LMP – Human resources policies

PART II HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES

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DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

{Company name} will use a fair, consistent process of disciplinary action(s) that provide employees a fair and equitable opportunity to comply with company policies and to encourage employees to exercise self-discipline at all times in their conduct and performance.

When work performance is unsatisfactory, absenteeism exceeds company standard or a {company name} policy is not observed, the employee’s supervisor/manager will enforce the following progressive disciplinary procedure up to and including termination:

• An exploratory interview
• One verbal warning
• Three written warning
• Termination

It is the {company name} goal that no employee be unfairly treated or terminated. Supervisors/managers will use a positive approach to dealing with performance issues or misuse of a company policy.

Exploratory Interview

1. When an incident occurs the supervisor/manager has an informal counselling session with the employee to discuss the seriousness of the behaviour and its impact on other employees and/or the organization;
2. The supervisor will address only the facts about the incident that are gathered by first hand observation by the supervisor/manager or through other employees who witnessed the inappropriate conduct/behaviour;
3. The supervisor/manager and employee will meet to clearly identify the conduct/behaviour that needs to change and jointly discuss solutions;
4. A written corrective action plan is developed with a timeline for resolution.
5. A copy of the corrective action plan will be given to the employee, the supervisor, and the next level of management after the plan has been signed by the employee to verify that they have read it, agree they have received, understand the scope of the action and will make the commitment to fulfill the action plan. The supervisor/manager also signs the corrective action plan. A copy of each will be placed in the employee’s personnel file.
6. The supervisor/manager informs the employee of the consequences, which would be a verbal warning, if the employee repeats the unacceptable behaviour;
7. The supervisor/manager is accountable for following up with the employee to ensure the action plan is enacted and desired results are achieved.

Verbal Warning

• A verbal warning can be issued when attempts at coaching and providing the employee support through setting a corrective action plan for inappropriate behaviour do not bring about the desired performance level;
• A verbal warning can be issued if an incident occurs which seriously contravenes one of {company name} policies;
• Conditions for issues a warning: the conditions for issuing a warning include but are not limited to the following:

• Employees actions giving rise to the verbal warning must be investigated, the relevant facts determined and documented by the supervisor/manager;
• The supervisor/manager will initiate the second interview with the employee, discuss the facts and the reasons for not achieving the previous corrective action plan;
• The supervisor/manager and employee develop a second corrective action plan in writing with defined time lines for the employee to meet specified performance standards.
• The supervisor/manager and employee will sign  a ‘Corrective Action Plan’ form;
• A copy of the ‘Corrective Action Plan’ is given to the employee, the supervisor/manager, and the next level of management. A copy of the ‘Corrective Action Plan’ will be placed in the employee’s personnel file.

Written Warnings

1. Written warnings are considered a severe disciplinary action and are usually issued after a verbal warning has failed to correct the performance issue;
2. The supervisor/manager will document all the pertinent facts related to the incident on the ‘Corrective Action Plan’ including dates and place of incident(s);
3. Upon issuing a written warning the ‘Corrective Action Plan’ is reviewed and revised and then mutually accepted and signed by both parties;
4. A copy of the ‘Corrective Action Plan’ is given to the employee, the supervisor/manager, and the next level of management after the plan has been signed by the employee to verify that they have read it, agree they have received, understand the scope of the action and will make the commitment to fulfill the action plan. The supervisor/manager also signs the corrective action plan. A copy of the ‘Corrective Action Plan’ will be placed in the employee’s personnel file;
5. A follow up meeting will be scheduled no later than thirty (30) days following the date on which the written warning and corrective action plan were issued;
6. The employee is notified that if performance is not corrected the employee’s continued employment could be at risk.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Regrettably, conflict can occur in any work environment. In an effort to resolve conflict in an expedient, yet fair manner, {company name} recommends the following process for conflict or dispute resolution:

1. Speak with the person you are having a dispute with as many times disputes arise due to misunderstandings and miscommunications;
2. If speaking to the individual does not produce satisfactory results, speak with your supervisor/manager. Request that the supervisor/manager arrange a meeting between those involved in the dispute to determine a resolution. The supervisor will meet independently with those individuals involved in the dispute to gather facts and analyze the situation. The supervisor will then meet with all parties concerned to facilitate a resolution to the dispute;
3. If the supervisor/manager is unable to resolve the workplace dispute, the parties should be referred to the President/Owner for resolution.

EMPLOYEE RECORDS

All employee files are kept in a secure location and are not shared with anyone except authorized personnel and the employee. Information contained in an employee’s personnel file includes the following: resume, application form, letter of offer, acknowledgement of reading and understanding the Employee Handbook, performance reviews, job description and amendments, disciplinary notices, tax forms, payroll records, copies of enrolment for benefits, approved leave requests and any commendations.

Employees will have the opportunity, in the presence of authorized personnel, to examine his or her individual personnel file. A copy of the information contained in the file can be provided upon written request from the employee. If an employee believes the information on file is inaccurate, he or she may add a statement to the file to document that opinion.

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT  

{Company name} places a high value on employee growth and development to ensure employees’ delivery of services that have been entrusted to them. Success for both {company name} and its employees is dependent on each employee’s commitment to fully utilize his or her potential and to continually develop his or her abilities. {Company name} is highly committed to create a productive and positive work environment that provides orientation, performance management and training and development that allow employees to achieve their development goals.

Orientation

1. All new employees will receive an orientation session that provides an overview of mission, general policies, procedures and operations;
2. The orientation also involves an opportunity for the employee to learn the performance expectations for his or her position;
3. The {company name} Employee Handbook and Safety Handbook will be reviewed in detail and the employee will be asked to sign off on his or her adherence to follow the policies.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 

Introduction

Performance management is the process of which managers and supervisors delegate responsibilities to employees in order to achieve specific results, and the effort managers make to ensure the success of their employees. For {company name} performance management is the process to assist its employees to be successful by:

• Aligning employees’ day to day actions and attitudes with {company name} mission and policies;
• Clarifying the employee’s role and demonstrating how the employee fits into {company name} and how the employee’s job impacts the company’s ability to achieve its goals;
• Clearly defining performance expectations employees will have to meet;
• Ensuring employees have the capacity, resources and environment to achieve both their personal career and performance expectations;
• Identify training and professional development needs that will ensure a thriving career with {company name}.

Purpose

The purpose of having a structured performance management process is to ensure that EVERY employee receives direction and communication about his or her performance. The intent is to have an ongoing dialogue between the manager/supervisor and employee that occurs throughout the year, to discuss mutually set performance objectives, work expectations and targets.

Goals for the Performance Management Process

The performance management process is a partnership where employees strive to reach higher levels of performance to enable {company name} to achieve its goals. We want to encourage a process that is:

• A year-long collaboration between employees and management;
• Aligns individual performance and development goals with company objectives;
• Encourages balanced feedback and regular coaching;
• Recognizes individual achievements;
• Focuses on employee development.

Supervisor/Manager Responsibility

Supervisors/managers are responsible for creating and sustaining an environment that supports employees’ objectives for successful performance. Managers/supervisors lead the performance process by:

• Setting clear, measurable and attainable goals with input from employees;
• Providing honest and timely feedback where performance needs to be improved and recognizing achievements;
• Being committed to providing thorough feedback, concrete examples and objective scoring in the annual performance review meeting;
• Recommending and supporting training and development;
• Initiating and conducting an annual performance review.

Employees’ Responsibility

Performance management is a partnership. To get the most value from this process, employees need to:

• Fully participate in setting yearly performance goals;
• Proactively bring forward issues or concerns and follow through on individual commitments;
• Thoroughly understand how to give feedback in the annual performance review meeting or gain input from the manager/supervisor;
• Ask for, listen openly to feedback from supervisors/managers;
• Stay focused on achieving performance goals.

Training and Development

1. In certain cases, {company name} will pay for or reimburse the registration or tuition fee for pre-authorized or approved seminars, workshops or courses conducted by recognized landscaping and related trades associations and relevant institutions (apprenticeship, colleges, continuing education programs, etc);
2. An employee will request in writing, a minimum of four (4) weeks for financial assistance before the course is to take place to qualify for reimbursement;
3. Reimbursement will occur upon proven successful completion of the course;
4. Should the employee not attend a prepaid program, the cost will be deducted from the employee’s pay cheque(s).
5. A training log will be maintained in the employee’s personnel file detailing internal and external training courses completed.

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

An employment agreement usually in the form of a ‘Letter of Offer’ is given to each potential new employee. The job offer letter specifies the following information for a new employee:

• The date employment will commence;
• The title of the position;
• The salary or hourly rate;
• Hours of work;
• Probationary period;
• Performance management process;
• Termination of employment;
• Code of conduct;
• Safety requirements;
• Confidentiality;
• Vacation;
• Benefits;
• Training programs.

A job description and the {company name} Employee Handbook will be given to the new employee upon signing the job offer letter.

HOURS OF WORK

Hourly Employees

1. Standard Hours of Work: the standard hours of work are eight (8) hours per day or forty-eight (48) hours per week. Employees will receive a meal break of thirty minutes (30) after five hours of work. The employer and employee can agree that the meal break can be split into two eating periods within every five consecutive hours. Together these meal breaks must total thirty (30) minutes;
2. Overtime:  All hours worked above forty-four (44) hours in a regularly scheduled work week, will entitle the employee to one and one half times (1½) their regular rate of pay. Employees have the right to refuse overtime work if it is beyond the regularly scheduled hours for that particular day;
3. {If your company falls under the ‘Landscape Gardener Exemption, include this section – if it does not leave this section out} Landscape Gardener Exception: Regulation 285/01 of the Employment Standards Act (ESA), 2000 provides that “a person employed as a landscape gardener” is exempt from the standard hours of work and overtime pay clauses within the ESA.   A work schedule that exceeds forty-eight hours of work/week is acceptable under (ESA) during peak business months;
4. All employees will complete a Time Log Sheet recording daily hours of work, which can be found in Appendix I.

Salaried Employees

1. Employees Working Standard Hours of Work: the standard hours of work are eight (8) hours per day or forty-eight (48) hours per week. Employees will receive a meal break of thirty minutes (30) after five hours of work. The employer and employee can agree that the meal break can be split into two eating periods within every five consecutive hours. Together these meal breaks must total thirty (30) minutes;
2. Overtime:  All hours worked above forty-four (44) hours in a regularly scheduled work week, will entitle the employee to one and one half times (1½) their regular rate of pay. Employees have the right to refuse overtime work if it is beyond the regularly scheduled hours for that particular day. Managers and supervisors do not qualify for overtime if the work they do is managerial or supervisory. Even if they perform other kinds of tasks that are not managerial or supervisory, they do not get overtime pay if these tasks are performed only on an irregular or exceptional basis. {Company name} and the employee can agree in writing that the employee will receive paid time off work instead of overtime pay. This is sometimes called “banked” time or “time off in lieu.” If an employee has agreed to bank overtime hours, he or she must be given 1½ hours of paid time off work for each hour of overtime worked.

PAID AND UNPAID TIME OFF  

{Company name} follows Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Ontario Ministry of Labour guidelines in determining paid and unpaid time off.

Personal Days Off

It is expected that employees will be on time for work and complete the pre-determined hours of work as stated in the employment agreement. If an employee is unable to report to work or arrives late, the supervisor should be contacted immediately.

• All full time employees will receive (0) paid personal days;
• If an employee exceeds more than 1 unexplained absence in a single month or exceeds 3 unexplained absences in a rolling three month period, it will be deemed to be above standard and will be handled through the disciplinary process;
• An employee must submit in writing to the supervisor/manager a request for a personal leave day and is expected to give the supervisor/manager a minimum of a week’s notice;
• {If you employee 50 employees or more, include the following} Employees are eligible for 10 days of unpaid job-protected leave each calendar year due to:

• Employees will complete the ‘Time Off Request Form’ found in Appendix II and submit to their manager or supervisor.

Vacation

{Company name} recognizes that employees need a scheduled time away from normal work duties to refresh and re-energize.

1. A new employee will not be able to take holidays in the first six months of employment unless a special arrangement has been established in the employment agreement. This allows for the accrual of vacation days as vacation time is accrued (earned) on a monthly basis and is to be taken only after it is earned;
2. Vacation pay is calculated at 4% of the employee’s regular pay;
3. An employee is entitled to 2 weeks vacation within one calendar year (January to December) but due to high volume in business, employees are encouraged not to request holidays between {include start month to end month};
4. An employee cannot carry over vacation days to the next calendar year;
5. An employee must submit a request in writing to the supervisor a minimum of a month prior to the request for vacation leave and the approval is dependent on availability. Vacation requests are granted on a first come first serve basis;
6. At five plus years employees of {company name} will be eligible for an additional third week paid vacation in each calendar year and requests for the third week will follow the above vacation request protocol;
7. Employees will complete the ‘Time Off Request Form’ found in Appendix II and submit to their manager or supervisor.

Statutory Holidays

• Employees are entitled to the following paid holidays:

• If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, either the Friday before or Monday after is observed as the holiday;
• {If your company meets the Landscape Gardener Exemption include the following} If {company name} works on any of the above statutory holidays, employees will be expected to work the holiday without overtime.

Bereavement Leave

{Company name} will grant an employee time off with pay as per:

1. Three days for leave, with pay, may be taken in the case of the death of an immediate family member;
2. One day of leave, with pay, may be taken in the case of death of an extended family member;
3. An additional two days leave, with pay, for extensive travelling time, making funeral arrangements or settling estate matters; 
4. When an employee is bereaved the supervisor/manager should be immediately contacted. The supervisor/manager is responsible for approving the length of the leave and informing the President/Owner.

For the purpose of this policy, immediate family members refers to father, mother, brother, sister, spouse, same sex partner, child, parent-on-law, son/daughter-in-law, grandchildren, grandparents, sister/brother-in-law or any other relative by blood or marriage residing with the employee.

Maternity Leave

1. After having completed thirteen (13) weeks of consecutive employment, an employee will be eligible for an unpaid leave for up to seventeen (17) weeks. Leave may be taken any time within the seventeen weeks of the expected delivery date. A special term of leave for unexpected illness related to the pregnancy may be taken before the expected date of birth but it is still counted toward the general entitlement to maternity leave;
2. The employee must give two weeks’ written notice identifying the date the leave will begin;
3. The same benefits apply when an employee is adopting a child. Documentation must be providing confirming the adoption and date of arrival of the child.

Parental Leave

1. After completing thirteen (13) weeks of continuous employment, an employee, who is the birth mother and who takes maternity leave, is eligible for up to thirty-five weeks’ (35) unpaid leave. Birth mothers who did not take maternity leave and all other new parents are eligible for up to thirty-seven (37) weeks’ unpaid Parental Leave for purposes of child care. Parental leave is not part of maternity leave and so a birth mother can take both maternity and parental leave;
2. Employment Insurance parental benefits can only be paid during the fifty-two (52) weeks after the week the child is born, or in the case
3. Either the mother or father is entitled to the Parental Leave;
4. The employee must give two weeks’ written notice identifying the date the leave will begin;
5. The same benefits apply when an employee is adopting a child. Documentation must be provided confirming the adoption and date of arrival of the child.

Jury Duty

1. An employee may be called on for jury duty that falls during working hours. {Company name} will grant paid leave to attend to jury duties for up to three days;
2. If the obligation extends beyond this time, further paid leave must be discussed with the President/Owner;
3. If the court dismisses the jury or witness early, the employee is expected to return to work as soon as possible to complete the regular work shift.

Leave of Absence

• An employee may ask for a leave of absence without pay. {Company name} cannot guarantee to hold any position for more than a three (3) month period. Any request for a leave of absence must be made in writing and must be approved in advance by (position title}.
• Due to the seasonal nature of the Landscape Horticultural Industry, {company name} will require each employee to take unpaid leave of absence from December to April of each year. The length of this company initiated leave of absence will vary dependant on seasonal weather conditions and the employee’s duties;
• During any approved leave of absence the following will apply:

• Employees will complete the ‘Time Off Request Form’ found in Appendix II and submit to their manager or supervisor.

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

{Company name} recruitment and selection practices comply with the Human Rights, Employment Standards and Employment Equity Acts to ensure a fair and transparent process in hiring the most suitably qualified candidate for the position. {Company name} is an equal opportunity employer where employment decisions are based on job related criteria. We are committed to support non-discriminative and affirmative action in our recruiting and selection processes.

The procedures and processes used in recruiting and selecting the most qualified candidate will be consistently used by all individuals who make hiring decisions for {company name}. The policy applies to the hiring of full time, part-time, casual and contract employees.

It is the responsibility of {company name} management to practice fair employment at all times and any violations of the Recruitment and Selection Policy must be reported immediately to management. All supervisory staff will be responsible for maintaining a work environment that is free of the prohibited areas of discrimination: race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, age, family status and/or disability.

Internal Recruitment

1. When a position becomes vacant, the position will be posted internally for 10 days before posting on external sources;
2. Internal candidates will be interviewed and only when a candidate does not meet the requirements of the job will external postings be placed;
3. The job posting will be placed on the {company name} website and external job boards only if a suitable internal candidate is not identified.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

{Company name} has established salary rates based upon work classification. Salary is determined by three primary factors:

• Assigned work classification;
• Years of service;
• Individual performance as assessed in annual performance review.

The benefit plan outlines the benefits provided by {company name}.

SALARY

Salary Payment

Employees are paid on a {weekly, bi-weekly} basis and the net pay is deposited into the employees’ bank account {if applicable}. Net pay is determined by deducting income tax, EI and CPP from the gross pay (total hours worked x hourly rate). Salaries and benefits are administered by {title of position}.

Salary Increases

Salary increases normally occur at the beginning of each fiscal year which starts the beginning of {month}. Each employee’s salary is assessed annually based on performance, experience in the position, level of knowledge, skills, potential for advancement, etc. A decision for a salary increase should be based on the following factors:

• The employee’s position within the job grade (level and relation to the salary maximum);
• The employee’s performance evaluation for the year;
• Internal equity;
• Company performance.

Banking Hours for Hourly Paid Employees

It is possible for an employee to ‘bank’ hours worked during the season for compensation during the off season. For example, if an employee works an average of 120 hours every 2 weeks in the spring, then he/she can request that {company name} bank 40 of those hours towards payment over the winter months. In this instance, the employee would receive immediate compensation for 80 hours of work, while the compensation of the remaining 40 hours would be delivered during the off season.

The ‘banking of hours’ approach is an acceptable practice. The employee and {company name} must sign a contract detailing the terms and conditions that will govern the ‘banking’ process.

BENEFITS

{Insert company benefits}