Company Policies Are Guidelines - Report Example

Management Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Management Company policies are guidelines documented and laid down after objectively analyzing the factors of a firm together with its operations and plans for the future. They can be put in place by the human resource manager to be used for the purpose of hiring, training, assessing also rewarding employees and this then becomes an advantage to the company because it helps eliminate any misunderstandings that may occur in the workplace. Policies are the backbone of a community and so does that apply to an organization (Ramey & Sniffen 1999, 5). Policies are vital in a company since they ensure that work is performed in the right order and consistency. A company policy is laid down by the management of a firm so that it can help the firm prepare for any situation or circumstance in the future. It also helps a firm obtain its objectives by formulating and implementing strategies and managing the activities of the company’s employees. It ensures that employees have knowledge of what is expected of them so; they can appropriately deliver results that see the firm to its success (Ramey & Sniffen 1999, 8). Policies are also beneficial to the employees because, they restrict the employers on the censure they should give an employee incase of any policy breach. Policies also help an organization achieve their standardization mark since it organizes the firm leading to productive results (Ramey & Sniffen 1999, 12). Employment law contains a set of laws and rulings designed to address the rights and restrictions governing how people work in organizations and the relationship that exists between them. It is like a mediator between employers and employees and between employers and trade unions (Blanpain & Pochet 2010, 68). Trade unions protect the rights of workers by putting their interests as a priority. Trade unions also act as an arbitrator between the employer and the employee. It includes the working conditions, wage, terms of employment, dismissal among others. Employment relation law is the basis that forms the employment relationships act. Employment relationship is the relation between the employee and the employer, where the employee is included in the work process (Blanpain & Pochet 2010, 86). They also accept that the employer is in charge and is the one who controls the nature of work in the workplace. The existing relationship between the employer and the employee should not be assumed to exist. The act is stipulated for the purpose of regulating the relationships that exist in the work place between the employer and the employee. The act ensures that all workers are included in the process of work and that no unemployment to the worker is caused unnecessarily (Blanpain & Pochet 2010, 98). The act informs the workers of their rights and their freedom of expression in the work place also helps to protect the individual interests of the employees. The act also ensures equal treatment at the workplace regardless of gender so that in case of any recruitment, promotion or dismissal the correct order and procedure are followed. The act also ensures that the employer only provides the employees with work that is stipulated in the contract. Contrary to that, the employer must inform the employee of any changes. This will help the worker decide on whether to perform the duties or not (Blanpain & Pochet 2010, 100). Also, the necessary tools and materials to complete the work must be provided. The employer can however, have the right to change the employee’s work in case of any natural disasters without any information to the employee. However, this is only applicable when natural disasters occur and not otherwise (Blanpain & Pochet 2010, 90). The act also ensures that the employer is held liable for any breach of contract conditions such as giving the worker a different position from the one stipulated, not providing protection at the workplace, for acting contrary to the employment contract, that they have no brought to the attention of the union of their intention to terminate a worker and so on (Blanpain & Pochet 2010, 105). As in the case of Goldman Sachs JB Were vs. Nikolich [2007] FCAFC 120, Nikolich was aged 35 formed a firm that was called Goldman Sachs JB Were Services limited. Nikolich was the adviser of the investment and had success initially when he was employed. Later the management came up with the concept of creating groups so that clients are assigned to groups. Nikolich too had his own partners who were known by the management. One of Nikolich’s partners then left the partnership and the management assigned another group to handle clients previously handled by Nikolich and his partners (McCallum 2008, 48). This resulted in a conflict between Nikolich and the management. Nikolich then complained to the management through the Human Resource using a written statement and investigation was done. It was later discovered that, Nikolich was mentally disturbed and that; he did not deliver his duties as expected of him in the company, which this resulted in his dismissal. Nikolich went to court to demand a compensation for damages done to him, that the firm had done acts contrary to the workplace relations act (McCallum 2008, 49). Common law interacts with statutory law in that; Common law forms the basis of understanding the main areas of law. Common law is judgmental that is; it is mainly based on judgments that were made along time ago while statutory law is based on statutes (Gummow 1999, 1). The laws according to statutes are laws that are written and passed to be true by the government and are also acceptable in the society. Both types of law are used in courts, but in different ways. With common law, each side presents their case to a judge who is neutral, but with statutory law, the magistrate is responsible for presenting the evidence during investigation where application of the already laid down laws is applied. Most laws of property and contracts are only found in common law (Gummow 1999, 2). In the jurisdictions of common law, the legislatures assume that interpretations of statutes are made against the backdrop of the laws and customs that are preexistent. Common law is however, sometimes displaced by statutes; this can be seen in the case where a new action can be created that previously was nonexistent in the common law. A good example of this is where, one has the power to claim or poses the belongings of the deceased and even has the power to sue for damages and be wholly compensated on behalf of the dead (Gummow 1999, 3). Common law is used in legal liability in that, it can be used as a means, to compensate the wrongful actions of a person that is, actions that are intentional or those that are as a result of negligence. An employment contract is an agreement that is legal and takes place between two or more parties who come together with a mutual consent that is, both the employee and the employer should be part of the contract. The contract may either be written or oral. The parties involved in the contract have the freedom of negotiating concerning the terms and conditions that will suite needs (Lewis 2004, 5). This only applies provided that they follow the rules and regulations of common law and statutes. The employment contract should contain the date when the worker should start work; the title of the position they are going to assume; the location of the place to carry out the work; the terms and conditions of employment; the amount of salary to be offered and the mode; the holidays allowed per year including the sick offs; the disciplinary rulings and the mode of application; the mode of expressing any grievances and how long the employment relationship is going to take (Lewis 2004, 15). The employee has to receive a proposal that is written from the employer days before they are asked to sign the agreement. If this is not done, the employee will not be held liable for any breach of contract. If either of the involved parties breaches the contract, compensation is made, which may be in monetary terms or the forced involvement of the other party in contract performance. This is always to the benefit of the party that was damaged. An employment contact usually has two elements that are; mutual assent and consideration (Lewis 2004, 18). The employment contract is subject to termination, and that is if the other party dies, if the contract period has expired, if the parties have all consented to the termination, if the court has ordered its termination, or if the law has seen it necessary to terminate it. An employment contract can either be in express terms or implied terms. In express terms, the employer and the employee come into an agreement on things that include the wage amount, the number of hours to work, the number of warnings given, holidays given also the number of sick days given. The employment contract in express terms, may be written or not and can be included when a job is being advertised (Lewis 2004, 20). The terms are expressed in statement form and, they bind both parties regardless of any possible differences. As for the one with implied terms, the employer and the employee do not necessarily come to an agreement. They may be general terms or terms that are laid down by customs or those that are agreed upon between the trade union and the employer. Implied terms can be part of an employment contract either through rules made by a firm or employee and employer’s behavior (Lewis 2004, 22). Written policies of a company can become part of an employment contract in the case that employees perceive them to be. In the case, that the policies are not written, they can lead to the modification of the company’s right and will to dismiss employees. The inclusion of company policies in the employment contract can be beneficial to the employees of the firm in that; In the case that the contract is referred to a policy outside of the organization the employee must be informed in a way that is understandable. The employee has to make sure that the policy has been read by the employees and understood as well according to terms laid down. In case of any changes to the policy, the employees must be alerted. The policy must also be made available in places where employees can have easy access to it. This ensures that the policy is incorporated into the employment contract by way usage (http://www.rostroncarlyle.com/legalarticles/organisation-policies-and-the-contract-of-employment.html) Company policies can play legal roles in an organization to govern the conduct of employees. The policy will help in identification of the expectations of a firm’s employees and offer a way to handle problems that can arise in the course of work. Policies help organizations avoid disasters caused by unethical behavior and specify the consequences of such behavior in the work place. It also ensures that the required ethical conduct is adhered to by all employees. The companies ensure that employees are fully aware of the company policy by allowing them to attend seminars where, conduct and ethics in the work place are discussed including legal requirements. Other organizations have a requirement that employees should sign an agreement that states that they will abide by the rules of conduct of the company (Weiss, 2004, 85). Policies make sure that equal payment of wages is made to employees according to the work done. This however, is in accordance to the equal pay act and controls the employers on issues to do with hiring, firing and managing. The creation of company policies by employers can decrease and increase legal liability to employees through the use of candidate references when recruiting staff. It can decrease it in a way where it can provide employee references while at the same time avoiding legal liability. The candidate can be accessed using the information used by the company while employing staff without necessarily assessing the candidate’s performance and qualifications either positively or negatively (McGladrey 2007, 26). The candidate’s references are not considered and, this could be a disadvantage to the employer because they will have limited information concerning the candidate It can also increase the employee’s legal liability by fully disclosing the candidate’s references. The candidate is required to submit a letter that contains their previous employer details including their potentials. In this case, their former employers can be contacted to confirm their performance (McGladrey 2007, 46). The candidates can then be held liable in the case that they provided inaccurate information. However, some companies have laws that protect employers who punish employees for providing false or inaccurate information (McGladrey 2007, 32). This is however, a preferred method to employers because they have to make sound decisions when hiring. The employers should be able to test the knowledge and capabilities of the person they are going to hire, which also includes their health status and capacity (McGladrey 2007, 40). The employees should be informed even though their background information will be checked and be required to sign an agreement. This protects employers in that they should be allowed to speak freely about their former employees without any fear of legal liability. The candidate should not feel obligated to provide answers to questions that do not relate to the relationship between them and the employer. A company policy can be used to make use of the resources available to assess also resolve problems at the work place. It helps to resolve discriminations at the work place including complaints. This could help the employers in the establishment and implementation of objectives for the purpose of achieving results. The resources that can be identified in the work place can include training and development, relations between employees, safety in the work place, giving benefits and compensations to employees. The recruitment process and selection in the workplace are also one of the resources used to resolve problems. An organization should also have investigations in the workplace where a policy may be written to enable fair employment and discourage discrimination. Assessment tests in the firm can also be created and distributed to help identify workplace problems and critically analyze issues that an organization may be facing. The law can be remarkably effective in dealing with employee relation issues because, it can eliminate any discrimination in employment or with issues to do with gender. This ensures that all employees receive equal pay for the work done regardless of their gender. It is also effective in the penalties that will be given in the case that employees do not comply with the company policies. From using employment relational law in a work environment situation, leaders and the management has found it easy dealing with their employees. The chance of having management treat their employees in an awful manner has been reduced to that of cooperation and unity in the organization. This has brought about division of labor and specialization among the employees. As a result, the organization has benefited from using laws in its daily activities of running the business (http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Gov-Inc/Human-Resource-Management-HRM.html). References Blanpain, R. & Pochet, P 2010, Regulating employment relations, work and labour laws: International comparisons between key countries, Kluwer Law International, New York. Gummow, C 1999, Change and continuity: statute, equity, and federalism, Oxford University Press, Oxford Lewis, D 2004, Essentials of Employment Law Edition 8, CIPD Publishing, London. McCallum, R 2008, McCallum's Top Workplace Relations Cases, CCH Australia Limited, McGladrey, M 2007, Mandated Benefits 2008 Compliance Guide, Aspen Publishers Online, New York. Ramey, A & Sniffen J 1999, A Company Policy & Personnel Workbook, Publisher Entrepreneur Press, New York. Weiss, H 2004, Fair, square & legal: safe hiring, managing & firing practices to keep you & your company out of court, AMACOM Div American MgmtAssn, New York. http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=CpE76-MYy4YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=employment+law&hl=en&ei=Ur87TsSgI4GyrAf24sgc&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false Read More