As December arrives and with it the end of the year, the companies and their collaborators are ready to celebrate and take a break, even in this atypical year. However, December also marks the end of the calendar year, which is as an excellent opportunity to evaluate, reform, and, based on the results obtained, promote changes within the organization for the upcoming times. This sort of internal evaluations allow companies to prepare themselves in a more optimal way towards the challenges of 2021.
With the forced changes that companies have undergone in their day-to-day business activities this year, and, undoubtedly, in their relations with their customers, suppliers, and collaborators, it is necessary to focus on the processes, regulations, guidelines and, in general, the rules that govern their operation, to avoid discrepancies between the reality and theory, especially if we are talking about the relationship with employees.
Every company, in their role as employer, needs to (conscientiously) analyze it’s regulations and internal policies, if they have them in place, either to determine if the current versions adequately adhere to the reality of these times, and if not, to correctly identify which parts require to be revised. The regulations regarding teleworking, team-management and resources, attendance and punctuality, compliance with metrics or performance indicators, workplace harassment and sexual harassment (ex. Cyberbullying) are some of the topics that may need an update.
Once the areas for improvement of internal regulations have been identified, we cannot overpass what is established by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security through Executive Decree No. 36946-MTSS:
Article 30.- Of the internal personnel policies: The notices and circulars that the employer address to the employees will not be subject of approval procedures that this Decree regulates when these limits themselves to singular aspects of the employment relationship, only when this do not include provisions of disciplinary character and will be valid once they are correctly and timely communicated to the employees (…)
Therefore, at the moment of generating the respective internal policies, whether they are new regulations or updates of the pre-existing ones, companies must ensure that they inform each of their collaborators about them and do not include specific disciplinary sanctions.
In conclusion, the end of the year is an opportunity to evaluate, validate, plan and establish the conditions for the labor relations of 2021, providing a clear picture based on the strategic objectives of the organization in accordance with the correct compliance of the applicable legislation.
In case you have further questions, or wish to learn more about this topic, do not hesitate to contact us, and we will be happy to assist you.
Labor Law Department- TACTIC Legal Studio