Most people don’t mind having a set of rules to live by and work under; it’s the way our society functions. Rules are also an important part of good business management. If you clearly state the rules of your workplace in writing and make sure they’re understood by everyone on your team, you will greatly reduce the chance for disputes or disagreements eventuating.
If you haven’t already got a basic set of rules for your business this is a good time to start putting them together. The set of rules should tell your people what they are expected to do in relation to their jobs and to the business. It’s not about the duties in their position descriptions - it needs to cover those aspects of workplace behavior and culture that apply to everybody in the organisation. Your rules should be clearly stated, directly related to the business, reasonable and lawful, and impartially enforced. Rules that are ambiguous, discriminatory or that are inadequately enforced will only lead to problems and disputes.
Follow applicable legislation
Every workplace is covered by legislation, ranging from laws concerning workplace safety to basic rates of pay. These vary somewhat from one jurisdiction to another, but whatever rules you want to institute in your workplace must comply with all other overriding legislation.
There is a good tool for producing and printing a written statement of employment on the Business Link website.
Protect yourself and the business
Rules can help protect a business from legal and financial liabilities by providing a code that defines what’s acceptable and what isn’t. If an employee willfully disobeys a rule that’s intended to protect them from harming themselves or others, the employer’s liability may be reduced or eliminated if the employee’s actions cause an injury. In the same way, an employee who is dismissed for bullying or threatening others at work may not be seen by a court to have been treated unfairly if they had been made aware that such behavior was against the rules of the business.
The way rules are enforced can directly affect a business and its owner. An employer who is aware of violations to either applicable workplace legislation or the rules set by the business, yet does nothing about the situation, may be held liable for any consequences of the rules being broken.
Create a better workplace
Applying appropriate rules can create a better atmosphere at work. Having rules that promote safety, security and mutual respect between members of the team can go a long way toward making your workplace safer and happier. Removing the possibility of confusion or conflict is always beneficial to the work environment.
Where to put rules in place
There are three areas that are especially important when establishing rules in any business:
1. Socially unacceptable behavior – rules should cover the prohibition of, and possible disciplinary consequences for, unacceptable behavior such as bullying and the use of profanity.
2. Illegal behavior – rules should restate applicable legislation, such as that which prohibits racial vilification, mistreatment of religious minorities, unsafe actions and theft. Illegal behaviour should always be reported to the appropriate authorities for your own protection.
3. Behaviour that affects the business – rules need to cover the business’ specific requirements for workplace behavior, including areas like your smoking policy, as well as policies regarding sick leave, non-disclosure of intellectual property and acceptable use of company property.
An unstructured workplace environment is not good for productivity. As an employer you may have complete confidence that every member of your team will behave themselves and do exactly as they should while at work, but only a set of written rules will offer you some protection should things ever go wrong.
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