The Highest Sanctions for Violating Code of Conduct in an Organization

(The Paper reflects the opinion of the author and not of the editor).  

 Wilhelm Peralta (2022)

“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” – Potter Stewart 

Abstract

A code of conduct in any organization is essential as a guiding tool to provide a definite guide on how employees should work, behave and perform. This written code will empower employees to handle ethical dilemmas encountered in everyday work. It serves as a valuable reference, informing employees on how to locate relevant documents, services, and other resources related to ethical issues in the organization.

However breaking the code of conduct in an organization can result in termination, separation, or dismissal from the organization. This code lays out the rules to follow within the organization and provides the groundwork for a preemptive warning. Termination or dismissal from employment may result in rejection from the next job application, a bad reputation, and being tossed aside.

            Every termination or dismissal sanction of an employee’s violator of the code of conduct should be justifiable not “just” because can company’s face serious consequences. Companies need to ensure policies are in place surrounding termination procedures and should address ways to legally and ethically fire an employee.

Keywords: Code of Conduct, Termination, Dismissal, Highest Sanction, Reflection on Code of Conduct

Introduction

A code of conduct is a guide of principles, values, and business practices that guide the organization’s conduct. It was designed to help professionals conduct business honestly and with integrity. It may outline the mission and values of the business or organization, how professionals are supposed to approach problems, the ethical principles based on the organization’s core values, and the standards to which the professional is held, (Hayes, 2021). Indeed, ethical guidelines and best practices to follow for honesty, integrity, and professionalism, and violating the code of conduct can result in sanctions of termination or separation.

Code of conduct issues that fall under the ethics of the organization’s rules and policies including the employer-employee relations, discrimination, harassment, bribery, insider trading, theft and corruption, and other social responsibility. These basic ethical standards within the organizational community largely depend upon leadership to develop a code of conduct. This will serve as a guide for the employees are supposed to follow. Breaking the code of conduct can result in termination or dismissal from the organization. It is important because it lays out the rules for behavior and provides the groundwork for preemptive warnings. The moral choices of the organization have grown, from the industrial age to the modern era into working conditions, how an organization impacts the environment and a code of conduct helps ensure that organizations will always act with integrity, (Drury, 2021).

It is not designed for bad employees, but for the employee who wants to act ethically. The violator employee will seldom follow a code of conduct, while most employee especially if their job is their bread and butter welcome ethical guidance in difficult or unclear situations. The below-average performance employee is not grossly immoral but often tempted, and sometimes confused, by what appears to be a virtuous path. When temptations are significant, when the price of adherence such as the sacrifice to the interests is high, when the social consequences of violation are to harm others are relatively slight, and when the costs of violation are low under such circumstances it is easy to be led from doing what you ought to do, (Gilman, 2005). No code of conduct no matter how severely enforced will make truly bad employees good. However, ethics codes can have a demonstrable impact on the behavior of bad employees in organizations. When everyone knows the ethical standards of an organization they are more likely to recognize wrongdoing and do something about it.  Miscreants are often hesitant to commit an unethical act if they believe that everyone else around them knows it is wrong.

No Code of conduct can address all specific situations.  A failure by any employee to comply with the laws or regulations governing the Company's business, this Code of conduct, or Company policy or requirement may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination, and, if warranted, legal proceedings. All employees are expected to cooperate in internal investigations of misconduct.

The highest sanctions in violating the organization’s code of conduct are termination or dismissal for the grieve offenses, however, if the employee is the first time violator and not warranted to commit it for just certain reasons big companies are not able to accept and impose the penalties based on the code of conduct. This will mirror the statement of Immanuel Kant. "If he has committed a murder, he must die. In this case, no substitute will satisfy the requirements of legal justice. There is no sameness of kind between death and remaining alive even under the most miserable conditions, and consequently, there is no equality between the crime and the retribution unless the criminal is judicially condemned and put to death.” However the penalized employee of termination or dismissal has a big impact on applying for new jobs, no one will accept him/her due to their previous record. It will put on him/her the consequences that arise as a result of his/her actions. Breaking the code of ethics can result in termination or dismissal from the organization. A code of conduct is a big-picture ethics guide for employees to agree to or a list of basic behaviors for a workplace. A code of conduct doesn’t list all the behaviors you shouldn't do but instead gives general guidelines for actions that relate to the industry, profession, cause, or company, (Milano, 2022).

A Code of Conduct Violation – The Highest Sanction.

The highest sanction for the code-of-conduct violation can occur when an employee doesn’t follow company policies, or when a member of a profession or an industry doesn’t adhere to written ethical guidelines is termination or immediate separation. It’s important to learn all of the written policies of any company you work for or any association. Understanding what code of conduct violations are, where can find the rules supposed to follow and how to address accusations of misconduct will help keep the job and good standing in the work-related profession, (Milano, 2021).

The supreme penalty that may be imposed by an employer against an employee is dismissal or termination from employment which is justified for the most serious offenses and the most severe penalty must be imposed following labor laws. Indeed, dismissal is the most drastic step because it can destroy the employee’s career permanently. Employee offense is when an employee violates the company’s code of conduct. Gross misconduct and disciplinary action are required to be taken for such a serious offense.

Code of conduct usually refers to your behavior, hence the word “conduct.” Due to an increased emphasis on corporate social responsibility and the need to decrease employee lawsuits, more and more businesses have introduced conduct codes. These can cover behaviors that lead to sexual harassment or discrimination, damage the company’s reputation with its external stakeholders, include physical threats or intimidation, or decrease office morale,  (Milano, 2021).

Organizations provide a code of conduct to explain which behaviors are and are not permitted by employees. In addition, employees can be required to acknowledge this code by signing an agreement upon employment. Employees who violate the standards face consequences through a standard employee behavior policy, such as a progressive discipline system, which has grave consequences for the most serious violations.

 

The importance of Punishment for ethical Violation in an Organization. 

If a problem is not resolved after an appropriate warning, you may have to terminate an employee. Just causes of termination refer to serious misconduct, willful disobedience or insubordination, gross and habitual neglect of duties, fraud or willful breach of trust, loss of confidence, a commission of a crime or offense, and analogous causes.

The dismissal of an employee in the Philippines is a sensitive stage and can only be implemented by a ‘just’ or ‘authorized’ cause, as defined under the Labor Code. Trial periods and fixed-term contracts can be terminated without difficulty, whereas open-ended contracts are subject to increased protection. As a matter of principle, the Philippines Labor Code prohibits the termination of indefinite work contracts. Some exceptions are still restrictively provided and serve as authorized or just grounds for termination. In any case, the justifications given by the employer will be systematically examined carefully, with the procedure set out in this article, (Shira, 2021).

Employees resist acknowledging the influence of organizational factors on individual behavior, especially on misconduct for fear of diluting employees’ sense of personal moral responsibility. But this fear is based on a false dichotomy between holding individual transgressors accountable and holding the system accountable. Acknowledging the importance of organizational context need not imply exculpating individual wrongdoers. To understand all is not to forgive all.

The company's purpose of a code of conduct is to set and maintain a standard for acceptable behavior and it reminds the employees of what is expected. It highlights that the actions should be always aligned with the ethics of business through understanding of consequences and disciplinary actions if the conduct is broken. This code of conduct provides guidelines about acceptable behavior and a set of principles for a company's judgment.

The Need for a Code of Conduct

Employers might want to believe that their staff knows what's right and wrong, but by having a code of conduct you can spell out whether specific behavior or action is acceptable or not, making everyone's lives a bit easier. Having rules to follow gives employees a structure from day one, making the whole process much more black and white if trouble is caused. There should be no ambiguity about a policy because this can lead to rules being bent, contradicting the whole point of the code in the first place.

The code articulates the values the organization wishes to foster in leaders and employees and, in doing so, defines desired behavior. A Code is a central guide and reference for employees to support day-to-day decision-making. A Code encourages discussions of ethics and compliance, empowering employees to handle ethical dilemmas they encounter in everyday work. It can also serve as a valuable reference, helping employees locate relevant documents, services, and other resources related to ethics within the organization, (Chum, 2019).

A company culture lays down the foundation of shared values, goals, attitudes, and practices that characterizes an organization and helps to improve and clarify all stakeholders' perception of a workplace. Considering how intertwined company culture, climate, organization, and conduct are, an organization that clearly outlines its vision and mission is also more likely to attract and retain desirable candidates. This might include writing a section about valuing customer service more than KPIs or encouraging teamwork and open collaboration over individual success, (Bramwell, 2020).

As well as setting out the rules, a code of conduct also explains what employees need to do if they ever need to report a violation of company policy, as well as showing staff what the consequences are of using false information in an attempt to conceal violation.

Acceptable Reasons for Dismissal

Not all dismissal is under the sanctions of the code of conduct. Sometimes it is during the tough economic times, it may necessary to reduce headcount to stay afloat. It includes risk to the company's reputation, theft, and physical violence against co-employees. With this tough times strike, it needs to terminate employees correctly. Employers have the right to dismiss an employee at any time for any reason, (Hartford, 2020).

The common reasons for the dismissal of employees are economic crises. When a certain country is in recession, companies are likely resulted and resort to dismissals simply to stay in business. Well, the key to implementing cost-cutting through termination of employees legally is to make sure that not discriminating unintentionally. The importance to address this situation is to use an objective, business-focused plan for choosing the employees to dismiss.

The most difficult to manage of legal termination of an employee is through firing for a cause. That causes are grounds for serious violations of the written code of conduct. Restoring and implementing fairness and justice in the company may result in dismissal for certain employees violators.

The state of Mental Well-being of the remaining employees after a termination

A need of considering the impact on remaining employees after letting employees leave. Productivity can deteriorate and morale can dip as employees wonder if someone terminated without their knowledge about the situation. The dismissal of employee/s may affect the performance of the remaining employees, who can have the same reactions who were the next to let go. It is not appropriate to share the exact reasons for confidentiality on why specific individuals were terminated. It is very important to let them know and abide by what is in the code of conduct. They should well inform the state of the company in terms of economic standing so that they have an idea of what they should know what to do.

Facilitate a pep talk, or meeting to suggest ignoring gossip and surrounding with positivity, advocate the benefits of journaling as a way to relieve stress and anxiety, and put things in perspective. Motivate staff to talk with friends and the outcome of the performance, being in nature can help lower blood pressure and stress hormone levels. The consultant can facilitate seminars on remaining employees to discuss their concerns and bring questions, confidentially, to management, (Atkins, 2019).

Conclusion

In an organization, the code of conduct is vital and widely known among employees as an ethical standard, value, and salient for all employees. The values were presented to the employees of professionalism, standard procedure, fairness, integrity, respect, customer-related services, trust, diversity, and excellence. Every success of an organization should establish an understanding of the code of conduct at all times. This should emulate the ethical values and follow these values in the spirit of all applicable laws and regulations of the company.

 The code of conduct support employees in general decision-making through a structure to follow when it comes to the company’s behavior and allows employees to be prepared to handle ethical dilemmas in the workplace. It also gives am employees a structure to follow from the moment they join the company, providing enough information not to occur problems in the future that do not result in termination or dismissal. Also, there should be no ambiguity when it comes to a code of conduct not to come up with lines that are blurred and rules can be broken.

            The need to lay off employees may be justifiable and undoubtedly reasonable. That’s why it’s important to have a basic understanding of the discrimination laws. Termination or separation is one of the most dreadful moments in professional life and the most dreadful experience when an employee was terminated due to wrongful doings without providing second chances to resolve what was problem occurs. It is what a worker fears the most, as expected that will stir emotions.

References:

Milano, Steve (2021). The Penalties for the Breach of a Code of Conduct. CHRON. California, USA.

Atkins, Dauna (2019). How to Preserve Mental Health after a Termination (verityintl.com). Retrieved June 20, 2022.

Cechova, Dominika (2019). Employee Code of Conduct: Best Practices and Examples (peoplegoal.com). Retrieved June 19, 2022.

Indeed Editorial Team, (2021). Code of Conduct Examples in the Workplace | Indeed.com. Retrieved June 18, 2022.

International Ligitation Services, (2022). The Sanction of Dismissal – A Terminating Sanction (ilsteam.com). Retrieved June 18, 2022

Laing, Rokamn (2022). Termination of Employment (How to Dismiss?) | DavidsonMorris. Retrieved June 17, 2022

Milano, Brothers (2021). Milano Brothers Code of Conduct​ | Milano Brothers Group. Retrieved June 17, 2022.