Preparing To Use Your Policies

Last week we looked at some of the basic clauses that are expected to be covered in a typical employment policy document.

Of course there will be other provisions that you could include, depending on your specific working environment, culture, and business needs. As long as your policies have not excluded any of the prescriptions in the Employment Act, and as long as your policies do not fall below the limits specified in the Employment Act, you are free to incorporate other provisions according to your appetite for adherence to industry best practice, your budget and your operating realities.  You are free for instance, to allow for alternative working arrangements such as the compressed working week, where the employee could work in the required 40 hours from Monday to Thursday, taking Friday off, or, the flexi-time option, where the 40 hours are worked in at staggered intervals during the week. You see how your policies would embody both the employment law principle of a 40 hour week, while allowing you to offer scope for work-life balance in allowing the employee to work the times that are most convenient for him/her.

What I wanted to emphasize is that the policies should have minimal room for misunderstanding, because then that would defeat the purpose. Remember we previously talked about how policies are meant to bring consistency, equity and harmony in how employer and employee relate? So it is as important to make sure we all know how to interpret the policies as it is to ensure compliance to law and adherence to best practice.

Editor's Comment
Routine child vaccination imperative

The recent Vaccination Day in Motokwe, orchestrated through collaborative efforts between UNICEF, USAID, BRCS, and the Ministry of Health, underscores a commendable stride towards fortifying child health services.The painful reality as reflected by the Ministry of Health's data regarding the decline in routine immunisation coverage since the onset of the pandemic, is a cause for concern.It underscores the urgent need to address the...

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