Employee Handbook

Updated September 2019
GAS Lawn Pros LLC reserves the right to make changes to the policies, procedures, and other statements made in this employee handbook. Business conditions, Federal and State Law, and organizational needs are constantly in flux and may require that portions of the handbook be re-written. This is necessary to successfully provide the appropriate employment relationship and to obtain the goals of the organization. 

Expectations & Evaluations

Employment
  1. We are an “at-will' employer and operate under the provision that employees have the right to resign from their position at any time, with or without notice, and with or without cause. We, the employer, have similar rights to terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without notice, and with or without cause. 
  2. Each new employee will begin on a 4-week probation period to ensure they are a good fit for the team and for on the job training (if you haven’t understood the skills being taught to you by then, you’re not going to.) We may, at the owner’s discretion only, terminate an employee at any time during that probation period if we feel they are not going to be a good fit for our team and company and/or they are not gaining the skills well/quickly enough we are trying to train them on. Likewise the new employee has the right to walk away at any time during the probation period. Should the employee not return unused uniform items, they will be charged for them out of the pay due them. Any uniform that has been worn will be withheld from the money due the employee as it cannot be reused once worn. 

Expectations
  1. If you are asked to do something (as long as it is within reason), you are expected to do it.
      1. GAS Lawn Pros LLC will not ask, nor will it ever expect, any employee to act or perform duties which would compromise that employee on ethical, moral, or legal grounds. If an employee is asked or ordered to do something he/she feels is compromising, the employee should let the owner know of the incident immediately.
  2. You are expected to be present at work every day.
  3. You are expected to show up with a positive attitude to work every day. Do not bring your personal life to work with you. We understand that everyone goes through things but when home life starts effecting work performance is when we have a problem. A positive attitude is infectious and helps the whole team with morale throughout the working day and simply makes for a more pleasant work environment.
  4. You are expected to be on time to work every day.
  5. While at work you are expected to work hard and take pride in your work for yourself and for GAS Lawn Pros. Your work ethic and results from that work ethic is a reflection of you, we expect your absolute best every single day.

Evaluations
  1. All team members will be evaluated 1 time per season, 1 year from the date of hire, by an Employee Productivity Evaluation. The Owner will evaluate regular team members with input from crew leaders. Solely the Owner will evaluate crew leaders. These will be used to assist in but not solely for raises, goal setting, and productivity reviews.

Work Days

Work Hours
  1. Work hours during the season will vary (March-October/November), some days it may rain so we may not work that day, or work part of the day, and other days we might have to catch up so we will work longer hours those days. Your schedule needs to be extremely flexible to fit our needs. 
  2. Spring and fall working hours will be Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. or later unless told otherwise. Summer working hours will be from 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. or later unless told otherwise once temperatures are expected to be consistently very warm every day and we have light earlier. (This will be the majority of the season.)
      1. We will not work weekends unless we absolutely have to.
      2. During the season, sometimes there is no 8-5, it takes commitment from you and we will go home when the work is done! Some days it’s a grind but that’s why you need to come mentally prepared for work every single day!
  3. Lunch will be 30 minutes. We will eat wherever we are at during the route that day. You should plan to either to pack your lunch (preferred) or you may bring money so that we can stop somewhere. We will always have water provided on the trailer, but you should bring a bottle of some sort to put it in. We will also stop periodically for snacks in the morning and/or afternoons.  

Absences, Sickness, Time Off & Termination

Attendance/Absences/Tardiness/Time Off
  1. Employees are held to high standards when it comes to attendance since GAS Lawn Pros LLC is a skill oriented service company and depend on their team members more so than other industries. When you are late you are stealing time from the company when we should be working. We expect you to be ON TIME to work everyday! If you’re going to be late for some reason you need to relay that to the owner via phone call or text message. 
  2. You are to miss no more than 2 days (sickness included) within your first 60 days of employment. 
  3. You are to miss no more than 10 days (sickness included) for the entire season (unless underlying circumstances surface).
  4. Personal days off are okay but must be requested to the Owner and approved in advance by the Owner. We do our best to give team members time off when requested but we need to know as far in advance as possible. You will receive an approval/decline text from the Owner as proof the time was approved or not so that there are no discrepancies. If time off is not approved before that time each day the employee is not present at work will be considered as a no call no show and grounds for termination/strikes against monthly incentive.  

Absence/Tardy Procedure
  1. If you are going to miss work that day you are to inform the owner by phone call at least 45 minutes before the start of work and the reason why. A text message will not suffice! If you text only and don’t call it will be considered a no call no show, 1 strike towards your monthly incentive and 1 strike towards our 3 strike policy for termination. 
  2. If you are going to be late for any reason you need to let the owner know ASAP in the morning and a reason why. A text message will suffice for this. If the reason is beyond your control you will not receive a strike towards your monthly incentive, if the reason is not beyond your control you will receive a strike towards your monthly incentive. 

Sickness
  1. If you are to miss work because of sickness normal absence procedures apply.  
  2. If you are going to miss work more than one day because of sickness a copy of a doctor’s note will be required for proof of your absence. 
      1. Upon return a copy of your limitations will be required from your doctor as well (if circumstances warrant this).  

Employee Reprimands/Termination
GAS Lawn Pros has a 3-strike policy. Employees may be warned verbally before an Employee Reprimand Form is issued. After each offense that an Employee Reprimand Form is deemed necessary, the situation will be documented on the Employee Reprimand Form and signed by the employee involved and the owner for reference purposes. Strike offenses are listed below; however, these could result in immediate termination at the sole discretion of the owner if deemed necessary if an employee’s actions/attitude becomes too toxic or the incident is deemed too major to warrant waiting until the 3rd strike. Each of these incidents will also be counted as a strike on an individual basis toward your monthly incentive should an incident occur during the season (March-November). Strikes will stay on an employees record 1 year from the date of the incident occurred. 
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Gossip
  • Theft 
  • No Call/No Show
  • Continually tardy/late to work
  • Habitual poor attitude/complaining
  • Habitual poor work quality
  • Improper relations with a client or potential client
  • Moment of insubordination or persistent insubordination and/or disrespect of the owner, crew leaders, other team members, or clients
  • Personal life affecting work life
  • Use of alcohol during work hours
  • Use of illegal substances/drugs during work hours or on personal time
  • Coming to work while intoxicated or under the influence of illegal substances/drugs
  • Failed or refusal of random drug test
  • Vehicle Accident/Wreck
  • Damage to a client's property (building, vehicle, etc) of any kind
  • Damage to/loss of shop/GAS Lawn Pros property (building, vehicle, equipment, etc) of any kind
  • Arrested for any reason
  • Legal action brought against the company for any reason
  • Threaten or insinuate legal action against the company for any reason
  • Negative or derogatory statements or pictures towards other employees, clients, owner(s), and/or GAS Lawn Pros LLC on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.)
  • Blocking of the Owner on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.) for no reason

Dress Code & Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  1. All employees are expected to wear proper safety gear at all times while operating equipment. (Ear plugs and protective eyewear.)
  2. Only shirts and hats bearing the “GAS Lawn Pros” logo will be worn while on a job site (weather permitting). All field employees must wear blue jeans and the shoes of your choice (wear comfortable ones as you will be on your feet a lot).
  3. Each new employee will be provided with two (2) red short sleeve t-shirts, two (2) grey long sleeve t-shirts, one (1) red hat, one (1) pair of sunglasses, and one (1) red zip-hoodie at the time of employment. Upon the completion of the 4-week probation period, passing of the drug test and background check, and welcomed as a new team member, you will be provided with one (1) red company jacket, one (1) red beanie, if deemed necessary, as well as work shoes. You will be allowed to purchase additional items listed above at your discretion if deemed necessary; however, if items are lost, stolen, etc. they will be replaced at the employee’s expense. We will provide additional above items at no cost to you, the employee, ONLY if the items have been worn out through labor at GAS Lawn Pros LLC and not abused. 

Incident Reports

Employee Altercations
  1. If two or more employees involve themselves in any type of dispute or altercation that causes disruption in the work flow of a day, an Employee Altercation Incident Report must be filled out by the parties involved to document the incident.  
      1. Should an altercation occur between two regular team members, the crew leader has the authority to make a determination of if one or both team members need to be sent home for the day, without pay, but may seek the advice of the owner before a determination is made. If further disciplinary action needs to take place, that will be at the sole discretion of the owner based upon the information provided in the Employee Altercation Incident Report.
      2. Should an altercation occur between a crew leader and a regular team member, the owner is to be called immediately to make a determination of if one or both team members need to be sent home for the day, without pay. If further disciplinary action needs to take place, that will be at the sole discretion of the owner based upon the information provided in the Employee Altercation Incident Report.

Employee Injuries
  1. If an employee is injured or hurt on the job that should require medical attention, an Employee Injury Report must be filled out by the crew leader and the employee(s) involved in the accident to document the incident.
  2. Should the injured employee(s) need immediate medical attention, first dial 911 and then call the owner immediately following.
  3. Upon returning to work employee will need a doctor’s note and list of limitations. 

Pay, Incentives & Benefits

Pay Policies
Employees will be paid the Friday after a 2-week work period. If a holiday or another major reason prevents this, employees will be paid either the day before or after that holiday at the owner’s sole discretion.

Employee Type-Definitions
  1. Full/Part Time Seasonal Hourly:
      1. Employees that are full-time or part-time seasonal hourly will be paid an hourly rate for their work performed. These employees work steadily during the mowing season (February/March-October/November) and are laid off during the winter months (December-February). Summer help would also fall under this category. An employee who works 30+ hours per week is considered a full-time hourly employee and an employee who works less than 30 hours per week is considered a part-time hourly employee.
      2. Seasonal employees may choose to assist in snow removal during the winter months (December-February). This will be on an on-call basis only per a winter weather event.

Pay Type
  1. Hourly Pay 
    1. Employees that are full-time or part-time hourly will be paid an hourly rate per hours worked. Hourly rate of pay will be determined upon being hired at GAS Lawn Pros LLC and will be based upon experience, ability, drive, attitude, and willingness to work hard to add value to the company. 
    2. • Pay rate will be reviewed and adjusted if deemed necessary/we are able to at the time of each Employee Productivity Evaluation based upon the following criteria:
      1. Meeting or exceeding productivity goals set forth during hire or previous employee productivity evaluation
      2. Added value of the employee to the company/experience (i.e. ability to run larger mower or trim bushes, etc)
      3. At the time of attaining of licensure (i.e. pesticide applicator license, backflow certification, etc.) 
      4. Note: We reserve the right to increase an employee’s hourly pay at any time for promotions or should see fit per the employee’s added value to the company before their Employee Productivity Evaluation comes due.    
    3. This does not include incentives, which are added separately.
  2. Holiday Pay
    1. This is for full-time and part-time hourly employees only. Days in which national holidays fall on, we will work (Memorial Day, 4th of July, & Labor Day). Holiday pay will be time and a half (1½ ) an employees regular hourly rate.
  3. Overtime Pay
    1. This is for full-time and part-time hourly employees only. Weeks in which an employee works over 40 hours in that particular week will be paid time and a half (1½ ) their regular hourly rate per hour after 40 hours.  
  4. Travel Pay
    1. This is for full-time and part-time hourly employees only. Since we will be traveling to and from job sites (example: Garden City) at times several times per week during that time of travel all employees, except salary employees or drivers, will be paid minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) for the travel time since this is considered non-productive time for the company. However these hours will count toward your 40 hours in a work week.

Incentives, Bonuses & Discounts
  1. A monthly productivity incentive of 
    1. $100.00 per employee for Salary employees
    2. $75.00 per employee for Leadman or Pesticide Assistant
    3. $50.00 per employee for full-time seasonal employees can be earned during each month of the mowing season (March-October/November). Incidents, or strikes, are limited to one (1) per day. Up to two (2) incidents, or strikes, may occur each month. An incident, or strike, is defined as but not limited to:
      1. Client/Owner call backs which could include but not limited to: 
        1. Item(s) missed or not done properly such as:
          1. Sidewalks/parking lots/dump piles from mower not blown off properly
          2. Mow or trim quality poor
          3. Poor bush trimming quality
          4. Spraying or fertilizing quality poor 
          5. Weeds in flowerbeds/rock beds not sprayed/kept up
          6. Poor clean-up upon completion of a job or project
          7. Poor landscaping quality (crooked trees, stakes uneven, mulch no spread evenly, etc.)
      2. The occurrence of an Employee Reprimand Form for any reason listed in that section.
      3. Weekly equipment maintenance schedule not filled out properly (Maintenance Crew Leaders)
      4. Weekly equipment maintenance items not completed or completed properly
      5. Unexcused absences (given individually)
      6. Tardy (given individually, unless a family emergency occurs) – Given according to the time the employee clocked in at work
      7. Any item listed above under Employee Reprimand/Termination
    4. *Note: Strikes will be noted and made aware to all employees involved and will be given at the sole discretion of the owner.
    5. For the most part, except for items marked “given individually”, this is an all or nothing incentive that is a crew/team type incentive even though it is paid out individually. Each time an incident occurs it will be documented and each member of the crew/team will be made aware of the incident regardless of who is a fault for the incident. This is to get everyone to become accountable to and for one another and to take responsibility for the work as a crew/team.
    6. Incentive, if earned, will be paid out the pay period following the month it was earned in (earned in March, paid out first check in April)
    7. A new employee will be eligible for this incentive the month following their start date unless they start the first week of a new month.
  2. A Seasonal Bonus will be paid out if the yearly lawn and landscape sales goal is met or exceeded as follows:
    1. Employed all season (March-November) - 100% Bonus
    2. Employed 1/2 season (After March 1/Before July 31-November or end of season) – 50% Bonus
    3. Employed 1/4 season (After August 1-November or end of season) - 25% Bonus
      1. This will be paid as a “Christmas Bonus” on or around the 15th of December for those employees that qualify and the amount will be the percentage the employee qualifies for of 1 extra check figured at an average of your paychecks during the time the employee was employed during the season. 
  3. At times we will do different things such as gift cards along with your check and/or meals or snacks, just to say thank you for working hard every day for us and for yourself. This is available to all employees. 
  4. For an employee's birthday we will take all current team members out for lunch to the place of the employee whose birthday it is choice.
  5. If you as an employee at GAS Lawn Pros LLC refers another person to the company that becomes an employee and stays employed with the company for at least 60 days, the referring employee, will receive a $100.00 referral bonus, added to their next pay check following the pay period after the referred employee has been employed for 60 days. If the referring employee leaves the company before the referred employee reaches their 60 days of employment, either voluntarily or involuntarily, they forfeit their right to this bonus. This is available to all employees.
  6. If any employee refers a potential client that becomes a client of any kind (seasonal maintenance or project of any kind) will receive a $50.00 bonus added to their check from us to say thank you for your referral. This is available to all employees.  
  7. If an employee owns or rents an apartment or home within our service area and they choose to have services of any kind provided, they shall be entitled to a 25% discount off of all services. 
Major Medical PTO
  1. This is available to all salary and full-time yearly employees after their first 60 days of employment. If an employee has some sort of incident that requires hospitalization for 2 or more days such as surgery, automobile accident, major illness, etc., that is not of fault of their own, we will pay major medical paid time off (PTO) for the time that employee is away from work up to 10 working days. Upon returning to work the employee will need a doctor’s note and a list of limitations. 
  2. If a spouse or child of an employee has some sort of incident that requires hospitalization such as surgery, automobile accident, major illness, etc., that is not of fault of their own, we will pay major medical PTO for the time that the employee is away from work up to 5 working days. 
  3. A salary employee will be paid their normal salary for the days they miss that we work. A full-time (yearly or seasonal) hourly employee will be paid their normal hourly rate for 8 hours in a day each day they miss that we work.
Paternity PTO
  1. This is available to all salary and full-time yearly employees after their first 60 days of employment. If an employee has a child that is born, we will pay paternity paid time off (PTO) for the time the employee is away from work for 3 working days. If the child is born on a weekend, we will not extend the paid time off given into the work week for more than a total of 3 days from when the child is born. (Example: If child is born on Saturday, the employee will only have Monday off and will be paid for that day.)
  2. A full-time (yearly or seasonal) hourly employee will be paid their normal hourly rate for 8 hours in a day each day they miss that we work.

Organizational Environment

Gossip
GAS Lawn Pros LLC strictly enforces a no gossip stance. If you have a problem with a fellow co-worker, be an adult and deal with the issue with them! If it cannot be dealt with properly by the two or more parties in conflict, please bring the matter to an owner’s attention that we may deal with it then. If you have an issue with me, come to me with that. Gossip defined by our company is talking about a situation or someone to someone that cannot help you resolve that situation or make amends with that person. 

Smoking
GAS Lawn Pros LLC promotes a smoke free environment around company property and inside of company vehicle. Smoking is allowed outside of company vehicles at lunch or in between properties outside of client’s view.

Cell Phones
We do not discourage you from bringing your cell phone to work with you; however, excessive usage will not be tolerated!!! Employees may use their phone for listening to music/podcasts/radio or to communicate across a property to another employee and ONLY for those purposes during work only as long as it is not poorly affecting their work quality. It may not be used for personal use except in between properties (drive time) or during lunch. Otherwise, if not in use as stated above, it should be left in the truck except for these uses. New employees will not be allowed to use earbuds or headphones while working during their probation period unless told otherwise by the owner. 

Substance/Drug Abuse
GAS Lawn Pros LLC will strongly enforce an abused substance/drug free workplace. All employees will be subject to random drug testing throughout the season to ensure that substance/drug free workplace. At the owner’s sole discretion we will issue random drug testing either if we do or do not suspect an employee is in use of drugs. If an employee refuses they will be terminated immediately. If a test comes back positive that employee will be given Strikes 1 & 2 upon the first offense, unless the owner decides otherwise. A second offense or refusal to accept help will result in Strike 3 and Termination. 

Employee Discrepancies  
If you have some sort of issue with another team member you are encouraged to do your best to talk and work things out between yourself and the other team member like adults. If an issue is between two regular team members, a crew leader must be involved in the discussion. If an issue is between a crew leader and a regular team member, the owner must be involved in the discussion. This should happen before an altercation can occur!

Sexual Harassment
What is sexual harassment? It is “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.”

Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:
  • The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex. 
  • The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee (a customer or client.) 
  • The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct. 
  • Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim. 
  • The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome. 
It is helpful for the victim to directly inform the harasser that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. The victim should use any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system available.

Victims or witnesses should report any incident or possible incident to the owner ASAP. We will vigorously, promptly, and impartially investigate all allegations and deal with them in as discrete a manner possible, so as to protect the rights of the victim and the accused. If the investigation returns a finding of sexual harassment, or the false accusation regarding sexual harassment, disciplinary action, ranging from reprimand to termination, will result.

Acknowledgment of Receipt & Reading of Employee Handbook 

I have received a copy of the Employee Handbook outlining the responsibilities as an employee and the responsibilities of the organization. I have read the information contained in this handbook and it has been explained. If I have any questions, I should contact the owner. I understand that the Employee Handbook is not an employment contract, but does provide the organizational employment policies and procedures by which I am governed. 

I agree to comply with the guidelines, policies, and procedures of GAS Lawn Pros LLC. I understand my employment and compensation can be terminated at the option of either myself or GAS Lawn Pros LLC at any time, with or without reason.

This Handbook is subject to change without notice. It is understood that changes made will supersede or eliminate those found in a previous edition of this Handbook and I will be notified of such changes through normal communication channels.