One-Stop HR Information Centre

The outbreak of H1N1 nationally and globally, and the increase of death toll has created worries among the people. Respective parties in response to this, have done the necessary prevention measurements such as having educational and awareness programs broadcast on TV / radio / newspaper or other media, encouraging people to wear masks at public area, and to wash hands more frequently. Some companies and schools even provide masks and sanitiser. The Government also provides the most efficient treatment to the suspended infected or infected group, by ensuring sufficient number of medical practitioner and medicine.

However, if unfortunately, despite the above prevention measurements, the staff / their dependents are still infected by H1N1, what should the Company does?

If the staff is infected by H1N1, and being hospitalised, no doubt he / she will be on medical leave. Even if the staff is not hospitalised due to whatsoever reason, but being granted medical leave by the medical practitioner, he / she will still be considered on medical leave.

How about if the staff’s family member is infected by H1N1, but the staff is not required to be self-quarantined based on the doctor’s jurisdiction? There might be risk to the Company and other staffs if the said staff is allowed to report to work as usual. If he / she is asked not to report to work for a period of time as determined by the Company, by deducting his annual leave entitlement, is it fair to him / her? In this case, the Company can consider to grant the staff compassionate leave or unrecorded leave of 3 days. By granting such leave to the staff, it would, firstly, shows sympathy of the Company to the staff, and secondly, as a step of self-quarantine for the staff whom family member is infected, at the same time to minimise the risk to the Company. Of course, the terms of granting this leave need to be spelt out by the Company in order to minimise abuse, for example, definition of family member, whether they stay under one roof, etc.

The Chairman’s role in a domestic inquiry is to chair the inquiry, and to make a decision of whether the accused is found guilty, together with the panel members, at the end of the inquiry.

The Chairman’s role / statement in chairing the inquiry are as follow:

The Chairman may start the inquiry with the following statement:

"The purpose of today’s inquiry is to allow the accused, in this case, <name>, an opportunity to state your case against the allegation leveled at you."

Thereafter, the Chairman shall proceed to introduce himself, the Panel Members, the Prosecutor (and perhaps, the Secretary).

The Chairman will then ask the accused whether he is accompanied by anyone for this hearing or will he be calling any witness (followed by answer).

The Prosecutor will then also be asked whether he will be calling any witness (followed by answer).

After that, the Chairman will lay out some ground rules for the inquiry, example are as follow:

• There will be no questions which are indecent or scandalous in nature.
• Any question intended to insult or which appear offensive shall not be allowed.
• Only relevant and material statements from witness are allowed.
• Exhibits and other documentary evidence which are relevant will be accepted.
• Only questions which are relevant to the charge are allowed by both parties.

After laid out the ground rules, the Chairman shall read the charge against the accused, as follow:

"The charge against you, <name of the accused>, that you <state the misconduct>. This allegation is very serious in nature and could lead to dismissal from employment. Do you, <name of the accused>, understand the charge and the consequences relating to this incident?" (followed by answer).

The Chairman will then asked the accused whether he plead guilty or otherwise. If the answer is not guilty, the Chairman will allow the Prosecutor to start the inquiry, which the Prosecutor will start by calling the 1st witness, and examine the 1st witness. After the 1st witness has given his statement, the Chairman will ask whether the accused have anything to cross-examine the 1st witness. After the accused cross-examined with the 1st witness, the Chairman will ask whether there is any other question from the Prosecutor or Panel Members. If there is no, the Chairman is to release the 1st witness. The same procedures will be applied on the subsequent witness (if any).

After all witnesses have given their statements, the Chairman shall proceed with the submission from both the accused and the Prosecutor respectively. Both Chairman and Panel Members may ask questions during the submission.

The Chairman will then conclude the hearing and make a decision whether the accused is found guilty together with the Panel Members.

It is not a common practice of most companies to grant their employees personal loan, take into consideration of the risk that may be faced by the Company when the employees fail to make repayment, or absconded, and the tedious procedures and cost that may incur in order to recover the default of such loan. However, if any personal loan is granted to an employee, it is advised that the repayment shall be deducted from the employee’s monthly salary, in order to minimise such defaults. For this purpose, an agreement shall be obtained from the employee before the loan amount is disbursed, which the sample of such agreement is as follow:

<Ref. No.>

<Date>

<Name>

<Designation / Department>

Dear <Name>,

Personal Loan

Please be informed that your application for a personal loan of <amount> from the Company as been approved.

Please note that the loan is granted on your agreement on your agreement to the following terms and conditions:

• That you shall repay the total loan disbursed through deductions from your monthly salary at <amount> per month commencing from <month, year> salary. In this regard, you are to authorise the Company to make monthly deduction of <amount> per month over <number of> instalments until full repayment of the loan sum of <amount>.
• If you leave the Company’s service due to resignation or dismissal / termination or the loan is being recalled / withdrawn, you shall repay the Company immediately on outstanding loan sum. For this purpose, the Company is entitled to set off from the outstanding balance loan sum against whatsoever monies due and payable by the Company to you.
• It is also agreed that should the Company be forced to seek legal advice / commence legal proceedings to enforce its rights under this agreement, the Company shall also be entitled to claim its solicitor-client fees in addition to the sums due and owing to it from you.

If you agree to the above, please acknowledge receipt of cheque for <amount> and to authorise the Company to deduct <amount> per month from your monthly salary commencing <month, year> until the total loan sum is repaid.

Yours faithfully,

<Company Signatory>

*************************************************************

Acknowledgement

I fully understand the terms and conditions and hereby acknowledge receipt of the cheque for the sum of <amount>. I also authorise the Company to make monthly deductions from my salary towards repayment of the loan as per Appendix 1 (Repayment Schedule shall be attached) enclosed.

<Employee Signatory>

<Date>

If the Board of Inquiry found an employee guilty after a domestic inquiry, and the Management has decided to dismiss the employee’s service, the following sample of dismissal letter is to serve to the employee:

<Ref.>

<Date>

<Name>

<Designation / Department>

Dear <Name>,

Dismissal

We refer to the Domestic Inquiry held on <date> on the specific allegation(s) levelled against you as stated in our letter of charge to you dated <date>.

We have carefully gone through the records of the inquiry, the related documents and finding of the Board of Inquiry, and concur with its findings that on the evidence recorded at the inquiry the charges levelled against you have been sufficiently proved (if not all the charges proved, state those which are proved).

As the charges levelled against you and proved against you at the inquiry being grave and serious, the appropriate punishment is dismissal. We have looked into your past record of service with the Company with a view to finding any extenuating circumstances, however, we regret that there are none.

In this circumstances, it has been decided to dismiss you from service. Accordingly, you are hereby dismissed from your service with the Company with effect from the date of this letter. You are required to return all company property under your possession to the Company, otherwise, appropriate reimbursement will have to be made by you to meet the cost of company property that are not returned by you.

After you have returned all company property under your possession, you may collect all monies due to you at Human Resource Department during normal office hours.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

<Signatory>

After due inquiry, if the Board of Inquiry found the employee guilty, an employer may dismiss the employee without notice, downgrade the employee, or impose any other lesser punishment as deemed just and fit, which include a punishment of suspension without wages, and there is such suspension, it shall not exceed a period of two weeks. A sample of suspension letter after due inquiry is as follow:

<Ref. No.>

<Name>

<Designation, Department>

Dear <Name>,

Suspension

We refer to the Board of Domestic Inquiry head on <date> on the specific allegation(s) of misconduct levelled against you as stated in our letter of charge dated <date>.

We have carefully gobe through the records of the inquiry, the relevant documents and findings of the Board of Inquiry, and concur with its findings that on the evidence adduced at the inquiry the charges levelled against you have been successfully proved (state those which are proved, if not all charges are proved). The charges levelled against you and proved against you at the inquiry being grave and serious, which the appropriate punishment would be dismissal.

Under the circumstances, we would have been justified in dismissing you from service. However, in consideration of the fact (that you have pleaded for leniency / any other extenuating circumstances), it has been decided not to dismiss you. Alternatively, we have decided to suspend you from duty without payment of wages for <number of> days with effect from <duration> in accordance to Section 14(1) of the Employment Act 1955. You will therefore report for your normal duty on <date>.

We hope you will reciprocate our goodwill by better conduct on your part in the future.

We wish to caution you that any further act of misconduct committed by you will in future merit serious disciplinary action from the Company including the punishment of dismissal, if so warranted by the facts and circumstances of the case.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

<Signatory>

If an employee is alleged to have committed a misconduct, he / she may be suspended from duty pending investigation. The following is a sample letter of an employee to be suspended from duty as a result of suspected false Medical Certificate.

<Ref. No.>

<Date>

<Name>

<Designation / Department>

Dear <Name>

Suspension

It has been reported by your immediate superior to us that you were on long medical leaves from <duration>. However, your medical certificates only reached us on <date>. Due to certain irregularities suspected in the medical certificates submitted, the Company is currently investigating the said irregularities.

You are hereby suspended from duty for <number of> days, beginning <duration>, pending further investigation by the Company. You are required to report back for duty to the <immediate superior> on <date> at <time> (must be specified).

During the period of suspension, you are not allowed to enter the Company’s premises without the prior written approval of the Human Resource Department. You are also required to be available at your home address during reasonable hours to enable the Management to communicate with you, if necessary.

Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing and returning the attached duplicate copy to us.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully

<Signatory>

************************************************************

Acknowledgement

I hereby understand and acknowledge receipt of the letter.

Name:

NRIC No.:

<Signatory>

Date

Some employers opt for outsourced HR solutions as they have little knowledge of HR administration or of the complexities of government compliance issues. Somemore, for some small businesses which are self-funded, they cannot afford to offer their employees competitive salaries or the same benefits that a larger employer can provide in finding top talent. In this case, outsourcing HR is often less-expensive than hiring an internal HR staff. For example, a payroll processing company will handle everything as it applies to payroll, including calculating employment taxes, and issuing pay checks. Utilizing any outsourced HR option can provide a variety of benefits, from cost savings to access to specialised expertise on taxes, payroll, workers’ compensation and more. However, without an understanding of the industry and what a company’s specific needs are, an employer may not get what he / she is paying for. Therefore, before deciding whether to outsource / what to outsource, the following steps need to be considered:

• Conduct a specific needs analysis, in order to determine type of HR service that needed, and whether a more comprehensive approach to HR is needed.
• Ensure that the vendor chosen can meet all needs and requirements that can not be done internally, by asking them specific questions on such individual needs. 
• Do reference check with the existing clients of selected vendor on their service and reputation.
• Commit one internal staff to manage the HR vendor relationship, by communicating with the vendor and hold the vendor accountability for any issues that may arise. Set expectation and time frame for the vendor.
• Ask for demonstration and proof that any past clients’ legal issues have   been correctly and efficiently handled.
• Have an escape clause, that allow the Company to withdraw from the outsourcing for unsatisfactory performance, for example, misses deadlines, avoids communication, causes losses, etc.

If properly planned, outsourced HR solutions can support the Company’s HR needs without the considerable overheads.

Upon completion of probationary period / extended probation period, if an employee is not performed up to the Management’s expectation on the position offered, even though sufficient guidance have been given (must be supported by proper documentation), instead of termination, the Management may offer the employee another suitable position, perhaps a lower position (if there is any). The below is an example of non-confirmation and downgrading letter given to an employee who is under performed in his position:

<Ref. No.>

<Date>

<Name>

<Designation / Department>

Dear <Name>,

Confirmation Status

We are evaluating your initial performance for the recent <number of> months since your commencement date on <date>, which the first evaluation has been done in <date>. In the first evaluation, your probation period has been extended and your weakness as a <position> has been highlighted to you in our letter dated <date> (our ref.). You were required to improve your areas of weakness including but not limited to, understanding of your role and job responsibilities as a <position>, as well as your <spell out other related knowledge or skills>.

You were also given a guidance report whereby guidance was given on your every single job responsibilities as a <position>. You were given another <number of> months to show improvement and competency as a <position>.

However, the Management notices that during this guidance period <duration>, you have not demonstrated satisfactory on "average" as a <position>, especially in the areas which were highlighted earlier (as enclosed guidance reports accessed by your immediate superior), as follow:

<spell out the incompetencies in point form>

The above weaknesses show your incompetence as a <position>, generally can be concluded as "poor" performance as a <position>. You are therefore not confirmed in your position as a <position>. According to Clause <clause> of the Staff Handbook, if an employee is not confirmed after his / her extended probationary period, his / her service with the Company shall be deemed terminated.

However, despite the above, in view of the technical skills that you possess, as well as your good working attitude, after due consideration, the Management propose to re-designate you as <new position> instead effective <date>, with no change in your remuneration package, simply take into consideration the economic and inflation factors (or with change, depends on Company>.

However, in order to be in line with the Company’s job grading system, your job grade has correspondently downgraded from <old grade> to <new grade>.

Please find your new job responsibilities in the attached appendix.

The Management hopes that you would take this opportunity to improve your areas of weaknesses and equip yourself with necessary skills for your future career advancement.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

<Signatory>

**************************************************

Acceptance

I <name> (NRIC No.) do hereby acknowledge and accept the contents of this letter.

<Signatory>

<Date>