paid after the close of the season, usually in mid November. The remaining 40% is paid in July of the next season.
We hold out 40% of the bonus for a couple of reasons. First, if the employee decides not to return the next season, the medical premiums the company has paid during the months the store is closed, will be deducted from their final bonus check.
Second, employees are required to notify green garden gates if they are not returning the next season by January 31st following the season closure in November. If the employee does not notify ggg on or before that date, The employee forfeits all claims to the remaining bonus from the previous season. We have a firm date on notification because we need to recruit early for the upcoming season.
There will be always an employee who will try to "game" the system. He or she will signal intentions to come back to work and not do this or the employee will work just a few weeks in the spring and then quit. If the employee does not return to work, the medical premiums paid by the company all during the down time will be deducted from the previous seasons bonus check. Employees are required to accumulate more than 240 hours the next season or 60 days of work , whichever comes first. (each day he or she punches the clock counts as a day, no matter how many hours the employee works that day). If the employee leaves after this requirement, no medical premium deduction will be taken out of the bonus check.
Product Discounts
The employees in this category receive 20% discount on the retail price of all products in the store, while they are employed with us. Refer to #75 for specifics on the product discount program.
Personal time Days.
Each employee is given 3 personal time days.
After December 31st, the personal days are resigned. 50% of the unused days are awarded in bonus dollars to that employee. Refer to #75 for specifics of the personal time program.
Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Compensation
Seasonal employees are not eligible for the green garden gates insurance program. However, the store will contribute a maximum of 10% or a determined amount of money of the employee’s personal private insurance premium during the time he or she is employed with ggg.
Note on insurance compensation: This is another financial trap for owners of all businesses. The rising costs of health care makes it difficult to predict. It may happen that a company is not able to afford a fixed percentage of the premium. Give yourself some wiggle room here. DON'T OFFER JUST PERCENTAGES! Always leave the option of contributing a specific but variable dollar amount to health insurance.
Seasonal
This staff is employed each calendar year from 1201 hours to 2079 hours
These employees work for green garden gates most or all of the gardening season. Although the majority of them are section leaders and the floor manager, some employees are guides who return each year for all or nearly all the entire season.
Compensation:
Base hourly wage: 10.00 per hour
All employees in this category are at the same rate
Leadership Pay Upgrades
Employees in this category who are charged with leadership positions at green garden gates are awarded special pay upgrades for their responsibilities. Section leaders are awarded a 50% pay increase of their base, to 15.00 per hour. The Floor Manager is awarded a 100% pay increase over their base, to 20.00 per hour. These pay upgrades may increase depending on future responsibilities.
Personal time days
Each employee is given 5 personal time days.
The floor manager is given 8 personal time days
After December 31st, the personal days are resigned. 50% of the unused days are awarded in bonus dollars to that employee. Refer to #75 for specifics of the personal time program.
Product Discounts
The employees in this category receive 40% discount on the retail price of all products in the store, while they are employed with us. Refer to #75 for specifics on the product discount program.
The Bonus Fund
Up to 8% of 49.51% of the net profits of green garden gates go into a bonus fund for all the employees classified in this seasonal employee category. The employee must work at a minimum of 270 hours or ninety days which ever comes first, (at any classification) to be eligible for this bonus fund.
The distribution is divided into shares based on the seasons worked at ggg. After the first full season in this classification, employees receive one share of that year’s fund. After three full season, two shares. After six full seasons, three shares. The bonuses are awarded at the close of the season, usually in November, with a portioned retained for continued health insurance premiums. The final payment is made on July 1st of the next season.
Although classified as a seasonal employee, the floor manager has larger responsibilities than the section leaders and other long term seasonal employees. The floor manager is pulled out of this bonus fund for this classification. He or she receives up to 10% of 49.51% of the net profits of the store.
see explanation of the bonus payout times and restrictions in the discussion of Occasional employees
Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Compensation
All employees in this category must have these health insurance coverages. green garden gates has a comprehensive policy available for this purpose.
The company will compensate the employee to 40% or a determined amount of money of the monthly premiums of this policy.
Additional family members through this plan will be compensated by the company at 20% or a determined amount of money of the additional premium for other members of the family
We encourage our employees to retain this health insurance after they are discharged for the season if they have indicated that they will return to work the following season. A part of their earned bonus fund money, see #75, will be retained to pay for the company contribution to these premiums after they are discharged for the season. If an employee decides he or she will not work the following season that premium money is deducted from the final payment of their bonus funds. If the employee returns to work, those premium dollars are returned to their fund, with their final award for that previous year’s bonus money to be paid on July 1st of that year.
If the employee carries private insurance other than the ggg policy, That contributed money will be awarded in their wages to help pay for this insurance. Employees must provide documentation that they have an active private policy similar to the ggg policy.
The ggg trust/retirement fund.
The store will contribute up to 15% of the employee’s weekly wages to a trust fund for retirement or other uses by the employee. The employee must work three seasons, at a normal rate of work hours, before he or she can draw from this account. The maximum draw is 50% of this fund after three seasons and 100% after six seasons with green garden gates.
Off Season Employment
The seasonal employees are not obligated to the company after they have been discharged that year in order to receive any earned compensation from the previous year.
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Other incentives
Cash “spiffs” or selling bonuses
During the course of the season, green garden gates and our suppliers provide cash incentives for the sale of certain products. We may want to move out an item or category that has been in our inventory too long. Suppliers want to introduce their new product by offering an incentive to sell the item. These bonuses are reflected on their paychecks with the necessary government withholding process.
Online work payments
Our employees are required to do considerable work on our website; training programs, researching and getting timely information about the workplace. For all probationary, occasional and seasonal employees we add to their wages the amount of twenty-five dollars per month for this online work. We believe that this requirement done outside the workplace needs to be recognized by extra dollars.
Awards for innovations
Employees are on the front lines of our stores . They see the problem in a procedure or an operation and often have a better solution that can save us wasted time, unneccesary effort and cost. Each season, we may give up to three one hundred dollar and two five hundred dollar awards to employees who innovate, who bring solutions to us that has moved our stores forward.
Gratuities
From time to time, employees are rewarded by customers with a gratuity for their outstanding performance. We condone this practice with conditions that are outlined in our employee manual.
During the season, employees perform services to their customers that are well beyond "going the extra mile" in the sales of our plants and plant care products. We provide an award for this great effort each season by allocating three one hundred dollar awards for our employees. We are hopeful that we can give any or all of these three awards each season.
Our training program is broad and extensive. It requires that the employee put in extra time, both on the job and at home with these training courses. When employees complete a module, they are awarded a block financial upgrade payment each pay period. Their base pay stays the same but the upgrade payment is added to their paycheck. The stipend will continue as long as the employee continues with completing that training module as it is expanded and refined.
Permanent
They are employed each calendar year for 2080 hours or more.
These employees are compensated in wages each week year round.
The store manager is the only employee classified in this category.
Compensation for this position is specified in entry #75
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“I have a clear understanding of all the positions in the seasonal category except the floor manager. It seems that he or she has a big job assisting the store managers and is basically running the place much of the time. Why doesn’t he or she get classified as a permanent employee and what about extra benefits?
Les Schwab, The Tire King, in his book, “Pride in Performance” said it best to all his Managers about their assistant managers (we call them floor managers)
“If a bright young ambitious man joins our company and wants to make our company his career, does he do it because he just likes you guys? Do you managers think that some little fairy sent you this man just to help you build your bonus? Do you think this man is going to work for low pay, year after year, just so that you can build your profit sharing contract into a nice fat nest egg?? No, I don’t think so. He wants to see results, just like you when you started up the ladder.
There is no question that the floor manager is so important to the operation of the store. His or her job description Entry #118 tells it all.
First, we are reluctant to obligate the store financially with another permanent employee during the off season when there is no money generated from sales. However, the floor manager is the last seasonal employee to leave at season end and the first employee to start as the season begins. I addition, the floor manager's yearly bonus is substantially more than the other seasonal employees. We also anticipate that the floor manager will be working over 40 hours per week during the busy season. Those extra hours are classified as compensatory hours and will be awarded to him or her with the bonus disbursement at the close of the season.Personal time is increased over the classification, and since he or she works longer, the medical share is paid longer in the year. We estimate that the floor manager can receive nearly 50,000.00 or more per year in compensation.
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