UNIT III: Professional Ethics in HR Practice

Definition and Concept of Professional Ethics-Need and Importance- Ethics and Organizations, Employee
Duties and Rights, Anti discriminatory and Pre-judicial Employee Practices, Natural Acceptance of Human
Values. Accountability, Collegiality, Royalty, Respect for Authority, Professional Rights, Intellectual Property
Rights, Honesty, Moral Leadership, Code of Conduct.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS:
Professional ethics are principles that govern the behaviour of a person or group in a business environment. Like values,
professional ethics provide rules on how a person should act towards other people and institutions in such an
environment.

Objectives of Professional Ethics

 Protection of the Public  Prevention of Unethical Behavior

 Promotion of Professional Values  Accountability
 Maintenance of Professional Standards
Importance of Professional Ethics

 Ensures Responsible and Ethical behavior  Fosters a Positive Work Environment

 Promotes Trust and Credibility  Promotes Social Responsibility
 Encourages Ethical Decision-making
Nature and Characteristics of Professional Ethics

 Specific to a profession  Obligatory

 Self-regulatory  Purposeful
 Based on values
Scope of Professional Ethics

 Standards of Conduct  Responsibility to Society and the Environment

 Relationships with Clients or Stakeholders  Ethical Decision-making
 Professional Competence  Disciplinary Processes
Advantages of Professional Ethics

 Enhances Professional Reputation  Fosters a Positive Workplace Culture

 Improves Decision-Making  Protects the Public Interest
 Encourages Accountability
Limitations of Professional Ethics

 Limited Enforcement Mechanisms  Lack of Clarity

 Conflicts Between Personal and Professional  Limited Scope
Values  Inadequate Training
ETHICS & ORGANISATION:
Importance of Ethics in an organisation

 Ethical behavior can bring benefits to organisation as it as it attract customers to organisation products thereby
boosting sales and profit.
 Ethical culture make employees to work more for organisation reduce labor turnover and therefore increase
productivity.
 Ethical culture attract more employees wanting to work for the organisation thereby reducing recruitment cost
and enable organisation to get the most talented employee.
 Ethical behavior attract more investors and keep the company price high thereby protect the business from
takeover.
 By applying ethics many social evils can be eliminated like child labor and harassment to employees.
 Organisation ethics helps in building openness,integrity and a sense of oneness amongest all employees.
Employees feel motivated as they feel strong alignment between their values and that of organisation.
 Ethics ensures the employees that all the policies are legal and all employees are treated equal in the organisation.
 Strong organisation ethics often encourages managers to show appreciation for an employee hard work as a result
team member may be more royal to the organisation and strive to be more productive.
 Ethical culture make effective leaders as when manager follows organisation ethics,they are more likely to treat
employees well as result team is more inclined to follow their lead.This minimize discipline issues and team can
trust managers and supervisor when tough decision are made.
EMPLOYEE DUTIES & RIGHTS:
Employee rights refers to a variety of measures that safeguard employees in the workplace.
Important employee rights
Employment agreement
All employees are entitled to an employment agreement under the employment laws that specify the date on which they
should begin working for the company. An employment agreement is a written document that outlines the terms and
conditions of employment, as well as the employer and employee’s rights and responsibilities. Before starting work, every
employee is entitled to a written employment agreement signed by the employer. A well-written agreement drafted by a
labour lawyer can avoid any unanticipated conflict between the employer and the employee, as the legal process to be
followed to resolve any issue is already established in the employee’s agreement.
Salary and bonus on a regular basis
According to the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976, equal compensation for equal work must be paid regardless of gender.
An employee’s salary must be paid on time, according to the Payment of Wages Act of 1936. If payment is not made, the
employee can file a civil complaint or contact the Labour Commissioner. Any factory or company that is five years old
and employs 20 or more people in any accounting year is legally required to pay a bonus to its employees, according to
the Payment of Bonus Act of 1965.
Right to health and safety
According to the Factories Act of 1948, all employees, regardless of the type of work they do, are entitled to basic health
and safety rights at work as part of a sound and viable working environment. The employer is in charge of providing basic
amenities to his employees. Proper safety measures must be followed in workplaces such as construction or mining sites,
dangerous equipment must be operated under expert supervision, and no minors under the age of 14 should be allowed to
work.
If an employee is injured as a result of the employer’s failure to provide a safe and healthy working environment, the
employer may be liable for compensation under the Employees Compensation Act of 1923.
Minimum wages
According to the Minimum Wages Act of 1948, every employee is entitled to a minimum payment that is sufficient to
support his or her lifestyle while also providing the necessities. Wages that are less than the minimum wage are a clear
violation of Article 23 of the Constitution. If an employee is forced to labour for less than the minimum wage, the
employer faces legal implications.
Leaves and vacation time
An employee is entitled to leave and vacation time during their work. In general, an employee in India can take the
following types of leaves:
Casual leaves
These leaves are set aside in case of unforeseen circumstances or incidents that require an employee’s immediate
attention. A corporation usually allows up to three days of unpaid leave every month.
Privilege leaves
These leaves are left over from past years and used by the employee in the current or future years. The duration of
privilege leaves can be extended for up to three years. If an employee has exhausted all of his sick days, these can be
utilised instead. If an employee has balance privilege leaves remaining when they leave their work, they can be cashed.
Paid leaves
Paid leave is available to employees on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. For paid leaves taken, the company cannot
deduct the employee’s salary.
Leave without pay
If an employee’s leave balance is depleted, he may take a day off, but his income for that day will be removed from his
monthly salary. At the discretion of the management authorities, the employee may be awarded paid leave.
Sick leave
An employee is entitled to a set amount of sick days, which can be used if they become ill.
Compensatory leave
If the employee works on official off days, he or she can take these leaves.
Maternity leave
A female employee is entitled to 26 weeks of maternity/pregnancy leave, which she can use throughout her pregnancy
and/or after birth. In India, the Maternity Benefit Act of 2017 protects the interests of employers who employ pregnant or
lactating women. Maternity leave can also be taken in the event of pregnancy difficulties, such as early birth, miscarriage,
or medical termination. In India, several private companies offer paternity leave to male employees, allowing them to care
for their newborn kid(s). The Rajya Sabha first enacted the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 in August 2016,
and the Lok Sabha followed suit in March 2017.
Paternity leave
Following the passage of the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act in 2017, a new bill known as the Paternity Benefit Bill
was submitted. According to the new bill, all employees, both in the public and commercial sectors, should be entitled to
fifteen days of paternity leave, which can be extended up to three months. The Paternity Benefit Bill, 2017, has been
introduced in parliament with the goal of providing equal paternity and maternity leave to natural and adoptive fathers, as
well as people acting in loco parentis.
Gratuity
Gratuity is defined by the Payment of Gratuity Act of 1972 as a retirement fund paid to an employee upon retirement,
termination, resignation, or death. It is given to employees who have worked for at least five years in a row. If the
company refuses to pay the gratuity, the employee might seek legal advice from an employment lawyer.
Provident fund
Employees have the option of keeping a portion of their pay invested in EPF, which is sent directly by the employer into
PF accounts under the Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. The Employees Provident
Fund Organization keeps track of employer and employee contributions (EPFO).
Notice period
If an employer chooses to terminate an employee’s employment, the employee must be given notice so that they can
prepare for the termination. An employer is not allowed to fire an employee without providing them notice. If an
employee is fired without cause and notice, the employee can speak with a labour lawyer about filing a wrongful
termination of employment complaint against the employer.
Protection from sexual harassment
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act of 2013 protects women in
the workplace from sexual harassment. If a business has 10 or more employees, the Act mandates the formation of an
Internal Complaints Committee to handle sexual harassment complaints.
ANTI – JUDICIAL & PRE-DISCRIMINATORY EMPLOYEE PRACTICES:
Treating someone less favorably because they come from a particular place, their ethnicity, their accent, or because it is
believed that they have a particular ethnic background. It also includes treating someone less favorably because of
marriage or association with someone of a particular nationality.
NATURAL ACCEPTANCE OF HUMAN VALUES:
Natural acceptance implies unconditional and total acceptance of the self, people and environment. It also refers to the
absence of any exception from others. Once we fully and truly commit ourselves on the basis of natural acceptance, we
feel a holistic sense of inner harmony, tranquility and fulfillment.
Human values are, for example, respect, acceptance, consideration, appreciation, listening, openness, affection, empathy
and love towards other human beings.
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS:
Intellectual property rights (IPR) refers to the legal rights given to the inventor or creator to protect his invention or
creation for a certain period of time.[1] These legal rights confer an exclusive right to the inventor/creator or his assignee
to fully utilize his invention/creation for a given period of time.

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