Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment in any form: verbal or physical, will not be tolerated. If you are experiencing any signs of sexual harassment by co-workers or clients, you are expected to report this information to your manager immediately. 

Frequent bouts of tardiness will not be tolerated and may result in employment termination. 

 If you are unable to work, you must contact your manager via telephone call, before your shift. Text messages will not be accepted as a form of communication for calling out sick. Sick days and all other days off, are NOT paid under any circumstances. Frequent bouts of “sick days” without a physicians note may be reason for employment termination.  

Please see the following web page to understand what you are entitled to as an employee in a New York State business: https://labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/wp/ls443.pdf  

During your time working with us, the use of illegal drugs will result in immediate termination.

Furthermore, the use of alcohol, mood altering/disabling drugs and/or cigarettes during any pet care visits will be reviewed for termination. 

If you are resigning from your position at SP,  2-3 weeks’ notice is appreciated so we can have the appropriate amount of time to hire a new employee who can tag alongside you for training before your departure.

 During your visits, please dress weather & job appropriate. Upon hiring, you may receive an SP shirt. Please try to wear this during your visits in the appropriate season. You must wear sneakers or appropriate weather-safe footwear during all dog walking visits. 

We  happily employ individuals with tattoos and/or piercings but during visits,  we ask: 

-That you refrain from wearing dangling/hoop earrings or necklaces-this is dangerous when working with animals. 

-That you refrain from having long nails-they should be trimmed to maximum length 1⁄4 inch off finger with no pointed edges.   Longer nails may result in injury to the pet or employee. 

-That tattoos displaying profanity , hurtful phrases, or objects be covered.

During the first 30 days of working as a SP employee, you will be unable to take off any days for vacation/recreational purposes unless discussed prior to hiring. Please note that this is not a position where you can “get your shift covered” easily. All of our animal clients need their visits at the appropriate scheduled times.  They depend on you! 

By joining the SP family we ask that you commit to an employment period of six months minimum. 

Bring with you to visits: Poop bags, flashlights, additional leashes, first aid kit (gauze, bandage wrap, hydrogen peroxide), WATER, a Bluetooth head piece, pepper spray.

*These items are not mandatory but will be useful in some situations. 

Tips are allowed & greatly appreciated! If you receive a tip, please thank the owners. The company does not take any portion.  If a tip is MORE than $5, please notify a manger.  If there was more than one employee visiting that home, the tip will  be divided between those who visited the home. 

Please refrain from eating during your visits. You may chew gum and bring a water bottle with you. Eating during visits is only permitted if you are doing an overnight stay. Animals that are in our care may NEVER be given food or treats UNLESS they are provided by the owner. 

 You will be on probation for 30 days once hired. Vacation days will not be accepted during this time. After your probation period has concluded, if a vacation is desired, you must let us know as far in advance as possible & we will try to approve. The sooner you tell us your requested dates, the more likely we will be to accommodate that request. It is highly frowned upon, & not tolerated if you frequently request days off.  Time off is not paid. 

TO REQUEST TIME OFF OR BLOCKED TIME FRAMES, EMAIL  info@suburbanpets.com

During visits, you are not permitted to talk or text on your cell phone unless it is to the pet owners, management or the vet.  Do not take pictures of the home/pet unless it will be used to be sent to the client in feedback or manager.

Please know that most of our clients have cameras inside and outside of their homes. 

If you are caught stealing from a client’s property, your employment with SP will IMMEDIATELY be terminated and you will be charged to the fullest extent of the law. 

You must read the client portal before and after every visit to ensure accuracy and also to make sure that you have followed all instructions as detailed by the client.

Quality Control:  Every day, your manager will be checking in on different visits to ensure that all instructions were followed properly. This is for many different reasons, such as: 

• Client satisfaction. Our clients are important to us! We want to make sure that instructions are followed so that our clients continue to feel confident in the services we provide. 

• Safety. The safety of our employees and the pets for which we care are of the utmost concern. If instructions are not being followed or there are other reasons for concern, these issues must be addressed immediately. 

Failure to follow instructions in the clients’ routine in the software system and/or in this handbook may result in the employee receiving a negative write-up in their employee file. The first two negative write-ups in any six month period are considered warnings. The third negative write-up in any six month period may result in employment termination. *Please note that in any circumstance where the employee will be potentially receiving a negative write-up, the employee will first be contacted directly and have time to explain if there was valid reason for the action. If there was valid reason for any action, the employee may not receive a negative write-up. This can depend on the facts of each particular situation. 

Certain actions performed on the part of the employee may result in immediate termination. This includes, but is not limited to negligence, abuse and/or criminal activities performed during work hours. Alterations of visit times/ length of visits, made by employees, without management approval will yield a negative employee write-up.