Policies & Code of Conduct

Policies & Code of Conduct

You may have seen the article last week re Cotton On’s code of conduct which requires employees to uphold the company’s values in their interactions with staff and customers, or face disciplinary action, including counselling, warnings and instant dismissal.

This included, among other things, “keeping it real”.

The key issue is – how do you measure/enforce a standard that appears somewhat ambiguous?

The message for employers is their policies and codes of conduct must not use a lot of jargon, buzz words or ambiguous language.

If the policy is too ambiguous or excessively onerous, it has the potential of the employer to dismiss employees that can lead to unfair dismissal complications.

Summary – with HR Central we can assist in the reviewing of your policies to ensure they do not impose unreasonable obligations and also so they are set out in a way an employee can understand what they mean and the consequences of not meeting the standards.

Michael O'Shaughnessy

Michael is a specialist in all things HR. With vast HR experience in the USA and Australia, Michael brings a wealth of knowledge and advice to HR Central. When he's not blogging for HR Central you can find him out for dinner in one of Melbourne's newest restaurants.

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