Allowing flexibility in policies
junebug
25 Posts
How does one legally write a policy that will allow management flexibility in handling employees? Employees are different, and we should be able to treat them accordingly. For example: I have an older exempt employee (who puts in exactly 40 hr weeks) who feels cheated because she receives only two weeks vacation per year while another employee who consistently works extra hours is allowed three weeks. Also another employee (myself) was given additional weeks not allowed in the policy manual as a condition of hiring. Simply stating that management has total discretion will probably not fly if sued. Any suggestions?
By the way, this is not just about vacation, but also about accounting for differences between employees in implementing policy.
Comments
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
The key is exercising common sense when exceptions are made and whether or not there are rational reasons for making the exception.
Do you begin to see why some of your employees might find your "flexibility" to be unfair? I see nothing wrong with rewarding an especially hard working and productive employee with an occasional "day off with pay", but to call that "vacation" only confuses the message you are trying sending to others.
On the other hand, your policy should include some level of flexibility to be able to recognize special documented and verifiable circumstances. For instance, I have 23+ years of work experience in Human Resources. When I joined my current employer, I negotiated an extra week's vacation entitlement, based upon that experience level. As the HR Manager, I would encourage my employer to consider vountariliy offering anyone with a like experience level in their field, the extra week's vacation in the future, should the situation arise. The key thing here is that a) I negotiated this benefit with the President of the company, 2) we documented the circumstances, and 3) we will use it as precedent in the future. Even I can not unilaterally offer a prospective employee "extra" vacation even with similar circumstances. I must go to the President and obtain approval before acting. Your policy and practice should include the same sort of controls.