Managing the Employee Relationship
Human Resource Management: An Experiential Approach, Sixth Edition
Chapter
12
Managing the
Employment Relationship
OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, you should be able to
1. Explain the concept of organizational justice and how it relates to all aspects of relationship building with employees.
2. Understand how actions taken at organizational entry help to build the employment relationship.
3. Know the major laws and legal doctrines governing the employment relationship. 4. Understand the complexities of employee handbooks. Cllrrent issues, and ways to avoid lawsuits.
5. Understand policies and procedures associated with discipline and grievances. 6. Explain the variolls ways that an employee can exit an organization and the measures organizations can take to make this parting of ways a more positive experience for all involved.
OVERVIEW
An employee handbook was presented to an employee after he had been working at an organization for several months. From the employee 's perspective, two sections of the handbook implied an employment contract. The first section outlined the job security of individuals in the industry, although it made no mention of job security within this partiClilar organization. The second section was the organization 's disciplinary policy, which outlined specific circumstances and behaviors that were subject to discipline, up to and including termination. Upon his termination, the employee sued the organization, claiming that these two sections of the handbook constituted an implicit contract. The employee won the suit on the basis of the disciplinary policy published in the employee handbook.
Because he was terminated for an act that was not explicitly outlined in the disciplinary policy, the COllrt ruled that the employer violated an implicit contract. The COllrt ruled that employee handbooks represent choices for the organization to implement contracts or modify existing contracts with every
Chapter
12
Managing the
Employment Relationship
OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, you should be able to
1. Explain the concept of organizational justice and how it relates to all aspects of relationship building with employees.
2. Understand how actions taken at organizational entry help to build the employment relationship.
3. Know the major laws and legal doctrines governing the employment relationship. 4. Understand the complexities of employee handbooks. Cllrrent issues, and ways to avoid lawsuits.
5. Understand policies and procedures associated with discipline and grievances. 6. Explain the variolls ways that an employee can exit an organization and the measures organizations can take to make this parting of ways a more positive experience for all involved.
OVERVIEW
An employee handbook was presented to an employee after he had been working at an organization for several months. From the employee 's perspective, two sections of the handbook implied an employment contract. The first section outlined the job security of individuals in the industry, although it made no mention of job security within this partiClilar organization. The second section was the organization 's disciplinary policy, which outlined specific circumstances and behaviors that were subject to discipline, up to and including termination. Upon his termination, the employee sued the organization, claiming that these two sections of the handbook constituted an implicit contract. The employee won the suit on the basis of the disciplinary policy published in the employee handbook.
Because he was terminated for an act that was not explicitly outlined in the disciplinary policy, the COllrt ruled that the employer violated an implicit contract. The COllrt ruled that employee handbooks represent choices for the organization to implement contracts or modify existing contracts with every
References: Source: Adapted and updated from M. f. Cook, "Personnel Policies and Employee Communications: Handling New Issues in Today 's Work Environment," New Directions in Human Resources: A Handbook (Englewood Cliffs, NI: Prentice Hall, 1987).