While sometimes overlooked or undervalued, workplace policies are an extremely important part of an organization. Properly drafted policies can make a major difference in the efficient operation of a business.

Practically speaking, a comprehensive policy helps everyone in the workplace, including the employer, to be able to perform the duties and responsibilities of their position. A policy can act like a road map that assists in keeping staff on the same page as they strive to collaborate and work together in an organization. Policies help employers remain consistent when dealing with employees and provide a solid reference tool as they face day to day operations, as well as more specific but less occurring issues such as harassment and violence in the workplace. Workplace policies provide guidance, consistency, accountability, efficiency, and clarity on how the organization operates and how it should respond. Some situations in the workplace are not easy to navigate, but having a clear, user-friendly and legally accurate policy will help all involved as they work to resolve issues as they arise.  

Having clear and user-friendly employment policies can help mitigate risk for employers and increase workplace safety, especially if employees are properly trained and familiar with the policies. Let's use a practical example to illustrate this point. In the event of an emergency, stress levels can be high and it can be difficult to know what to do. An emergency protocol policy may really come in handy for employees on the ground level. It is unlikely that each employee will calmly pull out the policy guide and follow it step by step in the event of a fast-paced emergency, however, if employees have read and reviewed the policy before hand, they are much more likely to know how to respond generally to the situation, and if they have the chance, they will know where to go to find important information about who to contact and how to proceed. After an emergency, a policy will also provide information about support measures that are available and what protocol to follow to wrap up any loose ends.

For the most effective workplace policies, once the draft of the policies are completed and approved by management, an employer should seek the input of their employees. If employees provide input, they may be more inclined to follow the policies. It is important that policies be embraced by the employees, and specifically the middle management and upper management who need to enforce them. Otherwise, they will likely sit on the shelf collecting dust. This would be an unfortunate expenditure of time and money of an employer.

Employment contracts and employment policies go hand in hand. Both regulate the employment relationship. Typically, an organization's policies are also incorporated by reference into the employment contract. That being said, having new contracts without new policies that take into account the content of the employment contract, weakens the position of an employer in that some clauses will be missed in either the employment contracts or the employment policies. The two documents need to work together and fit together cohesively to effectively protect the interests of the employer.  

Policies are not one-size-fits-all. Not all employers are alike and different organizations face different prevalent issues. For policies to be effective, they need to fit the organization like a glove. This is one major reason why downloading generic policies from the internet, or requesting a policy manual from a template source will likely not aid your organization in a practical sense. Because each organization operates differently, it is important to have specific policies drafted that actually meet your organization's needs and are relevant to your workplace.

It is important to note that if your organization is governed federally by the Canada Labour Code (the “CLC”), your policies must comply with the CLC and not the Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”) which is an Act that governs provincial organizations. Any policy that is not in compliance with the CLC will be null and void. A common error occurs when employers decide to forgo retaining a lawyer to draft their policies and have either the HR department or an HR service provider draft the policies. It is not to say that these options are not knowledgeable and experienced in drafting policies, but without the legal understanding of a lawyer, they often incorporate laws or concepts that are found in the ESA rather than the CLC or they pick and choose which laws they want to include. This is not permitted. If you are a federally regulated employer, you have no choice but to follow the Canada Labour Code and if you are a provincially regulated employer, again you have no choice but to follow the Employment Standards Act. A lack of true understanding and familiarity with the intricacies of each Act, and which applies to different employers, can lead to policies that are null and void which may increase risk for an employer and result in costly consequences down the road. In addition, certain policies are actually legally required of employers. For example, under the new Bill C-65, federally regulated employers are required to have a Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy in place in their organization. Those federally regulated employers who have not done so as of December 31^st, 2021 may face costly consequences for non-compliance.

At SDLaw, because our lawyers focus their practice in employment law, we are more familiar with the ins and outs of both pieces of legislation and can accurately draft policies that fit your organization's needs whether provincially or federally regulated. To learn more about the major differences between the ESA and the CLC, and about federal and provincial regulation, check out our blog post entitled “ESA or CLC- What's the Big Difference”.

If you would like to know more about policies or are interested in the assistance of our lawyers please reach out to our firm at 705-268-6492 or by email at info@sdlawtimmins.com.