English in the Workplace??Can we require it?

denisek

We are in a financial insitituion and have a few Hispanic employees who have the need to speak Spanish to our Hispanic customers. When no customers are present these employees continue to speak Spanish among themselves. The supervisor can not understand them or observe conversations to verify they are business related and fall within expected performance guidelines. Can we require employees to speak English unless they need to communicate with a non english speaking customer?

Paul in Cannon Beach

Denise, this topic has come up on the forum at different times and you might find some useful information if you run a search.

My thinking is that your reasons for requiring english are legitimate and business related. What I would advise employees is that english is the designated language for all business communication within the workplace. Exceptions to speaking english should only be made in limited situations. For example, a non-native english speaker might need to clarify how to say a word in their own language. However, those situations should be brief and limited.

I think that is a very reasonable expectation.

Sharon McKnight SPHR

Requiring "English only" for legitimate business needs is acceptable, but refrain from requiring English during breaks, in rest rooms, parking lots, etc.

Sharon