Human Resource Management (Module-5) Pages: 34

Managing Employee Benefits and Services

Employee benefits are non-financial compensation provided to an employee as
part of the employment contract. ... From an employee's point of view, a good
package of benefits increase the value they receive from their working life and
contribute to their own health and that of their family.

. Employee benefits may be required by law (depending on the risk associated with the job or
industry and the laws of the country where the job is held) or provided voluntarily by the
employer.

From an employer’s point of view, benefits help staff remain happy and committed, reducing the
chance of them leaving to work elsewhere.

In some instances staff swap a proportion of their pre-tax salary for a benefit, known as salary
sacrifice – the Cycle2Work scheme is a good example of this, whereby companies buy a bike
and the employee loans it from them until the initial purchase amount has been paid off. Benefits
can be taxable or non-taxable. Private medical insurance is one of the most common taxed
benefits.

In the last ten years, employers have increasingly provided less traditional employee benefits that
provide benefit to the employee’s life as a whole rather than just their working life – examples of
these are childcare, healthy foods in the office and subsidised gym memberships.

Due to increased competition for good candidates, the benefits an employer provides for a
particular position will be an important factor in attracting applicants.

In addition to compensation in the form of wages and salaries, organisations

provide workers with various services and programmes known as employee
benefits. Previously these services and programmes were known as fringe

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benefits. Now these have become part of compensation package hence the
word fringe in now not used and not appropriate even. Nowadays employee
benefits are regarded as an important tool to retain employees and to
improve the bottom-line of the organisation.
Benefit programmes play a vital role to maintaining an employee’s standard
of living when he suffers from health problem. The organisations that
provide these benefits to their employees have improved image of caring
employer. These benefits are the advantages that accrue to an employee
apart from salary. They are not related to performance. According to
Cockman, “employee benefits are those benefits which are supplied by an
employer to or for the benefits of an employee, and which are not in the
form of wages, salaries and time rated payments.”

According to C.B. Mamoria, employee benefits are, “primarily a means in

the direction of ensuring, maintaining and increasing the income of the
employee. It is a benefit which supplements to a worker’s ordinary wages
and which are of value to them and their families in so far as it materially
increases their retirement.”

Characteristic Features of Employee Benefits:

(1) Employee benefits are those payments which are paid to him in addition
to the wages and salary he receives.

(2) These benefits are not given to the worker for any specific performance
of the jobs but they offered boosting his interests in work and make the job
more productive for him.

(3) Employee benefits represent labour cost. Whatever benefits are offered
to the employees in kind or in money terms account for cost.

(4) These benefits are offered to employees irrespective of their merit. Merit
or non merit is not the criterion for these benefits.

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(5) Benefit given by the employer is meant for all the employees and not a
specific group of employees.

(6) This is a positive cost incurred by an employer to finance employee

benefit.

Common Employee Benefits:

Following are some of the benefits offered by employers to
employees:
(1) Free lunch or lunch at subsidized rates offered to the employees.

(2) Free medical facilities to the employee and the members of his family.

(3) Employees are insured for life against accidents or illness. In India there
is a provision for this under Employees State Insurance Act.

(4) Provisions for retirement benefits such as provident Fund, gratuity,

pension etc.

(5) Leave Travel Allowance scheme is implemented by many govt. and non
govt. organisation counts for paid holidays to the employees.

(6) Maternity leave for 90 days is given to female employees.

(7) Free education to the children of employees by providing educational

allowance to the employees. Scholarships to the meritorious students of the
employees are also given. Free transport service is provided to the school
and college going students of the employees by the employers. This service
is also provided to the employees for attending their duties in the office or
factories. This service is provided freely in some companies and or at
subsidized rates in other organisations.

(8) Housing accommodation is yet another benefit provided to the

employees at subsidized rates.

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(9) In some organisations where highly qualified employees are required,
for their education study leave is granted. This is also a paid leave. In some
cases company sponsors the employee for higher studies and bears all the
expenses of his education.

(10) Subscriptions for professional association is also borne by the

employers.

(11) Recreational facilities are also provided by the employers.

Objectives of Employee Benefits and Service

Programmes:
It is necessary to ensure the commitment and sense of belonging to the
organisation of the employees. This is being attained by the organisations
through floating some novel schemes for the benefit of the employees.

The following objectives are achieved through benefit

and service programmes:
(1) To attract and retain the best employees in the organisation.

(2) To fulfill the needs of the employees which he himself cannot provide
such as protection against accidents and hazards?

(3) To provide employees with such benefits which are prevailing in similar
organisations.

(4) Special privileges are provided to the employees for holding a special
position in the organisation.

(5) Some benefits are provided at the behest of the unions first to maintain
good harmonious industrial relations.

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(6) Some special allowance provided to the employees to enhance their
standard of living so as to increase their quality of working life.

(7) Providing benefits to the employees enhances the image of the

organisation in the eyes of the people in general and the consumers in
particular.

(8) By providing benefits to its employees the organisation fulfill their social
commitment as contained in the Article 43 of the Indian constitution which
states, “— All workers should be given a living wage, conditions of work
ensuring decent standard of life and fuller enjoyment to ensure social and
cultural opportunities.”

(9) Benefits protect precious human resources during bad

phases of life or period of contingencies of life. These
benefits keep the human resources in ideal conditions which
in turn increase the output. This is must for increase in
growth of economy of the country.

(10) The benefit by way of spending on the training and

development of the employees and for improving the
working conditions are provided.

(11) Special allowances are given to supplement their

regular income so that they can participate in social and
cultural activities.

Types of employee benefits

 Benefits at work

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 Benefits for health

 Benefits for financial security

 Lifestyle benefits

Benefits at work

This includes working hours & leave, skills development, food & beverage, and

employee clubs, activities & gifts.

Working hours & leave

Think of flextime here for instance. Flextime gives your employees the possibility to

decide about their working hours and/or the location they want to work from. Other

examples include additional holidays and, one of the other benefits employees value

most, paid parental leave.

Skills development

Rapid technological developments and the fact that people change jobs more often

make skills development more important too. Skills development, however, is not just an

important benefit for (younger) employees, it’s also essential for organizations if they

want to remain competitive.

Food & Beverage

We already mentioned the meal vouchers in France. Other benefits that fall into this

category include free lunches, fruit, and coffee. At AIHR, we get to enjoy a free lunch

every day and it’s something that’s very much appreciated by the team. As an added

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bonus, free lunch and fruit are also a good way to promote healthy eating habits at

work.

Employee clubs, activities & gifts

There are heaps of possibilities when it comes to this category of the employee benefits

package: knitting clubs, running groups, (video) game nights, Secret Santas,

anniversary gifts, you name it.

Benefits for health

Think of health and wellness and healthcare here.

Health and wellness

More and more companies have employee wellness programs. The possibilities are

endless and examples of employee wellness programs vary from a simple gym

membership to full suite solutions that include physical, mental and financial wellness.

Healthcare

Healthcare benefits also come in different shapes and sizes. Think of physiotherapy and

chiropractic sessions, for instance, but sometimes fertility treatments and psychological

support can also be included.

Benefits for financial security

The number one thing here are pension plans. Other benefits for financial security are

insurances, financial benefits for employees, and personal finance benefits.

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Pension plans

Interestingly, according to the research study, pension plans are considered as a very

important benefit by every generation, but they’re not among the top ten most

appreciated benefits.

Insurances

As we mentioned above, in some countries health insurance is something that comes

with the simple fact of being an employee. Other types of insurance benefits for

employees cover parental leave or injury.

Financial benefits

Think of commissions, bonuses and the possibility for employees to buy shares of the

company they work for.

Personal finance benefits

The Benify report too shows that stress about personal finances has grown bigger over

the past year. Yet another reason for employers to seriously start thinking of benefits

such as advice about loans and savings. In other words: employee financial wellness.

Lifestyle benefits

Lifestyle benefits consist of work-life balance and mobility.

Work-life balance

As employees increasingly attach importance to their work-life balance, it’s no surprise

that benefits in this area become more popular too. Examples are childcare, grocery

delivery, and legal services.

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Mobility

Mobility benefits can make your employees’ life a lot easier. Because even if they can

work from home or elsewhere, they’ll still have to come into the office – or workplace –

regularly. This category covers things like public transport and cars but also bicycles

and carpooling.

Why are employee benefits important?

Offering benefits to your employees is important because it shows them you are invested in not
only their overall health, but their future. A solid employee benefits package can help to attract
and retain talent. Benefits can help you differentiate your business from competitors.

Employee benefits can improve your company’s bottom line by engaging employees to
participate in wellbeing programs, such as Virgin Pulse. Healthier employees mean reduced
healthcare costs for your organization. Employees with fewer health risks experience fewer sick
days, fewer trips to the doctor, and spend more time working in your organization, bringing their
best selves to work every day.

Employee Relations

What is the definition of Employee Relations?

The definition of employee relations refers to an organization’s efforts to create and

maintain a positive relationship with its employees. By maintaining positive, constructive
employee relations, organizations hope to keep employees loyal and more engaged in
their work. Typically, an organization’s human resources department manages
employee relations efforts; however, some organizations may have a dedicated
employee relations manager role. Typical responsibilities of an employee relations
manager include acting as a liaison or intermediary between employees and managers,
and either creating or advising on the creation of policies around employee issues like
fair compensation, useful benefits, proper work-life balance, reasonable working hours,

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and others. When it comes to employee relations, an HR department has two primary
functions. First, HR helps prevent and resolve problems or disputes between employees
and management. Second, they assist in creating and enforcing policies that are fair
and consistent for everyone in the workplace.

To maintain positive employee relations, an organization must first view employees as

stakeholders and contributors in the company rather than simply as paid laborers. This
perspective encourages those in management and executive roles to seek employee
feedback, to value their input more highly, and to consider the employee experience
when making decisions that affect the entire company.

Importance of Employee Relations

Every individual at the workplace shares a certain relationship with his fellow workers.
Human beings are not machines who can start working just at the push of a mere
button. They need people to talk to, discuss ideas with each other and share their
happiness and sorrows. An individual cannot work on his own, he needs people around.
If the organization is all empty, you will not feel like sitting there and working. An
isolated environment demotivates an individual and spreads negativity around. It is
essential that people are comfortable with each other and work together as a single unit
towards a common goal.

It is important that employees share a healthy relation with each other at the work place.
Let us find out why employee relations are important in an organization:

 There are several issues on which an individual cannot take decisions

alone. He needs the guidance and advice of others as well. Sometimes we might
miss out on important points, but our fellow workers may come out with a brilliant
idea which would help us to achieve our targets at a much faster rate. Before
implementing any plan, the pros and cons must be evaluated on an open forum
where every employee has the right to express his opinions freely. On your own,
you will never come to know where you are going wrong, you need people who

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 can act as critic and correct you wherever you are wrong. If you do not enjoy a
good relation with others no one will ever come to help you.
 Work becomes easy if it is shared among all. A healthy relation with your
fellow workers would ease the work load on you and in turn increases your
productivity. One cannot do everything on his own. Responsibilities must be
divided among team members to accomplish the assigned tasks within the
stipulated time frame. If you have a good rapport with your colleagues, he will
always be eager to assist you in your assignments making your work easier.
 The organization becomes a happy place to work if the employees work
together as a family. An individual tends to lose focus and concentration if his
mind is always clouded with unnecessary tensions and stress. It has been
observed that if people talk and discuss things with each other, tensions
automatically evaporate and one feels better. Learn to trust others, you will feel
relaxed. One doesn’t feel like going to office if he is not in talking terms with the
person sitting next to him. An individual spends around 8-9 hours in a day at his
workplace and practically it is not possible that one works non stop without a
break. You should have people with whom you can share your lunch, discuss
movies or go out for a stroll once in a while. If you fight with everyone, no one will
speak to you and you will be left all alone. It is important to respect others to
expect the same from them.
 An individual feels motivated in the company of others whom he can trust
and fall back on whenever needed. One feels secure and confident and thus
delivers his best. It is okay if you share your secrets with your colleagues but you
should know where to draw the line. A sense of trust is important.
 Healthy employee relations also discourage conflicts and fights among
individuals. People tend to adjust more and stop finding faults in each other.
Individuals don’t waste their time in meaningless conflicts and disputes, rather
concentrate on their work and strive hard to perform better. They start treating
each other as friends and try their level best to compromise and make everyone
happy.

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  A healthy employee relation reduces the problem of absenteeism at the
work place. Individuals are more serious towards their work and feel like coming
to office daily. They do not take frequent leaves and start enjoying their work.
Employees stop complaining against each other and give their best
 It is wise to share a warm relation with your fellow workers, because you
never know when you need them. You may need them any time. They would
come to your help only when you are nice to them. You might need leaves for
some personal reasons; you must have a trusted colleague who can handle the
work on your behalf. Moreover healthy employee relations also spread positivity
around.

It is essential that employees are comfortable with each other for better focus and
concentration, lesser conflicts and increased productivity.

Trade Unions and Employee Relations

Trade Unions protect the worker from wages hike, provides job security through
peaceful measures. Trade Unions also help in

providing financial and non-financial aid to the workers during lock out or strike or in
medical need.

The principal purpose of a trade union is to regulate employee relations with an

employer through: collective bargaining (negotiation about pay and other conditions of
employment) consultation (discussions about business and workplace issues that affect
levels of employment and terms and conditions of employment).

The Role of Trade Unions in Industrial Relations

Trade unions, also known as labor unions, have been an important part of
the American labor movement since 1794. Although membership has
declined over the past 35 years, in 2017, 14.8 million U.S. workers were
union members, which is 262,000 more than it was in 2016. The

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relationship between labor unions and employers has often been
contentious, but the truth is that labor unions play an important role in the
way employers and workers function together to create a harmonious
workplace.

Unions Work With Employers to Resolve Labor Issues

One of the most important roles that labor unions perform is that when
there is a dispute in the workplace, the union acts as an intermediary
between employers and business owners. Labor union leaders are
experienced at solving problems through formal arbitration and grievance
procedures. Instead of viewing this process as contentious, business owners
should welcome the involvement of a union representative, because it can
expedite the resolution. When issues arise at the workplace between you
and your employee, the goal is to secure a “win-win” in which both sides
feel as if they each attained something from the deal.

Save Employer Time Through Collective Bargaining

Every labor union in the U.S. operates under what is known as the collective
bargaining agreement, which helps secure fair wages, working hours,
benefits, and the standards necessary for wage increases. The collective
bargaining agreement also protects your employees from being fired
without just cause, which protects you from litigation, because you can only
terminate a worker if that worker violated your company’s standards and
policies. Some employers view the collective bargaining agreement as a
necessary evil, but you should view it as a way to save your company the
time and money of having to negotiate wages, wage increases and benefits
on your own.

Help Reduce Turnover Rate

The goal of most labor unions isn’t to create conflict with your business; the
goal is to ensure that employees are treated fairly, and that they feel

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comfortable and secure on the job. When that goal is achieved, employees
tend to stick around, instead of trying to find a more favorable situation.
Union members earn an estimated 30 percent more in wages than do non-
unionized workers, and 92 percent of unionized workers have health
insurance, compared to only 68 percent of non-unionized workers.

Another union benefit is that union workers are much more likely to secure
guaranteed pensions than are non-unionized workers. By ensuring fair
wages and benefits, labor unions help keep the membership content, and
workers who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to work hard,
instead of looking for a quick way to exit your company.

Process of Collective Bargaining

Definition: The Collective Bargaining is a technique to reach a mutual agreement
between the employer and the employee. Here the representatives of both the parties
viz. The union and the employer meet and discuss the economic issues such as wage,
bonus, number of working hours and other employment terms.

The process of collective bargaining comprises of five steps that are followed by both
the employee and the employer to reach an amicable solution.

Process of Collective Bargaining

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1. Preparation: At the very first step, both the representatives of each party prepares the
negotiations to be carried out during the meeting. Each member should be well versed
with the issues to be raised at the meeting and should have adequate knowledge of the
labor laws.

The management should be well prepared with the proposals of change required in the
employment terms and be ready with the statistical figures to justify its stand.

On the other hand, the union must gather adequate information regarding the financial
position of the business along with its ability to pay and prepare a detailed report on the
issues and the desires of the workers.

2. Discuss: Here, both the parties decide the ground rules that will guide the negotiations
and the prime negotiator is from the management team who will lead the discussion.
Also, the issues for which the meeting is held, are identified at this stage.

The issues could be related to the wages, supplementary economic benefits (pension
plans, health insurance, paid holidays, etc.), Institutional issues(rights and duties, ESOP

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 plan), Administrative issues (health and safety, technological changes, job security,
working conditions).

3. Propose: At this stage, the chief negotiator begins the conversation with an opening
statement and then both the parties put forth their initial demands. This session can be
called as a brainstorming, where each party gives their opinion that leads to arguments
and counter arguments.

4. Bargain: The negotiation begins at this stage, where each party tries to win over the
other. The negotiation can go for days until a final agreement is reached. Sometimes,
both the parties reach an amicable solution soon, but at times to settle down the dispute
the third party intervenes into the negotiation in the form of arbitration or adjudication.

5. Settlement: This is the final stage of the collective bargaining process, where both the
parties agree on a common solution to the problem discussed so far. Hence, a mutual
agreement is formed between the employee and the employer which is to be signed by
each party to give the decision a universal acceptance.

Thus, to get the dispute settled the management must follow these steps systematically
and give equal chance to the workers to speak out their minds.

Grievance Handling

Grievance handling is the management of employee dissatisfaction or complaints (e.g.

favouritism, workplace harassment, or wage cuts). By establishing formal grievance handling
procedures, you provide a safe environment for your employees to raise their concerns. You
also create a channel to explain your policies and rationale for actions or
decisions.

A grievance is any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice having connection

with one’s employment situation which is brought to the attention of
management. Speaking broadly, a grievance is any dissatisfaction that
adversely affects organizational relations and productivity. To understand

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 what a grievance is, it is necessary to distinguish between dissatisfaction,
complaint, and grievance.

1. Dissatisfaction is anything that disturbs an employee, whether or not the

unrest is expressed in words.

2. Complaint is a spoken or written dissatisfaction brought to the attention

of the supervisor or the shop steward.

3. Grievance is a complaint that has been formally presented to a

management representative or to a union official.

According to Michael Jucious, ‘grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction

whether expressed or not, whether valid or not, arising out of anything

connected with the company which an employee thinks, believes or even

feels to be unfair, unjust or inequitable’.

In short, grievance is a state of dissatisfaction, expressed or unexpressed,

written or unwritten, justified or unjustified, having connection with

employment situation.

Why It Matters

As an employer, it is best to handle grievances in an amicable and supportive way to

avoid unnecessary escalation and negative feelings. Grievance handling procedures
also allow you to identify and address unacceptable or unlawful practices quickly.

What You Must Do to Be Fair

The Tripartite Guidelines state what you must do as a fair employer.

 Handle all complaints of discrimination seriously.

 Conduct proper investigations into complaints.
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 Respond to the affected person promptly and proactively.
 Record and file grievances confidentially.
 Treat both complainant and respondent fairly.
 Involve unions in the process for unionized companies.
 Conduct training for all managers and supervisors involved in
handling grievances

Causes of Grievances:
Grievances may occur due to a number of reasons:
1. Economic:
Employees may demand for individual wage adjustments. They may feel
that they are paid less when compared to others. For example, late bonus,
payments, adjustments to overtime pay, perceived inequalities in treatment,
claims for equal pay, and appeals against performance- related pay awards.

2. Work environment:
It may be undesirable or unsatisfactory conditions of work. For example,
light, space, heat, or poor physical conditions of workplace, defective tools
and equipment, poor quality of material, unfair rules, and lack of
recognition.

3. Supervision:
It may be objections to the general methods of supervision related to the
attitudes of the supervisor towards the employee such as perceived notions
of bias, favouritism, nepotism, caste affiliations and regional feelings.

4. Organizational change:
Any change in the organizational policies can result in grievances. For
example, the implementation of revised company policies or new working
practices.

5. Employee relations:

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Employees are unable to adjust with their colleagues, suffer from feelings of
neglect and victimization and become an object of ridicule and humiliation,
or other inter- employee disputes.

6. Miscellaneous:
These may be issues relating to certain violations in respect of promotions,
safety methods, transfer, disciplinary rules, fines, granting leaves, medical
facilities, etc.

The effects are the following:

1. On the production:
a. Low quality of production

b. Low productivity

c. Increase in the wastage of material, spoilage/leakage of machinery

d. Increase in the cost of production per unit

2. On the employees:
a. Increase in the rate of absenteeism and turnover

b. Reduction in the level of commitment, sincerity and punctuality

c. Increase in the incidence of accidents

d. Reduction in the level of employee morale.

3. On the managers:
a. Strained superior-subordinate relations.

b. Increase in the degree of supervision and control.

c. Increase in indiscipline cases

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d. Increase in unrest and thereby machinery to maintain industrial peace

Need for a Formal Procedure to Handle Grievances:

A grievance handling system serves as an outlet for employee frustrations,
discontents, and gripes like a pressure release value on a steam boiler.
Employees do not have to keep their frustrations bottled up until eventually
discontent causes explosion.

The existence of an effective grievance procedure reduces the need of

arbitrary action by supervisors because supervisors know that the
employees are able to protect such behavior and make protests to be heard
by higher management. The very fact that employees have a right to be
heard and are actually heard helps to improve morale. In view of all these,
every organization should have a clear-cut procedure for grievance
handling.

Benefits of Grievance Handling

The benefits of a good grievance handling system are as follows:

1. Avoids disputes
2. Opportunity for the Workers to Express their Dissatisfaction
3. Boosts Morale and Emotional Security
4. Enhances Commitment of the Staff
5. Helps Maintain Cordial Relationship
6. Improves Staff Productivity

Avoids Disputes
Before a grievance takes the form of any kind of dispute, it is
the duty of the management to solve it as soon as possible.
Timely redressal of grievance saves the organization from
settling a dispute that may arise otherwise.

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 Opportunity for the Workers to Express
their Dissatisfaction
It provides the workers an opportunity to express their fears,
anxieties and dissatisfaction. It brings grievance to the open
and to the knowledge of the managers so that they can take a
step to resolve it.

Boosts Morale and Emotional Security

It provides employees a platform where they can formally
release their emotional stress and dissatisfaction. It thus builds
within him a sense of emotional security.

Enhances Commitment of the Staff

When the employees feel emotionally secured that their
problems and grievances are being attended to and resolved
promptly, they feel a sense of commitment to the organization.
Their drive to perform to the best of their ability increases and
they become more loyal towards the organization.

Helps Maintain Cordial Relationship

Acknowledgement of employee grievance by the managers
and redressal of the same as soon as possible promotes a
healthy relationship between the subordinate and the superior.
The subordinate feels cared for and in return would follow the
instructions of the superior with greater dedication.

Improves Staff Productivity

When an employee grievance is attended to and a prompt
action is taken to redress it, it boosts the employee’s morale,
motivates him to maximize his potential and work with full
dedication and commitment. This results in higher standards of
productivity and optimum utilization of resources.

Grievance Redressal Procedure

The managers should adopt the following approach to manage grievance effectively-

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 1. Quick action- As soon as the grievance arises, it should be identified and resolved.
Training must be given to the managers to effectively and timely manage a grievance.
This will lower the detrimental effects of grievance on the employees and their
performance.

2. Acknowledging grievance- The manager must acknowledge the grievance put forward
by the employee as manifestation of true and real feelings of the employees.
Acknowledgement by the manager implies that the manager is eager to look into the
complaint impartially and without any bias. This will create a conducive work
environment with instances of grievance reduced.

3. Gathering facts- The managers should gather appropriate and sufficient facts explaining
the grievance’s nature. A record of such facts must be maintained so that these can be
used in later stage of grievance redressal.

4. Examining the causes of grievance- The actual cause of grievance should be identified.
Accordingly remedial actions should be taken to prevent repetition of the grievance.

5. Decisioning- After identifying the causes of grievance, alternative course of actions

should be thought of to manage the grievance. The effect of each course of action on
the existing and future management policies and procedure should be analyzed and
accordingly decision should be taken by the manager.

6. Execution and review- The manager should execute the decision quickly, ignoring the
fact, that it may or may not hurt the employees concerned. After implementing the
decision, a follow-up must be there to ensure that the grievance has been resolved
completely and adequately.

An effective grievance procedure ensures an amiable work environment because it redresses

the grievance to mutual satisfaction of both the employees and the managers. It also helps the
management to frame policies and procedures acceptable to the employees. It becomes an
effective medium for the employees to express t feelings, discontent and dissatisfaction openly
and formally.

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Employee Discipline

Employee Discipline aims at promoting adaptability among employees so

that they may adjust themselves according to the requirement and give
their best to the organisation.
It also aims at enabling the employees to behave in the desired fashion, to
have respect for their seniors, to follow rules, regulations and procedures,
to increase output at the least cost, to boost morale of the employees, to
make them feel more confident, to improve human relations and IR, to
discourage violation of rules and regulations by employees, and so on.

Employee Discipline – 9 Important Objectives:

1. To Punish Guilty Employee:
The purpose of discipline is to punish those employees who violate the rules
and regulations. Discipline impose predominantly on the threat of punitive
action in the organisation.

2. To Accomplish Goal:
Discipline is maintained by an organisation with the aim to obtain a willing
acceptance of the rules, regulations and procedures of an organisation so
that organisational objectives can be attained. In fact, all efforts that are
directed towards the maintenance of discipline must end-up with the
accomplishment of organisational goals; in case it is not done the imposition
of discipline will be of no beneficial.

3. To Develop a Responsive Workforce:

Discipline is maintained to make the employees conform to the standards in
the organisation. This obviously facilitates the employees in avoiding
reckless and insubordinate behaviour and keeps them responsive and
disciplined.

4. Change Employee Behaviour:

Organisations aim at bringing in the desired behaviour among the
employees through discipline. The existence of the discipline policy can help
the employees check their behaviour against the standards and develop a

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spirit of tolerance and a desire to make adjustments and changes in their
behaviour, if is necessary.

To illustrate, discipline may caution the low performers of the organisation

and can compel them to alter their behaviour so as to meet the performance
standards.

5. To Foster Employee Relations:

To foster good employee relations in the organisation is the main objective
of discipline. Discipline issues often cause a lot of strain in the union-
management relations. However, through objective and transparent
disciplinary process, unions are made convinced about the fairness of the
process and get their continued cooperation in the future in organisations.

6. To Reduce Supervision:
Employee Discipline aims at close supervision in the organisations.
Discipline system and policies develop self-discipline among the employees,
which, in turn, eliminate the necessity of closely supervising the
performance and behaviour of the employees. Therefore, discipline,
organisations can bring reduction in the cost of supervision without
compromising on its quality.

7. Ensures Consistency in Action:

It aims to ensure consistency in the disciplinary actions of different
managers while dealing with acts of indiscipline of similar nature and
intensity. They try to ensure consistency in the disciplinary actions of the
supervisors in different periods of time.

8. To Enhance Morale and Motivation:

Enhancing employee motivation and morale through a fair discipline system
is the main aim of every organisation. When the employees perceive that
the discipline policy of their organisation is fair and legitimate, they
willingly work hard to avoid any disciplinary action against them.

On the contrary to it when an act of indiscipline getting a fair and quick

punishment, they feel proud of their disciplined behaviour. This feeling

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provides a sense of satisfaction, motivation, and commitment to the
employees. Eventually, it brings improvement in then morale.

9. To Exercise Better Control Over Employees:

One of the main objective of discipline is to supplement the efforts of
managers and supervisors to exercise effective control over subordinates.
Since the authority to take disciplinary action is normally vested with the
supervisors, it creates fear in the minds of the employees and forces them
to comply with the instructions of their supervisors

What are the causes of Indiscipline in an organization?

The causes for indiscipline are many and varied. Besides,
it is not also easy to trace the roots of all the disciplinary
problems. But the following are considered as the
probable causes for indiscipline.

1. Inadequate or ineffective orientation of the employees,

2. Absence of proper and definite rules and regulations,

3. Failure to adhere and enforce the rules properly,

4. Nepotism, favoritism and casteism, etc., shown in

promotions, transfers and placement of certain employees 5.
Undue delay in implementing the awards and agreements by the
employers, and

6. Absence of team spirit and division in the employees’ groups.

Acts of indiscipline

21 Acts of Indiscipline That Your Employees May Create Within Your Organisation
Every act of indiscipline is called misconduct. It is very difficult to prepare an
exhaustive list of all such acts:
1. Disobedience or willful insubordination.

2. Theft, fraud or dishonesty in connection with employer’s goods or property.

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3. Willful damage or loss of employer’s goods or property.

4. Taking or giving any bribes or illegal gratification.

5. Habitual absence without leave or unauthorised absence for more than a certain
number of days.

6. Habitual late attendance.

7. Habitual breach of any law applicable to the establishment.

8. Riotous or disorderly behaviour during working hours at the establishment or any act
subversive of discipline.

9. Habitual negligence or neglect of work or frequent repetition of any act or omission

for which fine may be imposed.

10. Striking work or inciting others to strike in contravention of any law.

11. Adopting go-slow tactics.

12. Collecting or canvassing for the collection of funds for any trade union or canvassing
for its membership during working hours within the company premises.

13. Distributing or exhibiting inside the factory any newspapers, handbills, pamphlets or
posters without the previous sanction of the manager.

14. Refusal to work on another machine of the same type.

15. Holding general meetings inside the factory premises without the previous sanction
of the manager.

16. Disclosing to any unauthorised person any information in regard to the working or
“process” of the factory which comes into the possession of the workman during the
course of his work.

17. Sleeping or dosing while on duty.

18. Refusing to accept a charge sheet, order or other communication.

19. Interfering or tampering with the records of the company.

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20. Conviction by any court of law for any criminal offence involving moral turpitude.

21. Smoking within the factory except in places where smoking is permitted.
Preventive Measures
For disciplining employees certain measures based on principles have to be
adopted for cordial atmosphere at the workplace. The measures adopted for
maintaining discipline should be fair, equitable and acceptable both to
employees and employers.

The following are some of the measures taken for maintaining

discipline at the workplace:
1. The rules and regulations for maintaining discipline should be framed in
consultation with the employees’ representatives.

2. Employees should be given a chance to improve their behaviour. The past

offences as far as possible be condoned after some time.

3. Rules should be made known to employees and they should be reminded

of those rules after regular intervals.

4. Rules should not be made rigid but they should change with time and
changes in the working conditions.

5. There should be uniformity in application of rules. Everybody should be

treated equally before rules.

6. Breach of rules by any employee should not be allowed and rules

breakers should be dealt with firmly.

7. It should be remembered that the aim of rules is to prevent indiscipline

and not to cause harassment to the employees.

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8. The offences of grave concern should be dealt with firmly by appointing a
committee to enquire thoroughly in the matter. The committee should be
un-bias in its dealings.

9. There must be a provision for appeal and disciplinary action taken should
be reviewed if required.

These are the measures that can prevent indiscipline and help in
maintaining discipline.

Health and Safety of Employees in the Workplace

Employers have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of

employees in the workplace. They set

the protocols and make sure the workplace is in compliance with standards.

However, regardless of how many risks and hazards employers minimize,

accidents will continue to happen if workers don’t take responsibility for
their actions.

Safety is a team effort. One employee acting irresponsibly can not only hurt
themself, but other employees as well. Consider that employee collisions are
one of the top causes of injury in the workplace: one person running into
another or an employee running into an object. This is largely a result of
someone being distracted or just not paying attention.

Another common cause of workplace accidents is a trip and fall. Two

primary reasons this happens are, again, someone not paying attention, or
poor housekeeping: people tripping over objects that haven’t been put in
their proper place.

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These and most all other common causes of injuries at work are readily
avoided simply by workers being more mindful and diligent about keeping
the workplace safe.

Workers must understand their role in creating a safe and healthy working
environment and always take that responsibility seriously. Safety is always
the top priority.

Managing Safety and Health

A safety and health system for your business

As an employer, it is your responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. A

safety and health management system, or safety program, can help you focus your
efforts at improving your work environment. Whatever you call it, your plan describes
what the people in your organization do to prevent injuries and illnesses at your
workplace.

Your organization will have its own unique system, reflecting your way of doing
business, the hazards of your work, and how you manage the safety and health of your
employees:

 If you manage a small business in a low-risk industry, your system may simply
involve listening to your employees' concerns and responding to them.
 A large business in a hazardous industry may have notebooks full of written
policies and procedures and a full-time safety director.

What's most important is that your system works for your organization. It's up to you to
decide how best to operate a safe and healthy workplace, and to put your plan into
practice.

What makes a successful system?

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A successful system will be part of your overall business operation, as important as the
other things you do to succeed in business.

Successful safety and health systems have the following in place:

 Managers committed to making the program work.

 Employees involved in the program.
 A system to identify and control hazards.
 Compliance with OSHA regulations.
 Training on safe work practices.
 Mutual respect, caring and open communication in a climate conducive to
safety.
 Continuous improvement .

Take a look at your safety and health system. Some components may be strong and
others may need to be strengthened. The following sections describe these key factors
and give ideas about how to make them part of your program. And remember, if you
operate one of many thousands of small businesses in Maine, your system can be
simple and largely informal.

Use the following as a practical guide and adapt it to your needs. Because small
businesses often cannot afford in-house safety and health professionals, you may need
help setting up your system. You can call SafetyWorks! --- our services are free and
confidential. Your workers' compensation insurance provider, your industry organization,
or a private consultant may also be able to help.

I. Make a commitment

Put as much energy into your commitment to safety and health as you put into any other
important part of your business. Make sure to include workplace safety and health in
your business plan and integrate it into all facets of the business.

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  Write a policy that emphasizes the importance you place on workplace safety
and health.
 Commit the resources (time, money, personnel) needed to protect your
employees.
 Begin meetings with a safety topic.
 Encourage employee participation in safety and health.
 Let employees know they will be expected to follow safe work practices if they
work for your business. And follow them yourself.
 Respond to all reports of unsafe or unhealthy conditions or work practices.
 If injuries or illnesses occur, make it your business to find out why.
 Go beyond the regulations; address all hazards, whether or not they are covered
by laws.

II. Involve employees

In a safe and healthy workplace, employees have a stake in the success of the program
--- safety and health is everyone's responsibility. Actively encourage employee
involvement if you want your program to succeed. Hold people accountable and makes
sure everyone does their part.

 Establish an active workplace safety and health safety committee.

 Make daily safety inspections part of some employees' jobs.
 Keep employees informed about safety inspections, injury and illness statistics,
and other safety-related issues.
 Give everyone a meaningful activity that supports safety.
 Value employee input and feedback. Employees often know more about safety
problems and solutions than managers do.
 Make sure employees help review and improve the program.
 Hold employees accountable
o Include safety and health responsibilities in job descriptions. Make
following safe work practices part of performance evaluation.
o Set safety goals and hold everyone accountable.

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 o Discipline employees who behave in ways that could harm themselves or
other.
o Establish a clear system for reporting hazards, injuries, illnesses and close
calls.
o Recognize employees who contribute to keeping the workplace safe and
healthy.

III. Identify and control hazards

Before you can control hazards you need to know what the hazards are. Here are some
ways to identify safety and health hazards:

 Review records of accidents, injuries, illnesses, and close calls

 review OSHA logs, first aid logs, workers' compensation reports, complaints, and
close calls
 look for trends or common factors in
o kinds of injuries or illnesses
o parts of body
o time of day/shift
o location
o equipment
o protective equipment
o department
 Survey employees
 Review inspection reports from enforcement inspections, insurance surveys, or
consultations.
 Learn the OSHA regulations that have to do with your workplace.
 Inspect your workplace for safety and health problems, current and
potential. SafetyWorks! consultants can help you survey your workplace.
o Use checklists to locate dangerous conditions.
o Watch employees work to spot unsafe work practices.
o Perform Job Hazard Analysis.

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 o Conduct air and noise sampling where exposures exist.

Once you know the hazards, you can decide how to control them.

 Prioritize the hazards you found

o Which are most likely to cause serious injury or illness?
o Which can you fix immediately?
o Do you have to make long term plans to correct some of the hazards?
 Make a plan for correcting the hazards
o Conduct job hazard analysis to identify how best to correct the hazards
o Find out best practices from companies in your industry
 Correct the hazards
o Engineering controls eliminate the hazards through safe tools, facilities,
and equipment. These are the best controls.
o Administrative controls don't remove the hazards; they reduce exposure
by changing the work practices. For instance, rotating workers, rest
breaks, training programs.
o Personal protective equipment puts a barrier between the employee and
the hazard, using, for example, gloves or safety shoes. If you use personal
protective equipment, you have to assess the hazard beforehand and train
employees the right way to use the equipment.
 Evaluate the changes to make sure they have corrected the problem and not
created other hazards. And periodically re-survey the work environment and work
practices..

V. Train Employees

Train personnel about the hazards they may be exposed to at work and how to protect
themselves. Keep records of all training. Provide:

 General safety orientation for new employees and employees starting new jobs,
including company safety regulations and emergency procedures.

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  Specific training on the hazards of their jobs and how to do their jobs safely.
(Many OSHA standards include specific training requirements)
 Retraining
o As required by the standards
o When jobs change
o When employees return from long absence
o As needed to ensure employees know how to do their jobs safely.

VI. Support a culture of safety

Workers hold safety as a value; they actively care about themselves and others.
Mutual respect is the norm.

 Establish effective two-way communication. Respond to the needs and concerns

of workers.
 Make sure management goes beyond the regulations to ensure a safe
workplace.
 Encourage workers to go "beyond the call of duty" to ensure a safe workplace.
 Support a work environment that fosters trust, creativity, and general well-being.
 Celebrate your success with SHARP or other recognition programs.

VII. Continually improve your system

Review your program's strengths and weaknesses. Does it accurately reflect how
you want to manage safety and health?

 Use OSHA's Safety and Health Program Assessment Worksheet to find out how
you're doing.
 Review annually and as needed
 Investigate accidents, injuries, illnesses and close calls as they occur.
 Conduct frequent (daily, weekly as needed) inspections of specific equipment
and processes.
 Evaluate your injury and illness statistics

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  Document all your safety efforts.
 Change analysis: Review new and changed processes, materials, facilities and
equipment for hazards
 Ensure hazard correction systems are in place and working
 Evaluate effectiveness of training
 Listen to your staff: Do employees know the hazards of their jobs and how to
work safely? Are managers enforcing safe work practices and praising safe
behavior?

10 reasons why health and safety is important

Why is it important?

It’s good to know the benefits, so we’ve listed 10 reasons why health and
safety is important.

1. It is morally right to ensure your workers return home safe and healthy at
the end of every working day.
2. By protecting your workers, you reduce absences, ensuring that your
workplace is more efficient and productive.
3. Research shows that workers are more productive in workplaces that are
committed to health and safety.
4. Reducing down-time caused by illness and accidents means less disruption –
and saves your business money.
5. In some countries, health and safety legislation is criminal law and you
are legally obliged to comply with it. Legal breaches can result in
prosecution, fines and even imprisonment of senior executives.
6. To attract investors and partnerships you may need to demonstrate your
commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility, which will
include how you protect your workers.
7. Increasingly, customers want to buy products and services that are
produced ethically – so you also need to think about the work practices

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 throughout your supply chain and deal only with ethical suppliers that
protect their workforce.
8. More and more, job hunters – particularly Millennials and Generation Z
– seek roles with employers who share their values, so without strong
corporate responsibility and sustainability practices you may struggle to
attract or retain the best employees.
9. A good health and safety record is a source of competitive advantage: it
builds trust in your reputation and brand, while poor health and safety
performance will directly affect profitability and can result in loss of trade or
even closure of the business.
10. Good health and safety at work secures long-term benefits for
you, your business and the wider community.

Five things you can do to improve health and safety in your

workplace

1. Find out more about risk management – you can find information on this
through our website or other credible sources.
2. Lead from the top. Workers are much more likely to get involved and comply
with controls if senior management make it clear that health and safety is
taken seriously by your business. Actively discourage negative behaviours
such as taking risks to save time or effort.
3. Improve health and safety competence in your business. IOSH
provides training courses to meet your needs at all levels.
4. Get your workers involved in risk assessment: this will increase ‘buy-in’ and
ownership of their own health and safety. Set up health and safety
representatives, and if they are already established, support them more
visibly.
5. Implement a health and safety management system for your business. This
should include an overall policy setting out your commitment, responsibilities
allocated to individuals and your arrangements detailing how you will

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actually control your risks. The UK’s Health and Safety Executive publishes
its freely-available standard HSG 65 ‘Managing for health and safety’ or
there is the international standard ISO 45001.

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