Employee misconduct is one of the most complex areas that employers and Human Resources must navigate. The purpose of a workplace code of conduct is to remove any confusion about how to handle misconduct in the work environment.
This is done by establishing standards of appropriate behaviour and consequences for breaches. An employee code of conduct policy also provides legal protections in the case of unfair dismissal claims.
What is an employee code of conduct?
An employee code of conduct is an important document that clearly sets out expectations for employee behaviour and underpins a positive company culture.
A code of conduct provides guiding principles for employees and often refers to other company policies in place.
“Often a code of conduct can encompass a whole lot of other policies around bullying and sexual harassment…under the title of Code of Conduct,” says Alex Hattingh, Chief People Officer at Employment Hero. “It nicely summarises what is expected of employees.”
How do you write an employee code of conduct?
A code of conduct for employees must tick a range of boxes. It must comply with relevant legislation. The code of conduct should be written in concise, easy-to-understand language and stored in locations that are easily accessible to all company employees.
If you have an employment management software like Employment Hero in place, these company policies will be stored in the cloud and can be accessed by employees at any time.
Just like any workplace policy, an employee code of conduct policy should be communicated to all staff. Employees should then sign off on the code of conduct after receiving comprehensive training in its contents.
The Queensland Government’s Business Queensland website offers a useful overview of what a code of conduct for employees should include:
- Ethical principles reflecting the organisation’s commitment to ethics, integrity, and quality that underpin workplace behaviour;
- The company values;
- Accountability (taking responsibility for your own actions, ensuring the appropriate use of information, exercising diligence and duty of care obligations and avoiding conflicts of interest);
- Standard of conduct (complying with the job description, commitment to the organisation, and appropriate use of digital devices, internet and email);
- Standard of practice (current policies and operational procedures); and
- Disciplinary actions including complaints handling and specific penalties for any violation of the code.
The code of conduct should reflect the workplace culture, company core values, and address the relevant risk areas for the organisation as well as provide guidelines on reporting procedures for unethical conduct.
Consider including conduct examples of what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate behaviour to clarify issues that are ambiguous or prone to risk. The code of conduct should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure it complies with relevant legislation and best practice.
Read more: Managing conflicts in the work environment
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Code of conduct in action
An employee code of conduct should be enforced with consistency and fairness. In the case of a breach of the code, the severity of disciplinary action should match the misconduct.
To avoid unfair dismissal claims, extra training, formal and informal warnings can be offered before an employer resorts to termination of employment on the grounds of misconduct.
Code of conduct example
In 2019, the Fair Work Commission ordered a Sydney electrical contractor to rehire an employee who had been fired for becoming extremely intoxicated and behaving inappropriately at a work function.
While the company felt her conduct had breached its code, the commissioner found that the penalty had been “harsh, unreasonable and unjust”.
Read more: Establishing a work-related social events policy
Another code of conduct example
When followed correctly, an employee workplace code of conduct can help remove ambiguity around what constitutes misconduct and what doesn’t.
A former Sydney Trains worker lost his job after he sent a lewd unsolicited photograph to his colleague’s phone.
When the worker appealed his employer’s decision to terminate his employment, the Fair Work Commission found that his behaviour “overstepped the boundaries of acceptable conduct” and, as a result, his dismissal was justified.
Read more: The statistics around sexual harassment in the office
The wrap up
As you can see from the examples above, an employee code of conduct is a crucial part of setting expectations around the behaviour in the workplace and can be an important legal document in the event of misconduct.
But it’s important to note that the code of conduct must be clear, reasonable and consistently enforced to be effective.
Otherwise, the ambiguity in the code of conduct can lead to costly and time-consuming disputes down the track.
To help remove this ambiguity around misconduct, be sure to download our Essential Guide to HR Compliance.
The essential guide to HR compliance
