A
safe, proven way to terminate any employee. Applies to any state including
California
Employee hygiene is important to any business, but to those that
serve or prepare food and to those that work with people it is crucial.
If you own a business with strict OSHA laws on employee hygiene,
it is imperative that you enforce them with your employees. If you
do not follow these laws, you will be liable. And you risk having
your business shut down for good or dealing with the guilt (and perhaps
legal effects) of making your customers ill.
What Rights Do I have On Employee Hygiene?
As an employer, you have the right to demand that your employees
keep themselves as hygienic as possible. If you work in the food
industry, this means your employees must wash their hands every time
after using the rest room. You must encourage them to wash their
hands often throughout the day. A part of your employee hygiene protocol
may also include wearing hairnets or gloves while preparing food.
If your business involves working with other people, like in nursing,
you also have the right and duty to demand that your employees wear
clean clothing and that they wash their hands frequently. Your employee
hygiene policy should include washing their hands after working with
each patient, particularly if the nurse helps the patient use the
rest room, changes any dressings or gets equipment out for the patient.
Failure for nurses to follow employee hygiene procedures can spread
illness among patients. For those with a compromised immune system,
the added germs can be deadly.
Even if you don’t own a business that involves working with
food or with patients, you still have the right to demand a certain
level of hygiene from your employees. As an employer, you can demand
that your employees remain presentable always, are free of body odor,
and are clean.
How Do I Enforce My Employee Hygiene Policy?
You should present your employee hygiene policy in writing to each
of your newly hired workers. This policy should clearly explain expectations
of employee hygiene. For example, you might include when the employees
must wash their hands, when they should wear gloves, when they should
wear a hairnet, and what clothing is and is not acceptable to wear.
You might also wish to ban the use of cologne since the scent can
be irritating to certain customers and patients.
Besides describing expectations, the employee hygiene policy should
also detail the repercussions of ignoring these rules. You can be
precise, such as list an exact number of days a person might be suspended
for breaking the rules. Or, you can be more vague, by providing a
range of possible repercussions. Be sure to take some time when creating
the employee hygiene policy because it will be your guideline when
it comes to disciplining employees that choose to ignore it.
Once you have created an employee hygiene policy, present this information
to your employees. In addition, they should sign a paper documenting
that they have received a copy of it. Then, when an issue does arise,
consult this policy to decide the action you will take in response
to your employee’s lack of proper hygiene.
Fire for employee hygiene
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