COGNIZANCE

COMMUNICATIONS

Employee Handbook Policies, Procedures

and Practices

HUMAN RESOURCE DEPT-COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. WELCOMING STATEMENT

2. INTRODUCTION

3. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE & CORE VALUES

4. IN THE WORKPLACE

5. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

6. OFFICE CODE OF CONDUCTS

7. PAYROLL MANAGEMENT

8. LEAVE POLICY

9. PUNCTUALITY POLICY

10. NO-SMOKING POLICY

11. SUBSTANCE & DRUG ABUSE POLICY

12. LAPTOP/DATA SECURITY POLICY

13. WORK ON WEEKENDS/PUBLIC HOLIDAYS COMPENSATION POLICY

14. TRIAL & PROBATION PERIOD POLICY

15. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS

16. DRESS CODE POLICY

17. NOTICE PERIOD POLICY/ Resignations Policy

18. EMPLOYEE EXIT POLICY

19. GRIEVIANCE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

20. DISCIPLINARY ACTION

WELCOMING STATEMENT

Congratulations on your appointment with COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS and welcome to

the team! We are excited that you have decided to join us and look forward to a long, happy
and successful partnership together. We are an energetic and creative team, dedicated to high
standards of performance and excellence. We value and respect each of our employees and
we believe that employees are more satisfied and motivated when they know what they can
 expect from our Company and what it expects from them. The purpose of this Manual is to
introduce you to the COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS, give you some information about our
vision, what we do and company operations. You will also find information about your terms
and conditions and employment, our expectations around your behavior and our policies and
procedures. This handbook, while detailed and comprehensive, can only highlight and
summarize our Company’s policies and procedures. Therefore, for detailed information and
guidance, you should consult your Manager or HR Dept. Please know that we are here to help
and guide you in all matters pertaining to your employment with COGNIZANCE
COMMUNICATIONS. This Manual is by no means an exhaustive guide to your employment
with us. It has been developed to act as a resource and reference for you. This Manual will be
updated as required as our business evolves and grows. You will be notified of any changes as
they occur. If you have any questions about the content or suggestion for ways to improve this
handbook, please do not hesitate to contact HR Manager.

Kind Regards,

HR Dept.
COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS

INTRODUCTION

This handbook is provided for your reference only. It contains information on general policies and
procedures related to different domains including code of conduct, payroll, employee benefits, and
general business policies. The handbook is not a legal document or an employment contract. We expect
each employee to read and follow the policies set forth in this handbook. Please contact your Manager
or Human Resources Department if you have any questions or concerns.

This handbook cannot anticipate every situation regarding your employment. In order to have the
necessary flexibility in the administration of policies and procedures, COGNIZANCE BPO reserves the
right to withdraw or modify this handbook without prior notice to the employee.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE & CORE VALUES

Company Culture

1. Straight Forward

2. Fast paced
 3. Transparency

4. Great people never work for money

5. Designation never matter, authority does.

COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS, Core Values

1. Team Play
2. Leadership
3. Respect
4. Integrity & Honesty
5. Creativity & Innovation
6. Enthusiasm & Reactiveness
7. Growth and Progressiveness
8. Equal Employer Opportunity

IN THE WORKPLACE

Company is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive work environment, free of all forms
of unlawful discrimination, including any type of harassment

1. Respect
The Company’s greatest strength lies in the talent and ability of its associates. Since working in
partnership is vital to the Company’s continued success, mutual respect must be the basis for
all work relationships. Engaging in behavior that ridicules, belittles, intimidates, threatens or
demeans, affects productivity, can negatively impact the Company’s reputation. You are
expected to treat others with the same respect and dignity that any reasonable person may
wish to receive, creating a work environment that is inclusive, supportive and free of
harassment and unlawful discrimination.

2. Equal Employment Opportunity

The talents and skills needed to conduct business successfully are not limited to any particular
group of people. Company has a long-standing commitment to a meaningful policy of equal
 employment opportunity. The Company’s policy is to ensure equal employment and
advancement opportunity for all qualified individuals without distinction or discrimination
because of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and age, national origin, disability,
covered veteran status, marital status or any other unlawful basis. As part of this
commitment, the Company will make reasonable accommodations for applicants and
qualified employees.

3. Protection and Proper Use of Company Assets

Safeguarding and appropriately using Company assets, whether those assets take the form of
paper files, electronic data, computer resources, trademarks or otherwise, is critical.

4. Confidentiality
Company is committed to preserving customer and employee trust. All information, whether
it is business, customer or employee-related, must be treated in a confidential manner, and
disclosing it is limited to those people who have an appropriate business or legal reason to
have access to the information. You need to take special precautions when transmitting
information via e-mail, messages Internet or other media. Remember to treat all such
communications as if they were public documents and printed on letterhead. In addition,
Company meetings are confidential. You may not use audio or video equipment to record
these meetings without the specific prior authorization of the head of your department.

5. Technology
Safeguarding computer resources is critical because the Company relies on technology to
conduct daily business. Company provides electronic mail (e-mail) and Internet access to assist
and facilitate business communications. All information stored, transmitted, received, or
contained in these systems is the Company’s sole property and is subject to its review at any
time. All e-mail and Internet use must be consistent with Company’s policies, practices and
commitment to ensuring a work environment where all persons are treated with respect and
dignity. Because these systems provide access to a worldwide audience, you should act at all
times as if you are representing Company to the public, and should preserve Company’s
system security and protect its name and trademarks. You must act responsibly and adhere to
all laws and Company policies when using e-mail or the Internet. You must use your computer
appropriately in accordance with Company standards and be sure to secure both the
computer and all data from loss, damage or unauthorized access, reporting all instances of
unauthorized access to the Information Technology Department.

6. Administration
6.1 Reporting of Any Illegal or Unethical Behavior; Points of Contact
If you are aware of any illegal or unethical behavior or if you believe that an applicable law,
rule or regulation or policy has been violated, the matter must be promptly reported to your
supervisor or senior management.

Your supervisor is normally the first person you should contact if you have questions about
company rules & regulations or if you believe an employee is violating the law or Company
policy or engaging in conduct that appears unethical. Under some circumstances, it may be
impractical or you may feel uncomfortable raising a matter with your supervisor. In those
instances, you may contact the HR Manager or Office Manager. Furthermore, you should take
care to report violations to a person who you believe is not involved in the alleged violation.

You will be expected to cooperate in assuring that violations are promptly addressed.
Company has a policy of protecting the confidentiality of those making reports of possible
misconduct. In no event will there be any retaliation against someone for reporting an
activity that he or she in good faith believes to be a violation of any law, rule, regulation,
internal policy. Any supervisor intimidating or imposing sanctions on someone for reporting a
matter will be disciplined up to and including termination.
 BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

1. Work Areas
As many employees work in an open plan area, it is important that your workstation and
or desk remain clean and tidy and free of trash, papers and unnecessary items. Our
expectation is that your workstation will be cleared and tidied at the end of every day. Any
items that require storage should be put away, hard copy paper files should be kept to a
 minimum, with soft copies of files stored on the relevant computer or shared drive
electronically.

2. Security
Employees must ensure that all confidential/sensitive documents or belongings are
secured. You should make sure that your personal belongings and valuables secured. Loss
of any personal property is not the responsibility of company. There is one emergency exit
which goes through main floor on left hand side. The emergency exit door is in Cafeteria
at the left-end corner.

3. Kitchen and Bathrooms

Please keep the kitchen and bathroom areas clean at all times, cleaning up after use. You
should be mindful that these are public areas and you should be respectful to others by
always cleaning up after yourself. If you use dishes, then put them immediately after use
in the kitchen so office boy can wash and keep your desks utensils -free. If there are any
issues with these facilities, you should notify Office Manager or HR Dept. immediately.

4. Meeting Rooms

Meeting rooms can be used for all kind off official purposes such as department meetings, Skype calls
with International colleagues, Please tidy up after meetings, take away your dirty cups, papers, board
markers etc. Place chairs back in position and clean all work away.

5. Printing
Printer is only for official use. It is not configured on all staff machines. If you need a print
for official use, then contact IT Support person or HR Dept. Personal prints are not
allowed. Save costs on printing wherever possible by printing on both sides of paper.

6. Office Telephone
Office telephone is solely for official purpose and not for any kind of personal use.
7. Waste Bins
Most individuals will have these under their desk. These bins should be used for any items
which are not recyclable e.g. plastics, metal, a pen, food scraps etc. Please use your
discretion and be mindful of disposing food scraps in the office. Liquids should not be
poured/ placed into bins.

8. The noise Factor

Try to avoid talking in high tone. Our office environment is open so be mindful of people
sitting around while communicating to each other.

OFFICE CODE OF CONDUCTS

This policy affirms CONIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS’s belief in responsible social and ethical
behavior from all employees. This policy clarifies the standards of behavior that management
expects of all employees.

Our Code of Conduct policy applies to all employees and provides the framework of principles
and guidelines for conducting business, dealing with other employees and customers.

i. Act and maintain a high standard of integrity and professionalism.

ii. Be responsible and scrupulous in the proper use of Company information,
equipment and facilities.
iii. Be considerate and respectful of the environment and others.
iv. To avoid extra noise in the office, keep your voice low while communicating with
your colleagues regardless of which corner of the office you are sitting.
v. Do not call anyone’s name while sitting at your workplace rather you should get up
and walk to the concerned person to have any discussion.
vi. Avoid unnecessary & irrelevant communication within the office during work hours.
viii. DO NOT talk in any language other than English on the floor, and when someone
is on call don't talk at all or in a very low tone.
xii. Everyone must keep their laptop screens locked while moving away from the
keyboard even for a single minute.
xiii. Social networking websites are not allowed to visit or use during work hours
other than the official purpose.
xiv. Video streaming and E-gaming is strictly prohibited at any time.
xv. Smoking is strictly prohibited within the office premises including kitchen, meeting
room, washrooms, corridors etc.
xvi. Group smoking (more than one person) breaks are strictly prohibited.
xvii. Avoid unnecessary use of mobile phones during work hours and keep your
mobiles on silent/vibration in the office.
xviii. Keep your laptops/desktop on silent or at such volume that is hearable to you
only.
xix. Keep all the fans off (in the whole office) other than load shedding timing.
xx. Everyone will place their laptops & other accessories in the cabinets at the end of
their work shift.
xxi. Make sure that your workstation is cleaned and the entire inventory (mouse,
charger, headphones) is properly wired-up and placed in the cabinets before leaving
the office.
xxii. In case of absence of office boy everyone is responsible to wash their used
utensils themselves and keep the kitchen and workstations clean.
 Note: Above rules shall apply to everyone equally and in case of violation of any of above rules
employees will be penalized as per management’s discretion.

PAYROLL MANAGEMENT
The company’s pay period of 21 days falls from 20 st of the month till 20th of the following month.
Monthly salary processes on 20th of every month and it arrives in the personal accounts of
employees before or by 1st of every month. Every employee should have a salary account in any of
following bank:

i. Mezan Bank

In case a new employee does not have an account in any of above bank then s/he will be issued a
cheque for first salary only after which it is mandatory to open an account for smooth salary
transaction in future.
• Dealing with employee’s income tax related matters

COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS is responsible to deduct the income tax from employee’s

monthly salary and deposit it to relevant government authorities on quarterly basis. Tax
certificates are provided by COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS in the beginning of new financial
year for previous year.

LEAVE POLICY

Purpose

Leave policy is designed to ensure the smooth functioning of all its operations, which requires the
availability of its employees on a set time and dates cohesive to global maneuvers.

Policy

During probation period company does not offer paid sick, casual, emergency, marriage,
maternity, paternity or any other kind of leave. All kind of leave of absence will be treated as un-
paid and will be deducted from salary on pro-rata basis during probation period.
 In case of taking leave for 15 or less than 15 consecutive days (including weekends & public
holidays) sandwich policy will not be applied and weekends will be paid. Whereas, in case the
leave of absence exceeds 15 days then the sandwich policy does apply and none of the weekend
or public holiday is paid during the leave tenure. If an employee takes 15 days leave and does not
return on 16th day at work, then all the weekends during that tenure will be considered as unpaid.
In case of taking full month leave all weekends & public holidays falling during that tenure will be
un-paid.

Paid Holidays

Sales team will follow the USA holiday schedule and will be working on all Public holidays of
Pakistan. USA holiday schedule is as follows:

# Occasion Date
1 New Year 1-Jan
2 Memorial Day 28-May
3 Independence Day 4-Jul
4 Labor Day 5-Sep
5 Thanksgiving Day 23-Nov
6 Christmas Day 25-Dec

Leave Policy ?
 PUNCTUALITY POLICY

Introduction

Regular attendance and punctuality are essential for the smooth operations of the company. Good
attendance and punctuality are expected from all employees. Employees should be present and
prepared to work before start of their shift as designated by management. Excessive absenteeism
or tardiness will not be tolerated and will be cause for corrective action up to and including
termination.
Policy

All employees are expected to be on time according to their scheduled timings but strongly
encouraged to come to office few minutes prior to their scheduled time.

1. Everyone must arrive office minimum 02 minutes earlier to settle down to start work at the
scheduled time. It takes minimum 2 minutes for a person to meet & greet, get laptop ready and
finally logged into system to start working.

2. Arrival at exact time will be considered 2 minutes late. For example, if an employee’s scheduled
time starts at 7 PM and s/he is entering the office at 7 PM the actual time of arrival will be
considered and marked as 7:02 PM. Similarly, few more scenarios have been explained in below
table to make it clearer:

Scenarios Actual Arrival Time Arrival Time in HR Record

Example 1 6:58 PM 7:00 PM (On-time)
Example 2 6:59 PM 7:01 PM
Example 3 7:00 PM 7:02 PM
Example 4 7:01 PM 7:03 PM

3. The arrival time will be expected 2 minutes before respective shift start. Two minutes will be
added-up on top of the late arrival after scheduled shift start time in everyone’s case.

4. These late arrivals count includes the late arrivals from break as well.

Consequences

1. Upon 3 late arrivals in one month (20 th of month till 20th of next month) a warning letter will be
issued to concern keeping his/her Manager and Management in loop.

Late Arrivals within a month (21st till 22nd of next month) Consequence
3 late arrivals in a month One day salary dock
6 late arrivals in a month 1.5 day salary dock
9 late arrivals in a month 2-day salary dock
Written warning letter
Note: One month’s late arrivals will not be carried forward to the next month. For example, a person
had 2 late arrivals in a month it will not be carried over to next month.

Warning Letters

Written warning is part of a disciplinary action. Written warnings may be issued in case of Misconduct.
After first warning the second written warning shall be issued provided there is no improvement in
conduct or performance. Upon third warning letter there will be automatic termination without any
notice or payment in-lieu of the notice period.

Exclusions

Lead/Manager have the right to request management for review of warning to their respective team
member but the final decision will be made by management only.

Policy Implementation

HR department will be responsible to enforce this policy among all departments in consultation of
Managers. This policy has been effective from September 1 st, 2019, for all departments.

Misconduct

Following are some acts and omissions of misconduct on which a disciplinary action (warning OR direct
termination without any notice or payment) can be initiated upon management’s discretion:

a. Willful disobedience, whether alone or in combination with others, to any lawful and reasonable
order of a superior.

b. Habitual & intentional negligence of work including careless attitude and tardiness towards work.

c. Habitual absence or absence without informing for more than two consecutive days.
d. Habitual late attendance.

e. Riotous, abusive, violent or disorderly behavior at the Office or any act subversive of discipline.

f. Abusive, violent or rude behavior with co-worker or Manager.

g. Involved in any kind of harassment at work place.

h. Theft, fraud, or dishonesty in connection with the Company's business or property and/ or the
falsification or alteration of official documents.

i. Willful damage to or loss of the Company's goods or property.

j. Negligence leading to substantial loss or damage to the Company.

k. Habitual breach of any law applicable to COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS

l. Violating Conflict of Interest policy of company wherein employee is not allowed to work for some
other employer or company’s competitor while employed at Cognizance Communications.

m. Bringing firearms or weapons onto Office’s premises.

n. Bringing and using drugs at work place.

o. Joining Cognizance Communications under false pretense.

p. Divulging confidential matters likely to adversely affect Cognizance Communications or to distribute

or use property, documents and other materials and equipment outside of the company without
authorization.

q. Conviction by the court of law or involvement in any criminal offence including moral turpitude.

r. Any use of the Company funds for private purposes, including personal use.

s. Involvement in discriminatory/hateful comments, arguments or discussions at work place particularly

on political, religious, sectarian, gender, physical characteristics & race basis.
 NO-SMOKING POLICY

Introduction

This no-smoking policy seeks to ensure the rights of all employees to work in a tobacco free
environment. The policy objective is to create a better and healthier working ambiance for
employees, which will safeguard non-smokers from the risks of passive smoke and protect the
office sites from increased risk of fire.

Therefore, it is the policy of Cognizance Communications, that all our workplaces are smoke free,
and all employees have a right to work in a smoke free environment.

“All Cognizance Communications office premises are designated SMOKE-FREE”

Implementation
Along with HR dept. Managers/Supervisors are responsible for ensuring the implementation and
monitoring of this policy.

 Smoking or other use of tobacco products (including, but not limited to, cigarettes, pipes,
cigars, snuff, e-cigarettes, or chewing tobacco) is NOT permitted in any part of the office
premises including corridors, stairways, wash rooms, meeting room, kitchen, at any time,
by any person regardless of their status.
 Rights of non-smokers to breathe clean air prevail over the right of the smokers to smoke
in the above mentioned restricted areas.
 Outside the building is the designated area for smoking.
 When smoking or otherwise using tobacco or similar products outside restricted area, do
not leave cigarette butts or other traces of litter or tobacco use on the ground or
anywhere else
 Smokers are advised not to smoke immediately outside the entrances to office premises.

All employees are expected to abide by this policy in all respects while at work.

Non-Compliance

Disciplinary procedures will be followed if employees do not comply with this policy and violators
will be dealt in a strict way.
 SUBSTANCE & DRUG ABUSE POLICY

Purpose:

Cognizance Communications strongly establishes safeguard against drug and alcohol abuse to
validate a safe and healthy working environment. Substance abuse imposes a burden on those
caught up in the abuse, but also on their co-workers. To tone down the risks, we have developed
this substance abuse policy to prohibit the use, possession or sale of any kind of drugs on
company premises and strictly regulate the consumption of alcohol.

Policy Elements:
Illegal drugs, inhalants and prescribed as well as over-the-counter drugs (which fall into the
substances* category), Alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited at work. While working, you
MUST NOT:

• Possess, use or be under the influence of alcohol, inhalants or drugs.

• Sell, buy, transfer or distribute drugs or drug appease.

• To prevent accidents and productivity losses, we may implement drug and alcohol tests for
employees/candidates when:

1. At the time of job offer to the final candidate or when we are about to promote a current
employee.

2. The circumstances surrounding a workplace accident are unclear and we want to ensure there
was no substance abuse involved.

3. We want to test employees randomly (applicable to all employees).

Disciplinary Consequences:

We may invoke disciplinary action up to termination, when an employee:

• Test positive for substance abuse (includes all hard, illegal drugs and alcohol beverages)

• Sell, attempt to sell, or found distributing any form of substance at work.

• Use any kind of drug or found under influence of it at work.

• Refuse to take company mandated drug test.

Senior Management will decide on the appropriate disciplinary action depending on the
circumstances.

* Substance abuse includes drugs that are not legal. It also encompasses use of alcohol, and other
illegal substances too much or in the wrong way.

Scope: All job applicants, Employees (on-trial & probationary), Part-time Employees, Internees
and Senior Management should abide by the provisions of this policy.
 LAPTOP/DATA SECURITY POLICY

Purpose

To minimize the possibility of unauthorized access to sensitive data and to restrict access of
laptops to authorized user only. To ensure that all employees secure their laptops by locking it
before leaving their designated workstations.

Guidelines

Proper measures should be taken while using laptops to ensure the confidentiality.

• Securing laptops (screen lock or logout) prior to leaving area to prevent unauthorized access.
• Password-protected screen saver should be enabled with a short timeout period

• Complying with all applicable password policies and procedures.

• Employee should not share their credentials information with any other employee of the company
without management’s approval.

• Laptops are to be used for authorized business purposes only.

• Personal data should not be stored on official laptops. In case of termination or while departing, the
company will not be responsible to handover such personal data to respective user.

• Keeping food and drink away from laptops in order to avoid accidental spills.

WORK ON WEEKENDS/PUBLIC HOLIDAYS COMPENSATION POLICY

Purpose

To establish a standard policy/guidelines of working on weekend/public holidays for employees.

Weekend Compensation

Management may require employee to work on weekends. The overtime should be preapproved by
Manager and notified to HR dept. in advance.
If employee works on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday), either he will be given a compensatory holiday
which shall be given/taken within Leave policy or will be paid regular pay rate according to the hours
worked.

STAFF INDUCTION & ON-BOARDING PROCESS

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure all Employees are provided with the key information on working
at Cognizance Communications including policies, procedures, compliance requirements associated with
their employment through an appropriate Induction and Onboarding program.

1. Pre-Induction Arrangements
1.1 The respective Training Department will be responsible to share the resource training plan for a new
hire with the HR dept. a day before the joining date.

1.2 HR dept. will review and asses the training plan whether it is cohesive and fulfilling the needs of the
dept. & company.

1.3 HR Department will be responsible for getting all arrangements done (workstation, laptop machine,
email account, other required software installation) with the help of IT Support dept. before the joining
of the new employee.

2. Employee Orientation

2.2 Training Department along with HR Department will be allocated to every new resource and he will
be responsible to give training on following aspects:

✓ Introduction to the company, its mission, functions and culture

✓ Introduction to Company’s higher management

✓ Technical training

✓ Campaign knowledge

✓ Company rules

2.3 The employee's supervisor will complete the New-Hire Checklist with new employees and review
department policies and procedures.

2.4 On an employee's start date, the employee will complete required paperwork and an orientation
with the HR department. The HR dept. will give the orientation to new-hire about HR policies, code of
conducts and office culture.

2.5 HR or IT Support will share the employee credentials with new-hire on a pre-requisite Performa
through email on their first day.

2.6 HR will send a welcome email containing all necessary HR policy document, code of conducts,
employee list etc. to new-hire on their first day.

2.7 IT Support will conduct the necessary trainings (Cloud, Email etc.) for new hires.

3. Trial Period Monitoring & Evaluation

HR dept. will be in close coordination with the new-hire and his/her reporting Manager to get a follow-
up on resource performance and attitude. HR will ensure that new employee is being trained and
utilized in an appropriate way by the dept.
A mid-trial interview will be conducted by HR dept. (on a standard questionnaire form) to get the deep
insight into the training process of new employee. The feedback will be shared with Manager, CEO and
Co-Founders in order to address the concerns (if any). This questionnaire will be placed in employee’s
file.

4. Trial Period Confirmation

Every resource will serve a trial period of 1-2 weeks depending upon the management’s discretion. The
trial period can be half time or full time considering the person’s availability.

A final meeting will be held among HR, dept. Training Department and CEO to take a final decision on
confirmation of the resource a day before the trial is ending.

Employee will be notified by HR regarding the confirmation of trial. HR will arrange the job contract
within a week of trial confirmation. Employee card and EOBI card will be arranged subsequently.

5. Probationary Period

Probationary period starts once the trial is confirmed and longs for 2 months. The performance of
probationary employee will be monitored and observed by HR and Managers closely.

Upon the successful completion of probation period HR will send a confirmation email to the employee
on the last day of their probation.

TRIAL & PROBATION PERIOD POLICY

POLICY

This policy is developed to draw a clear line between trial period and probationary period for new-hires
in the company as well as to clearly define the rules of both evaluation periods.

1. TRIAL PERIOD
Trial period is an initial testing phase for employee as well as for employer and it is not
considered as part of probationary period. Trial period initiates on the first day of joining and
longs for 2 weeks (standard) which can be extended or reduced upon management’s discretion.
Trial period is paid 100% in case of successful trial. Whereas, in case of unsuccessful trial it is
unpaid.

The purpose of trial period is to evaluate following aspects of new-hired at any position
regardless of the seniority and experience:

• Attitude (professional & personal)

• Technical skills
• Work approach
• Punctuality

Throughout employee's trial period, a Training Department observes and monitors performance
and provides timely feedback to HR & Management. The staff member should also regularly
seek advice and feedback on his or her performance from Training Manager.

Trial Period Schedule:

Trial period can be half time or full time depending upon the person’s availability and mutual
agreement with hiring authority.
• Half-time trial: It should be minimum 5 hours (excluding break time) on respective Training
Department work schedule.
• Full-time trial: Full-time trial will be for 10 regular hours (including breaks) on respective
Training Department work schedule.
Leaves during Trial Period: Trial period is automatically extended for the duration of any leave
of absence taken during the tenure.

Trial Period Payment Terms:

• In case an employee is hired on trial and left during or at the end of trial period
without informing HR in writing within the two days of his absence s/he will not be
entitled to any payment at all.

• Successful trial period is paid according to the number of working days. Weekends
or public holidays (if fall any during the trial period) are not paid.
• Half time trial is paid accordingly
• Trial period dues will be paid with regular payroll cycle (on 1st of the month) in case
of successful.
2. PROBATION PERIOD
A 60-calendar day probation period applies to all employees who have successfully completed
the trial period. Probationary period starts from next working day of trial period and longs for 02
months. Upon successful completion of probation period HR dept. sends a confirmation email to
employee on last day of probation. Employee contract and rest of the terms and conditions
remain the same in after probation employment.

Leaves during Probation Period:

The probation period is automatically extended for the duration of any approved leave of
absence for more than two weeks.

Termination of Probation Period:

During probation period either of the party can discontinue on one-day notice. In case of
resignation, employee should send a written resignation to HR and respective Manager.
Similarly, in case company is laying off an employee it shall be informed verbally in a meeting by
HR and respective Manager. Any pending dues of employee till last working day will be paid to
employee with regular payroll cycle (on 1st of the month).

Extension of Probation Period:

In some cases, 60 days is not a sufficient period of time to evaluate the suitability of a new hire.
In these rare situations, trial period can be extended for further 30 days (maximum). HR
department and Manager will hold a meeting with employee to inform about extension and
discuss the reasons behind it before or at the end of probation period. Following to that
employee will be issued an extension letter on company’s letterhead.

3. GENERAL RULES

• Trial and probation period can be called off immediately without any prior notice from either of
the party in case of dissatisfaction.

• Unnecessary leaves during trial and probation period are strongly discouraged.

• All other company policies shall be applied to employees on trial & probation in a similar manner
as of the regular employees.
 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to gauge the Performance and Development vide managers and
employees with the required set metrics for managing performance effectively. Management
can justifiably analyze the key performance indicators which will not only bring fairness within
the process but also can understand the leakages and gaps in the department as a whole and
suggest the best possible solution to avoid any loss of resource in case of terminations as a last
resort.

Process
 I. Monthly Evaluation
Metrics forms will be sent to all leads and manager of all departments at the end of
every month. The leads will conduct the evaluation of their respective team members
and Manager will do the evaluation of all leads of the his/her respective dept. The
completed metrics forms will be returned to HR dept. keeping Manager in cc.
Timeline to submit the required forms is two days after receiving from HR. Timeline will
be strictly monitored, unless communicated.
There will be different metrics forms for employees and leads. The metrics form will be
consisted of 10 attributes (technical & behavioral). Everyone will be evaluated on the
scale of 1-10.

II. One-on-One Sessions with Team

After submitting the metrics to HR, all Leads will have one-on-one meeting with their
subordinates in order to discuss the metrics evaluation and provide them the feedback.
The purpose of these sessions will be to:

• Discuss & provide the feedback on evaluation.

• Identify the areas where a specific resource is lagging behind and needs
improvement.
• Also it will give an opportunity to employee to discuss his/her concerns related to
performance evaluation, if s/he has any.

Manager will follow the same process of one-on-one meetings with his team leads in which he will
discuss and provide the feedback to them on their performance as well as about their teams.

HR will be a part of such one-on-one sessions. HR will make the notes of such meetings and will
document all the concerns/feedback or suggestions of employees on their performance evaluation files
on resources files.

The same process will be followed every month.

III. Quarterly Evaluation

Evaluation results will be derived for each quarter on the basis of monthly evaluation.
The average will be taken from Quarterly evaluation to determine the score.

In an event, where employee’s score is below 60% for a quarter; s/he shall be put on
performance improvement plan for a month. Employee will be under observation by
his/her lead, Manager & HR to gauge his/her performance and help him/her to fill the
gaps to restore his/her position. The final decision will be made on the 30th day of the
performance plan. In case of improvement employee will be retained, whereas, in case
of consistent underperformance; the performance plan period will be considered as
notice period and his/her employment term shall be terminated immediately.

Same rule will apply to the lead position except; s/he shall be demoted to his old
designation where he was promoted to lead position. If the lead was hired on a lead
position, s/he will be dealt same as a team member rule mentioned above.

Reward & Recognition

In case of getting an average score of 80+ in a quarter, the employee may be chosen to
be awarded with a reward in monetary form as well as s/he shall be declared “Employee
of the Quarter” and a certificate along with surprise award will be presented to the
employee. In an event, where more than one employee scoring 80+ average score in the
same dept. in a quarter then the highest attained score will be considered for reward.

Managers & leads are eligible for “Employee of the Quarter” reward.

IV. Performance Evaluation Impact on Experience Certificate

Every employee’s (including team lead) average performance score will be mentioned
on his/her experience certificate which shall be issued to him/her at time of leaving the
company. If an employee leaves the company within a year then average will be taken
on the basis of number of quarters and same score will be mentioned on the experience
certificate. Score will be calculated on the following scale:

• Outstanding (85+)
• Excellent [76 – 84]
• Good [70 - 75]
• Average [60 – 69]
• Below Average [60 Below]

V. Grievance Procedures

If at any stage during the Performance Evaluation process either the employee or
manager do not agree on the evaluation result and cannot resolve the matter, either
party can seek an independent review.

Initially an employee should make attempts to resolve any disagreement through

discussion with their team lead. Following this discussion, if either party remains
 dissatisfied, they can request an independent review, which will involve the Team Lead,
Manager and HR. The review panel may conduct interviews with both parties,
documenting the reason for the dispute. The review panel may advise the parties of the
outcome and reasons for their decision. If this does not resolve the issue and either
party remains dissatisfied, then the proceedings will be discussed with General
Manager, who will take the final decision on the matter.

DRESS CODE POLICY

Cognizance Communication’s objective in establishing a safe and comfortable environment includes
setting some standards for workplace dress code. This is to enable all people to project a professional
image.

Appearance
Office employees are expected to dress business-casual during work hours. Office employees must dress
in a neat and well-presented manner at all times.

For men, jeans with T-shirt or dress shirt or shalwar qameez are allowed. For women, trouser & shirt
with dupatta or jeans with knee length shirt is allowed. Everyone is expected to do an appropriate
dressing which does not make others uncomfortable at the workplace.

Prohibited Clothing

Employees should not wear untidy & ripped clothing of any sort, sleeveless, track suits (pants or
windcheaters), shorts, thongs (bathroom slippers) or open toed shoes.

NOTICE PERIOD POLICY

Resignation & Termination Procedure

Following successful completion of the probationary period, written notice will be required from both
sides, employer and employee, to end the employment contract according to the below-cited
conditions;

a) Employees who have completed their probationary period at the company will require minimum 30
calendar days’ notice (including weekends & public holidays, if fall any during the period) to end
employment contract.

b) In case of resignations employee needs to send the resignation email to HR and Manager and it must
be approved by employee’s Manager. The resignation must be in compliance of the notice period policy.

c) Similarly, in case of termination, Company will provide the termination notice in writing through
email followed by a “Release of Service” letter to the employee.

d) Company has a right to give 30 days’ notice.

e) Notice period starts from the day of notification and ends at 30th calendar day.

f) Unnecessary absences are strongly discouraged during the notice period and it may result in
extension of notice period based upon management’s discretion.

g) During the employee's notice period; they must continue to assume their normal responsibilities and
should assist with a handover to the existing team or their replacement if in place.

The Company reserves the rights to:

1.To require the employee not to work or to undertake any work during all or any part of his/her notice
period.

2. To amend the employee’s duties of employment during all or part of the employee’s notice period to
protect confidential information, trade or business secrets.

3. To immediately terminate the notice period in case employee is involved in any misconduct.

4. Or to release the employee from his/her notice period at an agreed leaving date.

Notwithstanding, the notice period above, the company may, by written notice, terminate the
employee’s employment immediately and without compensation in any of the following circumstances:
1. If the employee is guilty of persistent misconduct with any colleague or management, dishonesty or
any conduct tending to bring the company into disrepute.

2. If the employee is convicted of any criminal offence which may affect his/her position or reputation of
the company.

3. If the employee resigns during the notice period, wherein, s/he will not be entitled to any dues from
the day his/her notice period started.

Note: In event of any change in above policy subject to management’s discretion, it will be applied to all employees and will be
communicated accordingly.

Breach of Policy:

In case employee leaves without serving the notice period, the company reserves the right to:

1. Seize the due salary against his all working days till his date of resignation.

2. There will be no experience letter issued to employee.

EMPLOYEE EXIT POLICY

Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to clearly define a process to follow during Employee Exits which will ensure
the protection of business and company assets, and help the Employee leave with dignity.

Exit Interview

All employees who leave the employment of the Company voluntarily will have an exit interview with
HR dept. before or preferably on their last day of employment.

Exit interviews provide the opportunity for departing employees to discuss their reasons for leaving.
The information provided is useful in identifying trends, learning and development and evaluating the
effectiveness of HR policies and practices.

The HR Dept. should receive all appropriate information, such as recommendations made for change, or
significant issues raised in the questionnaire, whilst bearing in mind confidentiality issues. The exit
interview questionnaire will be retained on the employee’s personal file. The exit interview shall be
conducted on employee’s last day at work. HR personnel will be responsible to conduct the interview
and will document the feedback in soft file to be shared with management and placed in employee’s
file.

I. Employee Exit Checklist

IT Support is responsible to take over all assets from employee on their last working day at the shift end.
A pre-requisite Performa (Employee Exit Checklist) needs to be filled and signed by relevant authorities
and submitted to HR at end. IT Support personnel makes sure that work related handing/taking has
been done and the Manager signs the said Performa as well.

All the official credentials are revoked by IT Support personnel. Department related credential’s
passwords are changed by the department Manager or any other authorized resource. HR is responsible
to get all credentials revoked immediately after employee leaves.

Final Settlement

In case of resignation or termination (either on probation or after probation) all final settlements are
made with the regular payroll on 1st of the month. The final settlement cheques will be issued by payroll
company and employee will collect the cheque from payroll company’s Finance Dept.

The Finance Dept. is responsible to provide the tax challans/certificates to employees.

Experience Letter

Employees are eligible for experience certificate upon end of employment with Cognizance
Communications. HR dept. is responsible to arrange the experience letter within two weeks from their
last working day in company.
The company will issue an experience letter on their letterhead stating the employee position in
company and tenure of employment.

All employees are eligible of experience letters either in case of resignation or termination except
following:

I. If employee violated any company policy.

II. If employee did not serve or completed his/her notice period as per agreed terms.
III. If employee has been involved in misconduct during the service or notice period such as
IV. If employee is terminated on the basis of code of conduct.

GRIEVIANCE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Policy
Cognizance Communications supports the right of every employee to lodge a grievance with their
Manager or HR Dept. if they believe a decision, behavior or action affecting their employment is unfair.
An employee may raise a grievance about any performance improvement action taken against them.

We aim to resolve problems and grievances promptly and as close to the source as possible. When
necessary, HR Dept. will escalate a grievance to the next higher level of authority i.e. CEO for more
discussion and resolution, and continue escalating it to the level above until it is resolved.

Managers will do their utmost to action grievances objectively, discreetly and promptly. Be aware that
grievances that are misconceived, vexatious, and lacking substance may result in disciplinary action
being taken against the employee lodging the grievance.

Procedure

1.The employee should try to resolve the grievance as close to the source as possible. This can be
informal and verbal. At this stage, every possible effort should be made to settle a grievance before the
formal grievance process starts. If the matter still can’t be resolved, the process continues and becomes
formal.

2. To start the formal grievance the complainants must fully describe their grievance in writing, with
dates and locations wherever possible and how they have already tried to settle the grievance.

3. The person(s) against whom the grievance/complaint is made should be given the full details of the
allegation(s) against them. They should have the opportunity and a reasonable time to respond before
the process continues.

4. If the grievance still can’t be resolved, HR Dept. will refer the matter to the CEO for consideration and
a final decision. A grievance taken to this level must be in writing from the employee.

DISCRIMINATION, SEXUAL HARRASMENT & BULLYING

Cognizance Communications is committed to providing a work environment free from discrimination,
unlawful harassment and bullying. Actions or words of a sexual nature that harass or intimidate others
are prohibited. Similarly, actions, words, pictures, jokes or comments that harass or intimidate based on
race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, covered veteran status,
marital status or any other unlawful basis are also prohibited.

All sexual harassment cases shall be dealt in accordance with the PROTECTION AGAINST HARASSMENT
OF WOMEN AT THE WORKPLACE ACT of 2010.

All kind of harassment (verbal, physical or gestural) are formally prohibited by any company employee
towards another employee or employees, within the company workplace.

Complaint Procedure If an employee, or outside individual would like to lodge a complaint against an
employee, written documentation of the incident should be given to the HR Department. The employee
can raise concerns and make reports without fear of reprisal.

Consequences Behavior that constitutes discrimination, sexual harassment or bullying will not be
tolerated and will lead to action being taken, which may include dismissal.

Anyone engaging in any kind of unlawful harassment will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and
including termination/ dismissal. The CEO or HR Department will, in all cases, take action to correct any
reported harassment to the extent the evidence is available and verifiable. All allegations will be
investigated and action will be taken according to the company policies align with the local laws.

For the purposes of this policy, the following definitions apply:

Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated unfavorably because of a personal characteristic.

Sexual harassment includes unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature in circumstances in which it could
reasonably be expected to make a person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated a reasonable person,
having regard to all the circumstances, would have anticipated that the person harassed would be
offended, humiliated or intimidated.

Workplace bullying may include behavior that is directed toward an employee, or group of employees,
that creates a risk to health and safety e.g. physical and/or verbal abuse, excluding or isolating
individuals; or giving impossible tasks.

Cognizance Communications provides equal opportunity in employment to people without

discrimination based on gender, marital status, race, religion, physical feature, physical disability, or
personal characteristic.

DISCIPLINARY ACTION
In the event an employee’s performance is non-compliant with professional conduct standards or the
requirements of the position job description, or if the employee commits misconduct, the employee
may be subject to disciplinary action.

The discipline and reprimand action consist of the following keeping higher management in the loop;

I. Verbal warning

II. Warning letter

III. Salary deduction

IV. Termination

Management will decide/select the disciplinary action against employee depending upon the nature and
intensity of incident.

As outlined below, when an employee is considered to have committed an offense, or fails to meet
expected performance standards, the occurrence may be documented in writing.

The Supervisor or the HR Department or the CEO is responsible for issuing a disciplinary letter to the
staff member as soon as possible following the occurrence. The concerned department will ensure that
letters issued conform to disciplinary procedures and the applicable laws of Pakistan.

Misconduct
Without prejudice to the general meaning of the term “misconduct Following are some acts and
omissions of misconduct on which a disciplinary action (warning OR direct termination) can be initiated
upon management’s discretion:

a. Willful disobedience, whether alone or in combination with others, to any lawful and reasonable
order of a superior.

b. Habitual & intentional negligence of work including careless attitude and tardiness towards work.

c. Habitual absence or absence without informing for more than two consecutive days.

d. Habitual late attendance.

e. Riotous, abusive, violent or disorderly behavior at the Office or any act subversive of discipline.

f. Abusive, violent or rude behavior with co-worker or Manager.

g. Involved in any kind of harassment at work place.

h. Theft, fraud, or dishonesty in connection with the Company's business or property and/ or the
falsification or alteration of official documents.

i. Willful damage to or loss of the Company's goods or property.

j. Negligence leading to substantial loss or damage to the Company.

k. Habitual breach of any law applicable to COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS

l. Violating Conflict of Interest policy of company wherein employee is not allowed to work for some
other employer or company’s competitor while employed at COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS

m. Bringing firearms or weapons onto Office’s premises.

n. Bringing and using drugs at work place.

o. Joining COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS under false pretense.

p. Divulging confidential matters likely to adversely affect COGNIZANCE COMMUNICATIONS or to

distribute or use property, documents and other materials and equipment outside of the company
without authorization.

q. Violation of the policies and procedures regarding use of communication and MIS technology and
privacy.

r. Conviction by the court of law or involvement in any criminal offence including moral turpitude.

s. Any use of the Company funds for private purposes, including personal use.

t. Involvement in discriminatory/hateful comments, arguments or discussions at work place particularly

on political, religious, sectarian, gender, physical characteristics & race basis.

Misconduct as defined above is intended to provide employees with fair notice of what is expected of
them. Necessarily, however, such policies cannot identify every type of conduct and performance.
Therefore, employees should be aware that conduct not specifically listed above but which adversely
affects or is otherwise detrimental to the interests of the Company, and other employees or related
agencies may also result in disciplinary action.

1. Oral Reprimand: On a first minor offense, an oral reprimand may be issued by the CEO, HR
Department or supervisor at their discretion. Every attempt will be made to settle the issue directly at
that time. The employee will be advised that further warnings will be in writing and will be copied to
his/her personnel file.

2. Warning Letter: The warning letter, prepared in duplicate, will indicate the details of the offensive
actions or sub-standard performance. The letters will be prepared by the HR department with copy to
the CEO and respective Manager. Copy of letter will be retained in the employee’s personnel file.
Warning letters will remain on file permanently. Significant and lasting improvement in performance
will be noted and monitored via the evaluation process.

Disciplinary Proceedings
The competent authority to award punishment in case of an employee is the authority competent to
make his/her appointment.

An employee found guilty of misconduct is liable to any of the following punishments:

• Warning;

• Fine/penalty;

• With-holding of increment or promotion for a specified period as per management discretion;

• Reduction to a lower post; or

• Dismissal without payment of any compensation in lieu of notice.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORM

Cognizance Communications
Employee Handbook
Acknowledgement Form

I, _____________________________________, have received and read the Company

employee handbook, which outlines the policies and procedures of the organization, as well as
my responsibilities as an employee. I have familiarized myself with the contents of the
handbook and have discussed any queries I have with my supervisor.

By my signature below, I acknowledge, understand, accept and agree to comply with the
information contained in this handbook by the Company.

I understand this handbook is not intended to cover every situation which may arise during my
employment, but is a general guide to the policies and procedures of the organization and my
responsibilities as an employee. I understand also that company policies and procedures may
need be updated from time to time. I understand that the handbook is not a contract of
employment and should not be deemed as such.

_______________________________ Employee Signature

_______________________________ Employee Name (Print in Block Capitals)

_____________ Date