Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES 1

HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES

Name:

Institution:
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Introduction

In essence, code of conduct in an organization creates acceptable standards of behavior for all

employees that serve as a guideline towards the achievement of the set visions and goals.

Conversely, some departments within an organization may also have codes specifically targeting

employees working in areas such as sales, human resources and service. The code of conduct is

also serves as an internal communication tool as well as a device to protect the company in cases

where it must terminate an employee for cause (Barbeito, 2004) .In an organization it is

important to have guidelines regarding the conduct of employees .This is with respect to the way

they dress, how to handle confidential information, harassment and the benefits they are entitled

to. This paper tries to explain how this policies can be formulated and be put to use in the

organization.

Dress code

Basically, a reflection of an organization and its work environment is portrayed through the

appearance of employees. Nearly all workplaces have a least standard of dress that they

anticipate from their employees on a daily basis, and have a diverse standard for situation that

require work with the public. It is important that all employees are aware of dress code

expectations. The best way to communicate and ensure compliance expectations of dress code

amongst staff is to develop a policy on the same.

While drafting a policy pertaining dress code you should mind the following :the dress code

ought to remain gender neutral, and not get into specific types of clothing that would

differentiate between genders, when drafting a dress code policy think about different cultures in
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the workplace, the dress code policy must take account of input from employees and be accepted

by the board of directors ,brief the dress code in the orientation to new hires, and if changing the

dress code ensure that all employees are informed of the changes.

Confidentiality

 Confidentiality is a terminology used to refer to personal information shared with an attorney,

physician, therapist, or other individual that generally cannot be divulged to third parties without

the express consent of the client. On the other hand, privacy refers to the freedom from intrusion

into one's personal matters, and personal information. Whereas confidentiality is an ethical duty,

privacy is a right rooted in common law. Perceiving the difference between these two terms can

spare one a lot of confusion when signing contracts, establishing a client-attorney relationship,

and generally knowing ones rights in a given situation.

While we say information is held in confidence, and therefore confidential, we have an

expectation that it will be shared only after approval is provided, and then only with authorized

individuals. Most confidentiality agreements, either written or implied (as with the attorney-

client privilege, for example), remain in effect indefinitely.

The doctor-patient association establishes an implied contract of confidentiality, since the doctor

is in a position to help one by collecting and analyzing otherwise private information. If the

doctor directs a pharmacist to fill a prescription for a drug known to treat a serious form of

cancer, for example, it would not be a breach of confidentiality. But if the doctor were to inform

the boss that one is terminally ill, that most certainly would constitute a breach of their ethical

duty to keep ones information private.

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Confidential information is often handled by financial institutions; hospitals; doctors; therapists;

law firms; businesses; religious authorities; and others.

Privacy

This term is defined as intrusion into ones personal space and might include a medical

examination; activities within your home; using a restaurant bathroom; getting into the office of

a reproductive health provider; and generally any action for which you have the reasonable

expectation of privacy. a good number of things done in public places would not be considered

private, although privacy laws leave a substantial amount of gray area as to what might be

considered "public" .

Harassment

Harassment can be defined as undesirable conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex

(including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information. It becomes

unlawful where putting up with the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued

employment, or the conduct is rigorous or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a

sound person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive (England, 2015).  There are

various anti-discrimination laws that prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for

filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation,

proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably

believe discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws.

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Petty insignificant, annoyances, and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not rise to

the level of illegality. To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment that would be

intimidating, hostile, or offensive to sound people.

Basically, offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or

name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-

downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance. Harassment can

occur in a variety of circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following: the harasser can

be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, an agent of the employer, a co-worker, or

a non-employee, the victim does not have to be the person harassed, but can be anyone affected

by the offensive conduct and unlawful harassment may occur without economic injury to, or

discharge of, the victim.

Prevention is the best tool to get rid of harassment in the workplace. Consequently employers are

encouraged to take appropriate steps to prevent and correct unlawful harassment. They should

clearly communicate to employees that unwelcome harassing conduct will not be tolerated. They

can do this by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process, providing anti-

harassment training to their managers and employees, and taking immediate and appropriate

action when an employee complains. Employers should strive to create an environment in which

employees feel free to raise concerns and are confident that those concerns will be addressed.

Employees are encouraged to inform the harasser directly that the conduct is unwelcome and

must stop. Employees should also report harassment to management at an early stage to prevent

its escalation.
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Employer Liability for Harassment

The employer is automatically answerable for harassment by a supervisor that results in a

negative employment action such as termination, failure to promote or hire, and loss of wages. If

the supervisor's harassment results in a hostile work environment, the employer can avoid

liability only if it can prove that: it reasonably tried to prevent and promptly correct the harassing

behavior; and the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or

corrective opportunities provided by the employer. The employer will be liable for harassment

by non-supervisory employees or non-employees over whom it has control (e.g., independent

contractors or customers on the premises), if it knew, or should have known about the

harassment and failed to take prompt and appropriate corrective action.

When investigating allegations of harassment, one looks at the entire record: including the nature

of the conduct, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination of

whether harassment is pervasive or severe enough to be illegal is made on a case-by-case basis..

Benefits

In general employee benefits, sometimes called fringe benefits, are indirect forms of

compensation provided to employees as part of an employment relationship. So as to compete

for quality employees in today's marketplace, companies must do more than offer a "fair day's

pay." Employees also want a good benefits package. In fact, they have grown used to generous

benefits programs, and have come to expect them.

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Employee benefits exist in companies worldwide, but the types and levels of benefits vary

greatly from country to country. Generally speaking, companies in industrialized countries in

Europe and North America offer employees the most generous benefit packages. Even within the

industrialized world, however, employee benefits can vary significantly. For example, employees

in Germany and other European countries receive more vacation days than the average U.S.

employee. Conversely, most employers in the U.S. offer some form of medical/health insurance

to employees. But most companies in European countries don't offer this employee benefit,

because it is provided through government-sponsored socialized medicine programs.

The Social Security Act of 1935, as amended, provides monthly benefits to retired workers who

are at least 62 years of age, disabled workers, and their eligible spouses and dependents. Social

Security is financed by contributions made by the employee and matched by the employer,

computed as a percentage of the employee's earnings. As of 2005, the combined contribution of

employer and employee for retirement, survivors', and disability benefits was 12.4 percent of the

first $90,000 of employee income. Monthly benefits are based on a worker's earnings, which are

adjusted to account for wage inflation. The Social Security Act also provides Medicare health

insurance coverage for anyone who is entitled to retirement benefits. Medicare is funded by a tax

paid by the employer and employee. The tax rate for Medicare is a combined 2.9 percent of the

employee's total wage or salary income.

Pensions, or retirement incomes, may be the largest single benefit most employees receive. In

most instances, employees become eligible to participate in company pension plans when they

reach 21 years of age and have completed one year of service. After they have satisfied certain

age and time requirements, employees become vested, meaning that the pension benefits they
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have earned are theirs and cannot be revoked. If they leave their jobs after vesting, but before

retirement, employees may receive these benefits immediately or may have to wait until

retirement age to collect them, depending on the provisions of their specific pension plan.

Companies establish pension plans voluntarily, but once established, the Employee Retirement

Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires that employers follow certain rules. ERISA

ensures that employees will receive the pension benefits due them, even if the company goes

bankrupt or merges with another firm. Employers must pay annual insurance premiums to a

government agency in order to provide funds from which guaranteed pensions can be paid.

Additionally, ERISA requires that employers inform workers what their pension-related benefits

include.

Basic health-care plans cover hospitalization, physician care, and surgery. Traditional fee-for-

service health care coverage became increasingly expensive in the late twentieth century. As a

result, many U.S. companies adopted "managed care" health care plans. In general, managed

care plans cut health care costs for employers by requiring them to contract with health care

providers to perform medical services for their employees at an agreed upon fee schedule, in

exchange for the employer encouraging (sometimes requiring) the employees to receive their

medical care within the approved network of health care providers.

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) are one type of managed care plan. HMOs are

organizations of physicians and other health-care professionals who provide a wide range of

services for a fixed fee. When participants need medical services, they pay a nominal per-visit

charge of $5 or $10. Because members visit their health care facility more frequently, potential
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problems can be discovered and eliminated before they can become major health threats. Thus,

HMOs can save money through preventative medicine. However, employees have a limited

number of doctors from which to choose and must get approval from a primary care physician

for specialized treatment.

Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) provide services at a discounted fee in return for the

company's participation, which creates increased business for the health facility. Employees may

choose any member facility of their choice. PPOs are somewhat less restrictive of patient choice

than HMOs, since they allow employees to receive health care outside the approved network if

the employee is willing to shoulder a higher percentage of their health care expenses( Levoy,

2007 )

Employers are not legally required to offer health insurance to employees. If they do, however,

the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) provides for a continuation of

health insurance coverage for a period of up to three years for employees who leave a company

through no fault of their own. Such employees are required to pay the premiums themselves, but

at the company's group rate.

Conclusion

It can be seen from above that it is very important to take into account human resource policies

such as dress code, confidentiality, harassment and benefits of employees’ .They serve a great

role in giving guidelines on how one carries themselves at the work place.
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References

England, D. C. (2015). The essential guide to handling workplace harassment & discrimination.

Hayes, D. K., & Ninemeier, J. D. (2009). Human resources management in the hospitality

industry. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

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Levoy, R. P. (2007). 222 secrets of hiring, managing, and retaining great employees in healthcare

practices. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Lubin, N., Ruderman, A., & DoSomething.org. (2014). The XYZ factor: The DoSomething.org

guide to building impactful social movements and creating awesome change.

Magoon, L. M., & De, S. A. D. (2007). 50 plus one tips when hiring & firing employees.

Chicago, Ill: Encouragement Press.

Pre-school Learning Alliance. (2009). Employee handbook. London: Pre-school Learning

Alliance.

Barbeito, C. L. (2004). Human resources policies and procedures for nonprofit organizations.

Hoboken, N.J: J. Wiley. illnesses. Price, C. H., Novak, A., & Medical Group Management

Association. (2007). MGMA HR policies & procedures: Manual for medical practices.

Englewood, CO: Medical Group Management Association.