Can an employee be fired for violating the rules of corporate ethics? Ethical violations in the organization Violations of ethical standards

Ethical norms are represented by the values \u200b\u200band rules of ethics that must be observed by the employees and leaders of the organization. There may be different options. 1. Ethical and regulatory standards are consistent with each other. This facilitates the implementation of the norms. In particular, following the laws, given the ethics of law abiding. 2. The leader's behavior is unethical, but it does not contradict the laws. Usually, the ethical behavior of a manager is not regulated at the legislative level. Among the possible manifestations of violations of moral norms in practice, it is worth noting:

  • • abuse, rudeness;
  • • disrespect for someone else's point of view;
  • · Violation of the rules of public conduct;
  • • disrespect for other people's physical disabilities;
  • · Concealment of inventions;
  • • gossip;
  • · The given word is not respected;
  • · The leader neglects the feelings and health of subordinates;
  • • immoral behavior in everyday life;
  • • humiliation of subordinates;
  • · The principle of acquaintance in the selection of personnel;
  • · Gifts from subordinates, interested and dependent people;
  • · Refusal from the obligations assumed;
  • · Disclosure of commercial and official secrets of the organization;
  • · Non-repayment of the debt in due time;
  • · Disclosure of the source of information that was transmitted in confidence.

Behavioral regulation mechanisms work when such qualities of people as conscience, professional honor, duty, moral responsibility for their actions and the deeds of others are manifested in the best way. The ethical level of an organization is characterized by the degree of orientation of its leaders and its rank-and-file employees in their behavior and decision-making on moral standards of behavior. The authority of the leader is greatly influenced by the presence of a high culture of communication, which is expressed in the norms of professional ethics. These include:

  • - Democracy of communication between the head and his subordinates, colleagues at work;
  • - its availability, attentiveness;
  • - the ability to create a friendly atmosphere of trust;
  • - politeness and correctness in handling;
  • - accuracy and responsible attitude to the given word.

Smartness and accuracy, clarity and organization in the manner of behavior play a significant role. But the external side of actions should correspond to the internal moral convictions of the leader. Only under this condition, the norms of official etiquette can help the leader to communicate with people more effectively. Constant communication between the leader and his subordinates raises his authority and the level of trust in him, affects the social and psychological climate in the team. The effectiveness of the work of the team, its ability to solve the assigned tasks largely depends on the moral and psychological climate, as well as on the prevailing "attitude" of employees in the group, which, all other things being equal, is determined, firstly, by the qualitative composition of the personnel and, secondly , peculiarities of informal relations between a manager and a subordinate. Let us dwell on these problems in more detail. Scientific research and generalization of practical work experience indicate that the most productive are working groups consisting of people of different ages, sex and temperaments. Young workers perceive new things better, are more energetic, but sometimes arrogant, not inclined to compromise. The elderly, on the contrary, are quite conservative, but they have life experience, are not inclined to adventures, are able to make more balanced decisions, as a rule, avoid conflict situations.

Further, purely female and purely male collectives have specific drawbacks: petty squabbles occur more often in female collectives, more losses of working time in connection with the systematic discussion of everyday problems, etc., while in some male collectives foul language flourishes during working hours and "bad habits". In other words, the joint work of persons of different sexes, as it were, pulls up workers, increases self-discipline, and demands on themselves. It is equally important to have individuals with different temperaments in the group, since each of them, as we have already found out, has its own advantages and disadvantages. The informal relationship between the leader and subordinates deserves the most serious attention. Along with the ability to choose the management style that is optimal in a given situation, it is necessary, first of all, to know the typical mistakes inherent in people of his status, and to correctly build interpersonal relationships with personnel. Typical errors include cases when:

  • * the leader does not give specific assignments, but constantly annoys subordinates with a large number of general questions;
  • * "fixated" on one topic in communication with staff, for example, labor discipline;
  • * daily formulates new ideas for the task;
  • * constantly preaches his plans;
  • * does not trust his employees, abuses petty control;
  • * is fond of paperwork;
  • * inaccessible geographically and in time;
  • * does not have ready-made solutions for production tasks offered to personnel.

The success of informal relationships with subordinates, without which it is impossible to form a sense of respect for your leader, depends on adherence to a number of principles and rules of business communication. Respect for the dignity of others is fundamental. The moral and psychological basis of this principle is the axiom of social psychology, according to which no person feels comfortable enough without positive self-esteem.

Consequently, the leader is obliged to see in each subordinate not a position, but a personality, show goodwill and tolerance, respect his personal life, but at the same time avoid advice in this area. It is advisable to always remember that "the strong never humiliates" and, therefore, it is unacceptable to raise your voice at your employee, hang labels such as "lazy", "bum", "dumb", etc. If a subordinate made a mistake or committed a misconduct, he, as a rule, understands his guilt and adequately perceives the punishment, but if the boss hurts his pride at the same time, he will not forgive it.

Therefore, when analyzing a situation, it is necessary to separate a person and an act: criticize specific actions, and not the personality of the guilty person. It is important to remember that only those leaders are respected who praise in front of everyone, but pronounce it face to face; never complain about their employees and, if necessary, take the blame on themselves; promptly and openly admit their mistakes. Despite personal sympathies and antipathies, the manager is obliged to present the same requirements to all subordinates, to treat everyone equally, not to single out anyone; when outsiders contact their employees by name and patronymic, regardless of their age. It is unacceptable to read notations and teach staff if the leader himself does not comply with this requirement: only the leader's personal example has educational value. A typical mistake of young leaders is the desire to become "their own" among their subordinates. It is still better to maintain a distance, separate personal and business, and avoid familiarity.

Otherwise, the order as a form of order will be ineffective. The manager has no moral right to hide information that is important to them from his employees. At the same time, he is obliged to suppress gossip and denunciations. Any boss faces complaints from their employees about working conditions, relationships within the team or with other departments. Even if the manager is not able to solve the problem himself, he is obliged to listen carefully to the subordinate. It is unacceptable to ignore the appeals of subordinates, because, as the American sociologist Diana Tracy correctly noted, complainants are not traitors.

It may very well be that the complainant is doing you a great service by reporting a situation that others are suffering from, but are silent. Thus, the basis for the success of any modern collective activity is the relationship of cooperation, mutual assistance.

A medical worker is an individual who has a medical or other education, who works in a medical organization whose duties include the implementation of medical activities, or an individual who is an individual entrepreneur and operates in the field of medicine. The main task is to improve health and preserve human life. Thus, a respectful attitude towards each patient is determined. Medical workers, carrying out their labor function, in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), have certain duties of the employee and are responsible for violation of labor discipline, internal labor regulations.

In carrying out their duties, "guardians of health" must comply with the rules of medical ethics. However, there are problems related to the professional ethics of the healthcare professional, both internationally and nationally. It is believed that the basic principles of medical ethics were formulated by Hippocrates. These principles are as follows1: 1. The principle of harmlessness, concern for the benefit of the patient, dominant interests of the patient. 2. The principle of careful informing of the patient, allowing him to misinform. 3. The principle of respect for life, negative attitude to euthanasia, to complicity in suicide, to abortion. 4. Obligation to refuse intimate relations with patients. 5. The principle of medical secrecy and confidentiality. 6. Obligation to teachers. 7. Obligation to impart knowledge to students and consult with colleagues. 8. Commitments to professional and moral self-improvement and decency. It is obvious that the principles indicated by Hippocrates put the rights and interests of citizens at the head. Exploring the legal doctrine, a certain picture of the professional ethics of medical workers is being formed. I.V. Parish, A.A. Rybalchenko in his work "Fundamentals of Medical Ethics and Deontology" notes that for the optimal implementation of the principles of medical deontology, the following conditions are necessary: \u200b\u200bvocation, tact, intelligence, citizenship. A medical worker must always remember the patient, have the ability to conquer and subdue the soul of the patient2. In addition, researcher T.A. Kornaukhova is in solidarity with the attitudes of Hippocrates and believes that the main principle of the model of medical ethics of Hippocrates is the maxim “do no harm”. This principle acts as a regulator of the civil component of a doctor's professional ethics3. Also investigated this problem

V. N. Saperov in his work “Bioethics or Medical Ethics? Basic Principles of Medical Ethics ”, where he points out that the principles of professional ethics of medical workers contain the following principles:“ The main thing is not to harm ”,“ Do good ”, the principle of respect for patient autonomy and the principle of justice1.

In addition to the above researchers, the problem of medical ethics was studied by such scientists as A.V. Yaroslavtseva, I. B. Ganshin, N. A. Shergeng, and others. Referring to international acts regulating the professional ethics of medical workers, it must be said that this issue is very considerable attention. Thus, Article 3 of the Global Code of the World Health Organization (hereinafter WHO) on the practice of international recruitment of health personnel states that the health of all people is an essential condition for achieving peace and security2. In addition, WHO emphasizes in its international code of medical ethics that 3: A DOCTOR SHOULD maintain the highest professional standards at all times. A DOCTOR SHOULD not allow considerations of self-interest to influence the freedom and independence of professional judgment, which should be made in the patient's best interest. A DOCTOR SHOULD prioritize compassion and respect for the patient's human dignity and be fully responsible for all aspects of medical care, regardless of their professional specialization. A DOCTOR SHOULD be honest in dealing with patients and colleagues and fight those of his colleagues who are incompetent or found to be cheating.

These duties correspond to the principles of ethics established in due time by Hippocrates, where human interests are the highest value. As for the regulation of the issue of professional ethics at the national level, it should be noted that the Russian Federation also pays great attention to this. In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, a person, his rights and freedoms are the highest value, and everyone has the right to health protection and medical care4. These human and civil rights are exercised through the activities of medical organizations and medical workers who must comply with the rules of professional ethics.

Thus, the Code of Professional Ethics of a Doctor of the Russian Federation states that a doctor is obliged to provide high-quality, effective and safe medical care. He is obliged to take into account the advantages, disadvantages and consequences of various diagnostic and therapeutic methods. In the absence of the necessary conditions and resources in the medical organization, the doctor is obliged to refer the patient to the appropriate medical institution1. In our opinion, each medical professional must perform his duties efficiently and effectively, taking into account the peculiarities of each specific situation. In addition, a lot of attention is paid to medical secrecy.

Article 8 of the Code of Professional Ethics of a Doctor of the Russian Federation contains a rule that medical secrecy refers to everything that a doctor becomes aware of while performing his professional duty. It is not allowed to disclose information constituting a medical secret without the permission of the patient or his legal representative, including after the death of a person, with the exception of cases provided for by Russian legislation. This act, as well as others regulating the professional ethics of medical workers at various levels, the highest value is the honor and dignity of the patient, and it is indicated that all the characteristics of his personality should be taken into account during treatment and his personal life and the right to confidentiality should be respected In addition, it should be noted that a draft Code of Professional Ethics of a Medical Worker has been developed, which enshrines the obligation to perform their labor functions in good faith3.

There is also the Federal Law "On the Fundamentals of Citizens Health Protection", which, in turn, enshrines the rules of professional ethics of a medical worker. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that failure to fulfill any obligation by an employee working under an employment contract, or improper performance of a labor function in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation entails disciplinary liability in accordance with Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation4. Likewise, the failure of a medical worker to comply with the norms of professional ethics provides for disciplinary responsibility for evasion or poor-quality performance of his duties5. But in the latter case, a medical worker can be brought to administrative and criminal liability, in addition to disciplinary, since human life and health are serious. The Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses establishes in Article 13.11 "Violation of the procedure for collecting, storing, using or disseminating information about citizens (personal data)" 6, administrative responsibility, and Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for liability for "Violation of privacy" 7, where under the inviolability of private life is meant the disclosure of information constituting a medical secret by a person to whom this information became known in connection with the performance of his official or professional duties. However, despite the responsibility, health care workers do not comply with the established norms, which is a huge problem. On this issue there is a wide one. Thus, the Khabarovsk Regional Court issued an appeal ruling No. 33-5145 / 2016 of August 12, 2016 in case No. 33-5145 / 2016 in the case of recognizing an order to bring to disciplinary responsibility for non-compliance with continuity in treatment, violation of ethical and deontological norms of behavior the doctor is illegal. By the decision of the Industrial District Court of Khabarovsk dated April 26, 2016, the claims were rejected.

The Judicial Collegium of the Khabarovsk Regional Court determined that the decision of the Industrial District Court of Khabarovsk of April 26, 2016 in a civil case on a claim to declare an order to bring disciplinary liability unlawful, to recover compensation for moral damage should be left unchanged, and an appeal without satisfaction So, the professional ethics of medical workers is an important component of the legal norms regulating their activities, since citizens engaged in labor activities in the field of protecting human health and life must strictly observe the established rules for high-quality and professional care. In order to ensure compliance with the rules of professional ethics of medical workers, we believe that it is necessary to tighten the rules establishing responsibility for their violation.

F.F. Karimova

Previous post
Next post

Violation of legal norms entails punishment and responsibility established by the legal acts of a particular state, and any violation of the law is an unethical act. However, not all violations of ethical norms are prosecuted by law, therefore, their regulation and functioning in society is an area of \u200b\u200bexclusively spontaneous human activity. Compliance with ethical norms regulates public opinion, they are supported by spiritual influence (religious, ideological, propagandistic or ethical), and the punishment for violating them is social ostracism, the forced marginalization of the violator of the norm, his exclusion from the collective.

Sometimes this punishment is more severe than a criminal one, because in the latter case a person still finds himself in a new social environment, even if it has a set of very specific local ethical norms, and in the first one he loses his status in society (professional, social), and boycotted. The criteria for determining the ethics and unethicality of an act are the concepts of “moral / immoral”, “good / bad”, “honest / dishonest”, “commendable / shameful”, “conscientious / shameless”, “deserving of approval / condemnation”.

For a person who is a comprehensively and harmoniously developed personality, violation of moral norms is a violation of the foundation of his individuality, the integrity of his personality, “a crime against himself”. Nevertheless, the maturity of this position and the ability to adhere to it is not inherent in all subjects of ethical relations and not in all situations. For example, violation of ethical norms among adolescents is a consequence of protest against not meaningful or undesirable prescriptions, ignorance of social censure as an effective way of punishing anti-social activities.

The feeling of one's own "impunity" and the insignificance of norms, not codified, but tacitly enforced in society, leads to the development of selfish, critical sentiments. Violation of professional ethical standards, in most cases, becomes a consequence of the "burnout syndrome", which is most often found in people who, in the course of their work, closely interact with a large number of other people. "Professional burnout" is associated with the loss of moral and psychological aspects that should underlie the ethical behavior of a person: with the loss of emotional involvement with other people and their sphere of activity, dehumanization of people, their perception as units of the system, and not participants in ethical relations with value. and the significance, the loss of adequate self-reflection, the desire to alienate oneself from the ethical system. Thus, the control of violation of ethical norms is based on the idea of \u200b\u200bretribution, which will necessarily result from any action a person performs. “Retribution is an ontological principle of the structure of human existence, which expresses the correspondence of moral deeds and benefits received, the return of good for good, evil for evil. The principle of reward is the basis of law, various provisions on remuneration, awards that stimulate honest work, benefits, etc. "

Violations of ethical norms differ in the severity and measures of subsequent punishment for their violation: universal norms often correspond to legal norms ("Thou shalt not kill!") And have a legislative basis, suppression of religious norms leads to exclusion from a particular community, the imposition of any restrictive measures , depending on the prescriptions set out in the case texts; violation of national ethical norms leads to social ostracism, exclusion from the national culture, historical narrative (for example, actions against the Nobel Prize winner B.L. Pasternak); punishment for violation of regional norms is determined by the conductors of local ethics; violation of professional ethics can lead to expulsion from the team, deprivation of professional title. Failure to comply with ethical norms within the framework of any jointly acting collective introduces disharmony, misunderstanding, an abundance of communication failures that impede communication and joint production.

At the beginning of the chapter, it was already said that attempts to provide a universal definition of ethics face certain difficulties, but it is even more difficult to comply with the rules of ethics in the daily activities in the field of CO. In this regard, here is another definition of ethics:

Ethics refers to a system of values \u200b\u200bby which a person determines what is right or wrong, what is good or bad, what is fair or unfair. Ethics is manifested in moral behavior in a particular situation.

Thus, ethics can be seen as the judgment of people about whether certain actions are right or wrong. Unfortunately, the formulation of such judgments is difficult because of the norms of social behavior that exist in a given society at a given time. Additional difficulties are introduced by the level of education of the individual, and the cultural environment, and the specifics of a particular situation.

Respect for the public interest. It has already been said that most of the information created in writing or orally by an SB specialist affects society in one way or another, causing public resonance. Everything that is defined by law as illegal is at the same time unethical, and in this the law and ethical standards completely coincide, and in such cases they say that ethics confirms the law. Public Relations, in its activities, best serve the public by communicating timely, truthful, honest and objective information. To achieve this, the CO specialist must avoid:

Preparing written materials that harm and undermine confidence in the effective functioning of state institutions in their country (if the work is not carried out in the interests of the party opposition to the government, there is no point in undermining the economic and other foundations in the country where business is conducted);

Preparing written materials calling for anarchy, the abolition of the Constitution and the overthrow of the legitimate government;

Sale or transfer to foreign nationals of state secrets vital for ensuring the security of the country (this is especially important in cases where the employer of a CO specialist is a foreign company or a private person - a foreign national);

Preparing written materials inciting racial and other forms of hatred, contempt, ridicule and violence;

Compilation of materials that are inaccurate and misleading.

Good taste. First of all, you should avoid in your written materials the use of harsh words, obscene expressions, humiliating and offensive statements.

Decency. Avoid:

Writing materials that undermine the reputation of other professionals who also work in the field of JI (an exception may be cases when this other specialist is "engaged in unethical, illegal, unfair practices" - see Appendix Articles 14 and 15 of the American Public Relations Association Code );

Use or transfer to others for personal gain of confidential information received from former and current customers;

Accepting assignments from clients competing with the current employer.

Effects. Professionals who violate the norms of ethical behavior in written communication:

In many cases, they break the law, thus harming their own career;

They destroy personal dignity, professional and human confidence in themselves;

Destroy the reputation and trust in their customers;

By their behavior, they undermine the credibility of all professional activities of SOs as a whole.

Since this book includes a chapter devoted to the compilation of advertising texts, you should especially dwell on the laws and regulations governing advertising activities. In Russia, the Federal Law "On Advertising" was adopted on July 18, 1995. This Law first of all defines the range of public relations related to the placement and distribution of advertising products, the protection of consumers from advertising of substandard goods, and the advertisers themselves from unfair competition in the field of advertising.

In Art. 2 of the Federal Law "On Advertising" defines the concept of "advertising", which explains that advertising is understood as "information disseminated in any form, by any means, information about an individual or legal entity, goods, ideas and undertakings (advertising information), which is intended for an indefinite circle of persons and is designed to form or maintain interest in these individuals, legal entities, goods, ideas and undertakings and to promote the implementation of goods, ideas and undertakings. " The rest of the articles of the Law describe and prescribe in detail the restrictions and prohibitions imposed on advertisers, advertisers and the media that place and distribute advertisements.



The Law also provides a characterization of unfair advertising (Art. 6), which is described as hidden, deliberately false, unreliable, unethical.

Since the ethical component in the profession of a public relations specialist is far from the last place, let us dwell on Art. 8 of the Law "On Advertising", which deals in detail with the problem of unethical advertising.

Contains text, visual, sound information that violates generally accepted norms of humanity and morality by using offensive words, comparisons, images in relation to race, nationality, profession, social categories, age group, gender, language, religious, philosophical, political and other beliefs of individuals ;

Defames objects of art that are national or world cultural heritage;

Defames state symbols (flags, emblems, anthems), the national currency of the Russian Federation or another state, religious symbols; defames any natural or legal person, any activity, profession, product, person. Unethical advertising is not allowed.

The text of this article and many other articles on the need to adhere to ethics and universal values \u200b\u200bin advertising, repeat the provisions of the International Code of Advertising Practice. Let's turn to the postulates of this document.

Observe legality, decency, honesty and reliability;

Remember the responsibility to society;

Respect and uphold public values;

Be guided by the principles of fair competition. Advertising should not:

Concluding the consideration of the issue of the role and importance of compliance with legal and ethical standards in the activities of a public relations specialist, it should be emphasized and identified as the fundamental and priority obligation of such a specialist to observe these standards himself and to preach their observance among his colleagues in the profession, in his organization , in society.

Questions to Think About

After reviewing the RASO's Declaration of Professional and Ethical Principles in Public Relations, the Code of Athens, and the American Public Relations Association's Code found in the appendices at the end of this book, form your own opinion and make decisions about the following situations.

1. In order to illustrate the position of how complex and ambiguous the activity of a PR-specialist in various fields of activity, even within the same situation, consider the case below.

In the United States, as in many other countries (including Russia), the issue of banning smoking and tobacco production is especially acute because historically the United States has been the main manufacturer and exporter of tobacco products for centuries. Below are the main groups of the public, whose interests are affected in this situation. Tobacco plantation owners. The cultivation of tobacco is not prohibited by law, the product is registered in agricultural subcommittees, sometimes it is subsidized by the state.

The tobacco industry. Production is permitted by law; industry provides employment for a significant part of the population. Smokers. Human rights cannot be restricted; if the product is legally produced, it can be consumed.

Non-smokers. Smokers harm the health of others; if smokers have the right to smoke, then non-smokers have the right not to smoke in their presence.

Association of Physicians. Smoking limits the lifespan of both smokers and non-smokers. Treatment of pulmonary diseases is long and expensive; requires the introduction of restrictions on the rights of smokers and the activities of the tobacco industry.

Public health care. Since the production of the product is permitted by law, the state bodies can only inform the society about the dangers of smoking tobacco.

In each of the above public groups, these organizations have public relations services. How should each of these groups defend the interests of the organization, taking into account the interests of society as a whole or individual groups of society?

2. You are a public relations professional and are assigned an assignment by your company president to write a news release about a new product. In the news release, it is necessary to indicate that this product is three times superior in quality to similar products produced by competing firms. You are aware that no research has been carried out by your firm to prove this is true. What are your actions as a PR specialist?

3. Your organization, in order to ensure the publication of its news releases in the most reliable way, invites the editor of one of the city newspapers to a full-time consultant position, while maintaining its position in the newspaper. Do you see signs of unethical behavior here, both on the part of the organization and on the part of the editor, if the latter agrees to accept this proposal? What are these signs of unethical behavior?

4. The PR-agency in which you work, in the competition for a potential client, guarantees him the publication of materials about his company in the most prestigious professional magazines. Why is the agency unauthorized to make such promises?

5. The client of your PR agency asks you for professional advice on how to avoid financial threats when his company merges with another, weaker one. You do not want to take responsibility for considering yourself insufficiently competent in financial matters. You recommend your client to contact a specialist from another PR ‑ agency, your friend. Your friend consulted and received a generous reward. He offers to send you a check for 30,000 rubles. Can you accept this check without informing the management of your agency and client?

6. The head of the construction firm, where you head the public relations department, invites you to prepare texts for a series of his speeches at meetings with the public in connection with the firm's plans regarding the sealing development in a residential area of \u200b\u200bthe sleeping area of \u200b\u200bthe city. You know that the promises that the leader requires to be included in the text of speeches are not in the plans of your construction organization, are practically difficult to implement and therefore will not be fulfilled. What are your actions in this situation?

7. The famous athlete is accused of selling drugs, he is also charged with planning the murder of a young couple, his acquaintances. The athlete's lawyer turns to his friend, a PR specialist, for help in placing publications in the media. The specialist accepts this offer. However, even before the trial, the PR specialist learns from private sources with a high degree of certainty that the athlete was indeed involved in drug trafficking and took part in the murder. The lawyer assures his friend that the information received is classified and will not appear in court and that he intends to seek an acquittal for his client. What ethical issues arise in this situation? Which articles of the professional code are covered here? What should a PR-specialist who has been contacted by a lawyer do?

A person spends at least 20% of his life at work. When we come to work, we want to feel comfortable. Unfortunately, not a single working day goes by without stress. Working life and conflicts between employees darken. The employer finds himself in a difficult situation when it is necessary not only to resolve the conflict, but also to punish the instigator.

Today, many employers include ethical provisions in the organization's local regulations, for example, the need to be friendly with clients, respectful of colleagues, etc. And if the first is the responsibility of employees and is not subject to discussion, then the second remains on their conscience and is their personal matter.

It is not within the competence of the employer to regulate relations between employees. Does this mean that you cannot punish an employee, for example, for criticizing a colleague? Consider an example from judicial practice.

Situation

K. worked as deputy director for teaching and educational work in an educational institution. During a regular meeting, she criticized the work of one of her colleagues - V., and after the meeting she expressed her negative attitude towards her in a personal conversation. V., believing that she had been insulted, wrote a memo addressed to the director with a request to bring K. to disciplinary responsibility. The employer issued an order to impose a disciplinary sanction on the deputy director K. in the form of a remark for violating the internal labor regulations (during working hours he distracts employees with extraneous conversations, discusses and criticizes the work of colleagues, makes comments regarding the personal and professional qualities of employees). This was not the first order to impose a disciplinary sanction; earlier K. was also brought to disciplinary responsibility.

K. realized that the administration was preparing documents for her dismissal under paragraph 4 of Art. 42 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter - TC) (for the systematic failure of the employee to fulfill his duties without good reason), and applied to the court with a request to remove the last disciplinary penalty from her.

The court of first instance found the employer's actions unlawful and found that K. had not violated labor discipline.

The employer's disciplinary order was canceled. The employer did not agree with the court decision and appealed against it. The regional court upheld the decision of the district court, considering that even if criticism of a colleague violates ethical norms, it is not an offense for which an employee can be brought to disciplinary responsibility.

Arguments of the parties

In the statement of claim K. asked the court to recognize the order declaring her remarks unlawful, since she had not committed a disciplinary offense. To the court, K. explained that the order to impose a penalty on her was issued in connection with the fact that she allegedly humiliated the honor and dignity of the employee of the educational institution, first at a meeting and then during communication with her. The deputy director argued that she in no way wanted to offend the honor and dignity of her colleague, but only wanted to find out what complaints she had about her work, and therefore considers it illegal to impose a disciplinary penalty on the grounds specified in the order.

At the hearing, representatives of the educational institution did not agree with the plaintiff's claims and asked the court to refuse to satisfy them. At the same time, they explained to the court that during the production meeting K. had criticized V., which affected her honor and dignity.

Then, in a personal conversation with V., the deputy director allowed herself to express a negative attitude towards her, which was the reason for V.'s writing a memorandum addressed to the director of the educational institution on taking measures against K., which was done. The director of the educational institution was sure that K., with her unworthy behavior, had violated the rules of the internal labor regulations of the educational institution. The rules stipulated that it was forbidden to distract employees from their job duties by talking on extraneous topics not related to work, insult colleagues, discuss and criticize their work, accuse of ignorance and misunderstanding of the functions assigned to them, job duties. D. was summoned as a witness, who confirmed that the relationship between K. and V. had been tense.

For reference: the employer must present evidence to the court, indicating not only that the employee has committed a disciplinary offense, but also that the severity of this offense and the circumstances in which it was committed were taken into account when imposing a penalty.

The position of the court of first instance

After hearing the explanations of the parties, the testimony of witnesses and examining the case materials, the court found out that the basis for issuing the order to announce the comment was V.'s memorandum to the director of the educational institution, which said that K. had accused her of misbehavior and distracted her from work. All of K.'s statements were perceived by V. as an interference in his personal life, an insult to his personal and business qualities. This circumstance was confirmed in the court session by witness D., who said that V. was brought to tears by a conversation with K.

The court considered that the existence of hostile relations between the workers was in no way connected with the performance of one of them of their labor duties.

Thus, the court, having studied and evaluated the evidence collected in the case, came to the conclusion that the administration of the educational institution brought K. to disciplinary responsibility unlawfully.

The internal labor regulations of an educational institution actually regulate interpersonal relations between employees, and not labor relations between an employer and an employee, therefore, their violation, in the opinion of the court, cannot entail disciplinary action. The court canceled the order to announce K.'s remarks.

Cassation Court Decision

The administration of the educational institution appealed against the decision of the court of first instance. The Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases of the Regional Court agreed with the findings of the District Court. According to the judicial board, the provisions of the internal labor regulations of an educational institution regulate ethical, interpersonal relations between employees, and therefore their violation is a violation of ethical standards, and not a disciplinary offense, for the commission of which it is possible to bring to disciplinary responsibility.

The deputy director for teaching and educational work belongs to the category of managers, whose responsibilities include, among other things, coordinating the work of teaching staff, as well as submitting comments on the activities of individual employees of the institution to the director of the institution. Considering the above, the conclusion of the court of first instance on the illegality of the order to bring K. to disciplinary responsibility in the form of a remark for violation of the rules of the internal labor regulations, the regional court considered correct and upheld the decision.

Exception to the general rule

Despite the fact that for the majority of employees, violation of the rules of conduct in the team cannot be regarded as an official misconduct, there are professions in which failure to comply with ethical standards and rules of official conduct should be considered a violation of the rules of labor discipline.

In any case, when imposing a disciplinary sanction, employers must comply with the requirements of Art. 198, 199, 200 TC.

You can punish an employee:

For unlawful, guilty failure or improper performance by the employee of his job duties;

Violation of labor discipline.

In this case, the severity of the disciplinary offense, the circumstances under which it was committed, the previous work and the employee's behavior in production should be taken into account.

For employees who have committed a disciplinary offense, regardless of the application of disciplinary measures, the deprivation of bonuses, changes in the time for granting labor leave and other measures may be applied. The types and procedure for applying these measures should be determined by the internal labor regulations, collective bargaining agreements, agreements, and other local regulatory legal acts.

 

It might be useful to read: