Employer-Employee Relations

Prof. Kumar Neeraj Sachdev

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
 Introductory Issues
• Ethics, Applied Ethics, and Professional Ethics
• Concept of a Profession
• Ethics and Professions

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 Across the Professions
• Ethical Theories (Frameworks of Ethics)
– Indian Ethical Theory (Indian Ethics)
– Virtue Theory (Virtue Ethics)
– Utilitarian Theory (Utilitarian Ethics)
– Deontological Theory (Deontological Ethics)
• Ethical Codes for Various Professions
• Employer-Employee Relations
• Whistle-Blowing
• Women and Family Issues
• Case Studies
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 Issues Across Professions
• Ethical Theories
• Ethical Codes for various Professions
• Employer-employee Relations
• Whistle Blowing
• Women and Family Issues
• Case Studies

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 A Quote
“If you are lucky enough to be someone’s employer,
then you have a moral obligation to make sure
people do look forward to coming to work in the
morning.” - John Mockey, Whole Foods, CEO

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 Employment

Employer Employee
Space Time
Money Knowledge
Machine Goods / Services Information
Raw Materials Skill
Wages Labor
(Monetary (Human
Resources) Resources)

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 Employer-Employee Relations
• Employer-Employee relations are based on the
understanding that both groups compensate each
other in terms of monetary and human resources for
making or delivering goods or services.

• Such an understanding is rooted in values of equality

of both groups and respect for each other’s rights
and obligations.

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 Professionals as Employers or Employees

Professionals ought to understand

rights and obligations in
employer-employee relations as they
may find themselves in any of the two
positions in the organization.

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 Some Issues in Employment

• Compensation and Professional Growth

• Workplace Harassment
• Treating Employees or Employers as Means in
Cost-Benefit Analysis
• Discrimination and Affirmative Action
• Just or Unjust Dismissal

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 Moral Foundation of Employee Rights

• Suppose the moral importance of being a

person is a function of having goals and
interests. In that case, we may postulate
certain fundamental rights, which all persons,
simply by being persons, can be said to
possess (Rowan, p 91)…
– Right to Freedom
– Right to Well-being
– Right to Equality
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 Employee Rights
• Fair Pay
• Safety
• Due Process
• Privacy
• Whistle Blowing (for protection against retaliation)
• Gender Equality
• Affirmative Action

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 Concluding Remarks

• Employer-employee relations are based

upon a mutually recognized moral
obligation to understand and respect the
rights and obligations of each other.

• Such a moral obligation may derive its

strength from the moral foundation of
employee rights.
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 Thank you.

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