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.
When
should you fire employee?
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