ETHICS, JUSTICE, FAIR

TREATMENT, AND DISMISSAL

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 Ethics
The study of standards of conduct and moral judgment; also
the standards of right conduct.

Ethics are “the principles of conduct governing an individual

or a group”—the principles people use to decide what their
conduct should be. However, ethical decisions don’t include
just any type of conduct.

Instead, ethical decisions are always rooted in morality.

Morality means society’s accepted standards of behavior and
always involves basic questions of right and wrong, such as
stealing, murder, and how to treat other people. How to treat
employees is therefore almost always as much of an ethical
question as a legal one.

Ethics are the moral principles that govern a person’s behavior

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 Ethics, Law, and Justice

Ethics and Law

The law is not the best guide about what I ethical.
A behavior may be legal but unethical.
A behavior may be illegal but ethical.

Justice
Justice or fairness refers to the idea that an action or
decision is morally right, which may be defined according
to ethics, religion, equity or law.
..expert generally define organizational justice in terms
of
Distributive justice
Procedural justice
Interactional justice
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 Fair treatment

Fair treatment

Fair treatment is an HR program or policy that

ensures that all employees of organization are given
fair and equal treatment.

Why treat employees fairly?

Perception of fairness relates to employee
commitment and satisfaction

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 What shapes ethical behavior at work?

Individual factors
Because people bring to their jobs their own ideas of what is
morally right and wrong, the individual must shoulder much
of the credit (or blame) for the ethical choices he or she
makes.
The researchers concluded that personal predispositions more
strongly affected decisions than did environmental pressures
or organizational characteristics.

Self-Deception
Personal tendencies are also important because self-
deception has a bigger influence in ethical choice than most
people realize. For example, corrupt individuals tend not to
view themselves as corrupt.

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 What shapes ethical behavior at work?
Organizational factors
That happens all the time. Example WorldCom’s former chief
financial officer (CFO) pleaded guilty to helping the firm’s
former chairman mask WorldCom’s deteriorating financial
situations.

Ethics Policies And Codes

An ethics policy and code is another “outside force” that
employers can use to signal that their companies are serious
about ethics. For example, IBM’s code of ethics says, in part:
Neither you nor any member of your family may, directly or
through others, solicit or accept from anyone money, a gift, or
any amenity that could influence or could reasonably give the
appearance of influencing IBM’s business relationship with that
person or organization.
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 What shapes ethical behavior at work?

Organization culture

The characteristic values, traditions, and behaviors a

company’s employees share

How is culture is revealed?

1. Ceremonial events
2. Written rules and spoken commands
3. Office layout
4. Organizational structure
5. Dress codes
6. Cultural symbols and behaviors
7. Figureheads
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What shapes ethical behavior at work?

The Boss’s influence

The boss often has a determining effect on whether

his or her employees do the ethical thing. According
to one report, for instance the level of misconduct at
work dropped dramatically when employees said their
supervisors exhibited ethical behavior.

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 Dismissal
Dismissal is when the employer ends the contract of an employee.
This must be done in a fair way.

There are different types of dismissal:

Fair dismissal- Based on the reasons (misconduct, incapability,
redundancy) and the process of dismissal
Unfair dismissal- Based on the reasons (doesn’t fall under one of
the above categories) and the process of dismissal
Constructive dismissal- This is when a serious breach of contract
has been carried out and therefore the employee must resign in
response to the employer’s conduct.
Wrongful dismissal- This is where you break the terms of an
employee’s contract in the dismissal process, e.g. dismissing someone
without giving them proper notice.

If the employer dismisses you from today onwards, they should follow
the procedures which are laid out in the code of practice on
disciplinary and grievance procedures.
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 Dismissal Procedure

The procedure should have the following steps:

Letter
The employer should send you a formal letter explaining the
situation.
Meeting
The letter should be followed by a meeting to discuss
everything face to face.
Verdict
The employer should then write to you expressing their final
decision.
Appeal
You then have the right to appeal against your employer’s
decision

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 Handling dismissals

Importance of handling dismissals properly for several

reasons

Legal
In order to avoid potential lawsuits, you must dismiss
employees properly. If you fire someone in front of
others in a vulgar or undignified way, they may have
grounds for a lawsuit. As well, in the words you use to
terminate, you mishandle the termination, that may also
be grounds for a lawsuit, i.e. "Your services are no
longer needed because you aren't able to lift 50
pounds." If the job doesn't require lifting 50 pounds,
then you would have wrongfully dismissed the
employee.
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 Handling dismissals

Monetary
Wrongfully terminating an employee can cost the
company money, i.e unemployment benefits, as well as
any monies from a lawsuit and all the capital invested in
handling the lawsuit. If for valid grounds as “poor
performance” should be documented progressively, you
may lose the case.

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 Handling dismissals

The Human Side or Company Philosophy

We're all human. Most people don't want to be fired, so

from a human perspective, it's important to leave a
terminated employee with their dignity. Terminating
employees in a respectful manner can help lessen the
possibility of the company earning a bad reputation in the
community as well as with other employees. Most, but
not all companies believe the right thing to do is
terminate employees in a respectful manner. It's part of
their corporate culture.

NOTE: Employers can fire employees without reason or

cause, but this does not guarantee lawsuits and
unemployment benefits won't be filed for and won.

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