Are You Making A Lead Person Pay For A Helper’s Wages??

Over the years this issue continues to raise its ugly head. Some dealerships will have a lead body shop person or tech agree to have a portion of his wages taken out and paid to a helper. We all know that these employees love it because they can get more done and as a result make more money. I honestly believe that this practice is going to create havoc one day. It’s simply a bad idea. Having one employee pay for the wages of another employee is opening the door for some anal retentive department rep or attorney to pursue this issue in a class action lawsuit.

I suggest, and some have taken me up on this, that you restructure the payment arrangement so that each individual in question gets a certain percentage of the commission. The lead, as an example, may get 75% and the helper gets the 25% balance. Just remember as long as the helper never gets less than minimum wage and is paid for any overtime (if appropriate), you should be fine.

If we need to discuss this further, let me know.