Company Policies
KP68
164 Posts
If a company (not mine!) tells an employee that they "don't hand out policy manuals to employees" what happens if an employee is fired for "excessive absences" for example? I know that at-will employment is a factor here, but what if the employee is not aware of the 'excessive absence' policy? Could this be a wrongful termination?
Also, is it a legal issue if they don't hand them out?
Just curious as to what your thoughts are on this.
Also, is it a legal issue if they don't hand them out?
Just curious as to what your thoughts are on this.
Comments
In disciplining or terminating an employee, a critical issue is whether the emplyee was put on notice about the employer's policy, requirement, expectation that aren't reasonably expected to be known (e.g., using telephone for personal business as compared to shooting your supervisor) and the consequences for violating it. A policy minimally does that.
In the absence of a written policy that can be referred to by the superviosr and reviewed by the employee, it becomes a matter of individual notice issued by a supervisor or manager to a particular employee when a problem first begins. Thus, if there is no policy on tardiness, for example, it becomes very important that the supervisor bring to the employee's attention the unaccpetability of tardiness, what donstiutes tardiness, and the consequences if the tardiness continues (these things should be done even if there is a policy, however). Even in "at will" employment, for an employer to fire an employee for engaging in prohibited behavior, without ever having put the employee on reasonable notice of the unacceptability of that behavior and the consequences for engaging in it, smacks of capriciousness and unfairness. It is possible that the employee could get the discharge overturned in a wrongful termination suit.
Regarding retaliation, usually that refers to a "whistleblower" reporting "possible wrongdoing" to an appropriate governmental agency or an employee's use of a procedure that is established by the employer -- e.g., a grievance procedure. Repeatedly seeking a policy manual which is known not to exist is not generally protected activity under various federal and state laws on retaliation (but perhaps it could be in some states).
Good luck to this company!
That is why I would be concerned because there is no initial definition.
Any other thoughts now that it's clarified?
LFernandes
Most companies, however, feel the need for guidance for employees and repercussions when they don't follow the "rules". I remember the days when an employee handbook was unheard of - you simply came to work, did your job and didn't cause trouble. "Excessive" absences was when you did not show up for work and you had better have a darn good excuse for why you weren't there. Your boss was the determining factor on whether this was a good excuse or not. If you failed to show up or called in too many times (and this was the boss's call),it was his perogative to determine if he retained you.
Now, the more rules/policies you have, the more fodder it is for employees to look for loopholes to get through them and thus, more rules to counteract this....anyway I digress.
To answer your question about how you determine if an absence is "excessive", I would think a supervisor would have had to give a disciplinary of some type, even if verbal stating to an employee that he has been out too much and expect the behavior to be corrected. In the absence of this, "excessive" is open to interpretation by the employee.