Workplace Policies

Contents:

●      Confidentiality and data protection

●      Harassment and violence

○      Workplace harassment

○      Workplace violence

●      Workplace safety and health

○      Preventative action

○      Emergency management

○      Smoking

○      Drug-free workplace

Workplace policies: safety, health and confidentiality

This section describes workplace policies that apply to everyone at our company: employees, contractors, volunteers, vendors and stakeholders alike. These policies help us build a productive, lawful and pleasant workplace.

Confidentiality and data protection

We want to ensure that private information about clients, employees, partners and our company is well-protected. Examples of confidential information are:

●      Employee records

●      Unpublished financial information

●      Data of customers/partners/vendors

●      Customer lists (existing and prospective)

●      Unpublished goals, forecasts and initiatives marked as confidential

As part of our hiring process, we may ask you to sign non-compete and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs.) We are also committed to:

●      Restrict and monitor access to sensitive data.

●      Develop transparent data collection procedures.

●      Train employees in online privacy and security measures.

●      Build secure networks to protect online data from cyberattacks.

●      Establish data protection practices (e.g. secure locks, data encryption, frequent backups, access authorization.)

We also expect you to act responsibly when handling confidential information.

You must:

●      Lock or secure confidential information at all times.

●      Shred confidential documents when they’re no longer needed.

●      Make sure you view confidential information on secure devices only.

●      Only disclose information to other employees when it’s necessary and authorized.

●      Keep confidential documents inside our company’s premises unless it’s absolutely necessary to move them.

You must not:

●      Use confidential information for your personal benefit or profit.

●      Disclose confidential information to anyone outside of our company.

●      Replicate confidential documents and files and store them on insecure devices.

This policy is important for our company’s legality and reputation. We will terminate any employee who breaches our confidentiality guidelines for personal profit.

We may also discipline any unintentional breach of this policy depending on its frequency and seriousness. We will terminate employees who repeatedly disregard this policy, even when they do so unintentionally.

Harassment and violence

To build a happy and productive workplace, we need everyone to treat others well and help them feel safe. Each of us should do our part to prevent harassment and workplace violence.

Workplace harassment

Harassment is a broad term and may include seemingly harmless actions, like gossip. We can’t create an exhaustive list, but here are some instances that we consider harassment:

●      [Sabotaging someone’s work on purpose.]

●      [Engaging in frequent or unwanted advances of any nature.]

●      [Commenting derogatorily on a person’s ethnic heritage or religious beliefs.]

●      [Starting or spreading rumors about a person’s personal life.]

●      [Ridiculing someone in front of others or singling them out to perform tasks unrelated to their job (e.g. bringing coffee) against their will.]

Sexual harassment is illegal and we will seriously investigate relevant reports. If an employee is found guilty of sexual harassment, they will be terminated.

If you’re being harassed, whether by a colleague, customer or vendor, you can choose to talk to any of these people:

●      Offenders. If you suspect that an offender doesn’t realize they are guilty of harassment, you could talk to them directly in an effort to resolve the harassment. This tactic is appropriate for cases of minor harassment (e.g. inappropriate jokes between colleagues.) Avoid using this approach with customers or stakeholders.

●      Your manager. If customers, stakeholders or team members are involved in your claim, you may reach out to your manager. Your manager will assess your situation and may contact HR if appropriate.

●      HR. Feel free to reach out to our legal department who manage HR, in any case of harassment no matter how minor it may seem. For your safety, contact HR as soon as possible in cases of serious harassment (e.g. sexual advances) or if your manager is involved in your claim. Anything you disclose will remain confidential.

Workplace violence

Violence in our workplace is a serious form of harassment. It includes physical and sexual assault, destruction of property, threats to harm a person or property and verbal and psychological abuse. We want to avoid those incidents altogether, but we also want to be ready to respond if needed.

For this reason, we ask you to:

●      [Report to HR if you suspect or know that someone is being violent. Your report will be confidential and we will investigate the situation with discretion.]

●      [Call our building’s security if you witness incidents of severe physical violence (e.g. ones that involve a lethal weapon.) For your safety, avoid getting involved.]

We will treat employees who verbally threaten others as high risk and they will receive an appropriate penalty. If HR finds that an employee commits an act of violence, we will terminate that employee and possibly press criminal charges. Employees who damage property deliberately will be solely responsible for paying for it.

Get help early on

Seek help from others early on to mitigate conflicts. For example:

●      If you experience conflicts with a colleague, ask your manager for advice before tensions escalate. If these conflicts persist, ask HR whether you could attend conflict resolution seminars with your colleague.

●      If you are experiencing personal or work troubles, ask for help from a [mental health professional.] Check with your insurance provider to determine whether they cover any mental health services or ask HR for information on our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Your discussions will remain confidential.

Our workplace is founded on mutual respect and we won’t allow anyone to compromise this foundation.