Employee Handbook: Nondiscrimination Issues Research Paper

Introduction

Issues regarding impartiality and equal chance have for decades been part of the international community’s key principles. These issues are enshrined by the organization in collective doctrines of human rights, essential freedoms and equality. In today’s up-and-coming workplaces, firms set out to be industrial leaders, leading precedents in corporate social responsibility and builders of a prolific and diverse workforce must address issues of unfairness in their places of work (Befort, 2009).

Organizations that do this successfully act resolutely to keep discriminatory practices at bay. They do so by creating conditions for diversity, equal opportunity and proper treatment. During their service, they strife to go beyond what is required of them by the state law (Morell, 2005). Employers who adopt such approaches may gain a number of business advantages. For instance, these benefits may include penetration of new marketplaces, improved worker spirits and wider pool of labor endowment. In addition, they are likely to enjoy reduced exposure to lawful challenges, and reputational benefits.

Non-discrimination Issues Addressed

Discrimination can take many forms. This form of vice may affect new employees as well as old members of staff in an institution. This means that it may affect recruitment as well as other exercises such as staff evaluation. It may be direct or indirect. Usually, discrimination crops up in a range of workplace sectors and cultural settings (Selwyn, 2008). Most if not all discrimination issues crop up in a variety of job-related situations. These include admittance to service of particular occupations and admission to training, vocational guidance and support. These issues can further occur with respect to the stipulations and circumstances of employment law defining: payment, hours of work, paid holidays, maternity leave, security of occupancy, progression, societal security, work-related wellbeing and job protection. Issues relating to harassment and oppression must also be addressed (Morris, 2005).

Payment and promotion issues involve decisions on how employees are paid and the promotion standards which may be open to skewing, manipulation and discrimination. Evaluation of employees by managers may also be prejudiced, including the rewarding criteria of some employees. This may take the form of gender discrimination whereby male employees in the organization turn out to be more favored than their female counterparts. Nonetheless, matters relating to dismissal for cause can’t escape attention. Whereas there may be nothing innately discriminatory about dismissing a member of staff for good reason, employers should make sure policies and procedures are in place to ensure such dismissals are not a mask for bias practices (Honeyball, 2008).

Honeyball (2008) attests that in the same way, preferences can be made during hiring and promotion; the same can also be said for training and development. It’s therefore vital for employers of the organization to consider this issue because in future, any of them may be denied the opportunity of getting a promotion on a biased ground, probably based on preparations and credentials.

Harassment at the workplace needs attention, especially where there is gender, racial or other tensions. Women employees in particular are exposed to prevalent harassment. In order to efficiently take part in the labor force and avoid unfairness, it is essential for these female staff to receive certain protections in relation to childbirth, provision of maternal care and her role as a wife.

A guiding principle of ‘no retaliation’ is well defined in the organization. Honesty and good faith reporting of a situation potentially concerning scam, abuse or a violation of the organization’s policies, dealings and practices is a duty of the entire workforce (McColgan, 2005). Such reporting should not put the employee’s job at risk. Reprisal or harassment of an employee for such reporting should not be tolerated either.

Organization’s Position in Response to Non-discrimination Issues

The organization needs to establish a detailed internal complaint procedure to help determine claims and complaints of discrimination, unfair aggravation and reprisals. The discrimination complaint procedure will also serve as a system of review and resolution for both informal claims and formal complaints of whatever discriminatory nature in the workplace.

Providing a safe and free work environment should be the organization’s desire.

As a result, unofficial possession or use of weapons, fireworks or any other threatening equipment by an employee while engaged in the organization’s business should be highly prohibited.

The organization needs to have in place a workplace violence policy. Each of its employees should feel that the working environment is free from cruel and violent actions. Therefore, the organization needs to adopt a zero-tolerance guiding principle in relation to all intimidation, hostile behavior, and acts of brutality directed toward any individual (Selwyn, 2008). Violations of this policy by any employee will not be tolerated and will lead to punitive action.

How Non-discrimination Policy will Enhance Morale and Professionalism

Nondiscrimination to any staff member is geared towards ensuring the morale of all staff is always boosted and that everyone gives their best. Improved morale among all employees will also be effectively maintained through proper compensation procedures coupled with a sound system to reward exemplary performance. This needs to be done through monitoring the above mentioned steps to ensure caregivers in the institution are fair and just in their undertakings. In addition, these procedures will help the organization in eliminating prejudice tendencies because some care givers under the organization umbrella are biased in evaluating performance appraisals based on individual preference. The staff rules on employee operations also need to be reevaluated to factor in important areas of employee performance such as overtime compensation or flexibility in working hours.

Employees should also be in a position to strike a balance between allocation of time for work and time to cater for personal commitments. This should however be done with the assistance of the employer because he/she should be rational enough to cater for the interests of the employee as well as the organization’s. The organization’s management systems should also ensure that all its employees who request for such considerations are not intimidated or castigated by their managerial team in any way. Flexibility in working arrangements is, however, diverse. For instance, the employer should permit the employer to work for say six hours in a range of reporting time say from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. The same form of flexibility can also be observed in work-week schedules where the organization’s management and the employee(s) can agree to work in fixed week schedules of say 8 hours each day per a week to 10 hours a day in a week.

State and Federal Laws Regarding Non-discrimination

State, federal and local laws do not always forbid prejudice based on gender identity or sexual orientation (Befort, 2009). Even though many states and municipalities have enacted laws applying to their jurisdictions, this organization has enacted its own non-discrimination regulations to help guarantee consistent expectations right through its operations. Federal law stipulates that employers should not discriminate on the grounds of race, skin color, faith, gender, nationality, age or disability.

Ethical Considerations Involved in the Design of this Handbook

This consideration is intended primarily for structuring a multifaceted guide of relations involving individual employee, all employees in the organization, vested interests in the workplace and the surrounding community at a broader perspective (Selwyn, 2008). These relations should ensure all parties exist in harmony without infringement on each other’s right.

Conclusion

Both non-discrimination and equivalent chance provisions for any person are embedded in the standard that all employment decisions by the organization’s authorities are based on the capability of an individual to do the job in question without reference to individual characteristics unrelated to the inherent requirements of the work. On the contrary, bias in employment can be defined as any form of distinction, barring or partiality of an individual which has the effect of nullifying or impairing fairness of chance or treatment in workplace or occupation. It is also made on the ground of personal characteristics, including race, skin color, sex, and religious conviction of concerned persons. In addition, bias may be based on a person’s political opinion, nationality, age, or even sexual orientation.

References

1. Befort, S. (2009). Invisible Hands, Invisible Objectives: Bringing Workplace Law and Public Policy into Focus. New York: Stanford University Press.
2. Honey ball, S. (2008). Honey ball and Bowers’ Textbook on Employment Law. London: Oxford University Press.
3. McColgan, A. (2005). Labour Law, Cases, Texts and Materials. San Francisco: Hart Publishing.
4. Morell, A. (2005). Labor and Employment: Workplace Warzone. Washington DC: Georgetown University Thesis.
5. Morris, G. (2005). Labour Law. San Francisco: Hart Publishing.
6. Selwyn, N. (2008). Selwyn’s Law of Employment. London: Oxford University Press.