HRM 5

5.- LEGAL COMPLIANCE, DISCIPLINE AND GRIEVANCE.

EMPLOYEE RIGHTS

A right is the ability to engage in conduct that is protected by law or social sanction, free from interference by another party (in this case an employer). Employees have the legal right to form unions, and it is illegal for an employer to discourage employees to do so, for example.

There are different types of rights.

There has been great improvement for employee rights in the past 50 years and courts are more proactive when it comes to protecting employees too.

1. Statutory Rights: these rights are protected by specific laws enacted by government. Some main examples of statutory rights of employees are protection from discrimination on race, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disabilities, etc. This rights also include protection against unsafe or unhealthy working conditions.
2. Contractual Rights: These rights are based on the Law of contracts, which are legally binding between two parties. Legal remedy comes into action when either party breaches said contract. Both employees and employers have rights and obligations to each other and they must upheld them. Here Union contracts can come into play as well and it is up to the employee to consider which type of contract will suits its needs better.
3. Other Rights: These include a right to ethical treatment and limited rights to free speech and privacy. These other rights are different from the other ones in that even though employees may expect to have them, they may not have a legal recourse if they feel these rights are not been upheld. Employers may not be required to extend these rights to their employees but doing so may certainly increase satisfaction among them.

MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

Usually called “rights if the employer” can be defined as the rights to run the business and to retain any profits that result from said business. Stockholders and owners who control a from through their property rights are the ones who delegate the authority to run a business to managers.

These management rights include: the right to manage the workforce and the rights to hire employees, in this they can promote, adding, discipline and dismiss the employees. Employee rights simultaneously moderate the manager’s right to direct the workforce. The same goes for contracts, a manager can dictate what remuneration the employee will receive but this will be regulated by the presence of a union labor contract for example.

Management rights are usually referred as “residual rights” because they pertain to the rights not affected by the laws or or contracts that represent the interests of other parties (employees & unions).

Employment at will is one of the most important employer rights.

EMPLOYEE RIGHT CHALLENGES

There are some issues that fall in the line between employee and management rights.

1. Random drug testing: It is considered a violation of privacy by many employees however, this measure is required by law on some occupations due to safety reasons. One way of avoiding this practice is laying out contracts that ban drug consumption since the beginning or state that it will be conducted based on “probable cause”.
2. Electronic monitoring: Businesses try to fight various forms of theft by using electronic surveillance devices to monitor employees. Sometimes even hidden microphones and transmitters attached to stationary. This kind of surveillance is seen as taking the human element out of work and causing too much stress. This can also be done in the shape of checking a possible candidate’s financial records, which is very badly seen.
3. Whistle-blowing: This happens when an employee discloses an illegal, immoral or illegitimate matter happening inside a company. Most of the time whistle blowers have clean motives, but they are harassed and shunned in return. Whistle-blower protection laws are different in nature and effectiveness everywhere.
4. Moonlighting: Is defined as having a second job outside the normal working hours. Moonlighting has different reasons: extra income, recessions or even pay freezes. In some situations the employer may try to prevent an employee from doing that second job, but it depends on the situation if that may be legal or not.
5. Office romance: Managers are responsible of protecting their staff of sexual harassment situations and thins why the grip on office romantic relationships may be tight. It depends on the goals and culture of the organization how they decide to handle or regulate this issue.

DISCIPLINING EMPLOYEES

This should be a communication tool for managers to let employers know, when something is not working properly. This entails communicating to the employee that whatever wrong behavior they are engaging in is not acceptable. It is usually performed by supervisors but in a self-managed work team it may be carried out by a team.

In some instances, employees may feel they are being disciplines unfairly, in this cases HR staff are appointed to help sort out the misunderstandings. The HR department’s contribution is important because it serves as a mediator so that the employer and employee can maintain a effective working relationship.

The steps of a Progressive Discipline Procedure are:

MANAGING DIFFICULT EMPLOYEES

It is often necessary to discipline employees who exhibit poor performance, this includes: poor attendance, insubordination, workplace bullying or substance abuse. Common sense and good judgement are required to manage any discipline process since not all situations require a discipline.

PREVENTING THE NEED FOR DISCIPLINE WITH HRM

A strategic and proactive approach can help avoid the need for discipline, also recruiting and selecting the right employees for the right positions from the beginning can save up these procedures as well. Other strategies to avoid discipline include training and developing workers, by designing jobs and also opportunities so people can exploit their talents and go through effective appraisal systems. Finally, compensating employees for their contributions is a good incentive.