Fundamentals of codes of conduct in companies
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2024 4:33 am
Codes of conduct or internal operating rules aim to guide the behavior of the members of a company, both in their relationships with each other and with clients, suppliers, superiors and/or in the way in which tasks are approached.
Its main purpose is to avoid conflicts, although it also helps us to define the rights and obligations of the parties in a very specific way, promoting good practices, setting a quality standard and limiting work behaviors that harm safety and a good working environment.
Do we need a code of conduct?
Every employment relationship is governed by legislation, which guarantees the basic rights and obligations of the company and its employees, although not all conduct is regulated in a precise and concrete manner, giving employers a certain degree of freedom. In other words, a code of conduct will never have a higher rank than a law, but it can complement it if it does not contradict it.
A small business may not feel that establishing a code of conduct is important, but it may be appropriate if employees are not displaying appropriate behaviour in relation communication email list to the standards that the employer has tried to establish. For example, if they do not comply with dress code rules or if they use their mobile phones at times and in areas that are not permitted.
On the other hand, the code legally protects the company in cases of dismissal for non-compliance with the same (seriously or repeatedly as established) and allows sanctions to be imposed, always within logical margins.
We must not forget that it can improve safety and the work environment, since employees themselves will clearly know which behaviors are good and which are bad from the company's perspective, strengthening the image of the project by homogenizing correct behaviors.
Despite all this, we should not understand a code of conduct as an immutable element, but rather as a guide that must evolve to adapt as best as possible to current events. For example, the use of the Internet may have been altered in many companies with the introduction of social networks. Some may consider it important to regulate their use.
Its main purpose is to avoid conflicts, although it also helps us to define the rights and obligations of the parties in a very specific way, promoting good practices, setting a quality standard and limiting work behaviors that harm safety and a good working environment.
Do we need a code of conduct?
Every employment relationship is governed by legislation, which guarantees the basic rights and obligations of the company and its employees, although not all conduct is regulated in a precise and concrete manner, giving employers a certain degree of freedom. In other words, a code of conduct will never have a higher rank than a law, but it can complement it if it does not contradict it.
A small business may not feel that establishing a code of conduct is important, but it may be appropriate if employees are not displaying appropriate behaviour in relation communication email list to the standards that the employer has tried to establish. For example, if they do not comply with dress code rules or if they use their mobile phones at times and in areas that are not permitted.
On the other hand, the code legally protects the company in cases of dismissal for non-compliance with the same (seriously or repeatedly as established) and allows sanctions to be imposed, always within logical margins.
We must not forget that it can improve safety and the work environment, since employees themselves will clearly know which behaviors are good and which are bad from the company's perspective, strengthening the image of the project by homogenizing correct behaviors.
Despite all this, we should not understand a code of conduct as an immutable element, but rather as a guide that must evolve to adapt as best as possible to current events. For example, the use of the Internet may have been altered in many companies with the introduction of social networks. Some may consider it important to regulate their use.