Becoming employed in a family business

This post is for the Gen-X family members to understand why ,when and what of getting employed in their family business .

Are you eligible?

Your ability to become an employee of the family business will depend on whether the business has a genuine need for your services and whether you have sufficient talent, qualifications and experience to do the job concerned.There are still some family businesses that will try and find a way of employing all family members (irrespective of ability), running the risks that come with nepotism. However, most successful family businesses are genuine meritocracies and you should expect to have to prove yourself.

Some family businesses require family members to have gained experience in another business (typically for not less than two years) before they are taken on. You should check what the family expects and whether any particular qualifications would be valued by the business.

In larger family businesses the rules for becoming an employee may be set out in a family charter

Mentoring and career planning

Some family businesses will assign a mentor to a family employee. The mentor’s role is to assist and support you in learning about the business and provide a sounding board in relation to your career development, as well as any new ideas you might have for the business. It is helpful if the mentor is not a relative, to ensure that emotional family bonds do not affect the mentoring process.

The lack of a career plan for family employees can often be an area of weakness in family businesses. You should therefore make sure that the company has provided you with a career development plan that has been
thought through, and with which you are happy. A mentor may well be able to assist you with this.

Your terms of employment

Assuming that you wish to become an employee and that the business is prepared to take you on, you must make sure that you are provided with a contract of employment.

There is a tendency in some family businesses for the employment of family members to be dealt with on a very informal basis. An employer is, however,required by law to provide its employees (including family member employees) with certain statutory information about their employment.

Additionally, there are a number of other reasons why it is in both your interests and those of the company that your employment relationship is conducted in the same way as the relationship with non-family members:

1. If family employees are treated on an “arm’s length” basis it creates a level playing field. It avoids resentment among non-family employees who might,for example, otherwise be bound by restrictions in their contracts that are not imposed on family employees.
2. It is particularly important in a family business for you to be clear as to exactly what is expected of you. This means making sure that your contract includes a job description providing details of the person or persons to whom you will report.
3. You need to know who will be appraising your performance so that you can be provided with feedback on how your career is progressing. It is preferable for any appraisal to be carried out by a non-family director or manager