Obligation and responsibilities of employees towards their company and employer.

1. Presented by: Fatemeh Naeij
Samandeep
Kaur
OBLIGATION AND
RESPONSIBILITIES OF EMPLOYEES
TOWARD THEIR COMPANY AND
EMPLOYER

2.  Main Responsibilities of Employees
 Employee Duties Under Part II of the Canada Labour
Code
 Work Safe BC Responsibilities
 Loyalty to employer
 Loyalty Issues
 Whistle Blowing
 Conflict of Interest
 Types of Conflict of Interest
 Examples of Conflict of Interest
 Managing Conflict of Interest
Contents

3. Employees have responsibilities towards their employers,
even if they work part time or don’t have a written contract
with their employers.
These are the main responsibilities of employees:
 to personally do the work they were hired to do
 to do their work carefully and seriously (In some cases,
they could be fired or disciplined if they’re often late for
work, or if they’re absent too often or for no good reason.)
 to avoid putting themselves or others in danger
 to follow their employer’s instructions (There are some
exceptions. For example, if an employer asks an
employee to do something dangerous or illegal, the
employee doesn’t have to follow these instructions.
 to be loyal (Your Starting Point for Legal Information, 2020).
Main Responsibilities of
Employees

4. According to Government of Canada (2015), in order for
the internal responsibility system to function properly, it
requires the involvement and participation of the
employees in the work place. That is why the Canada
Labour Code, Part II places several obligations on
employees, all of which have the goal of preventing
occupational related injuries and diseases.
Employees have a responsibility to take all reasonable and
necessary precautions to ensure their health and safety
and that of anyone else who may be affected by their work
or activities. Specifically, the Code requires employees to:
 use all safety materials, equipment, devices and clothing
that are provided by the employer and are intended to
protect the employees;
 follow procedures that relate to the health and safety of
employees;
 follow all instructions provided by the employer
Employee Duties Under Part II of the Canada
Labour Code

5. Continued:
 cooperate with policy and work place committees and
health and safety representatives;
 report to the employer any thing or circumstance that is
likely to be hazardous to the employees or any other
person in the work place;
 report to the employer, all work-related accidents,
occupational diseases or other hazardous occurrences
that have caused injury to the employee or any other
person;
 report to the employer, any situation the employee
believes to be a contravention of Part II of the Code, by
the employer, another employee or any other person;
 comply with every oral direction or written direction given
by a health and safety officer or an appeals officer;
 respond in writing to a health and safety officer's direction
or report when requested to do so by the health and
safety officer (Government of Canada, 2015).

6. WorkSafeBC is a provincial body set up to maintain a safe, healthful
working environment at job sites throughout the province. has specific
workplace responsibilities (BC Campus Open Education, 2019). Employee’s
Responsibilities based on WorkSafeBC:
 Workers are responsible for their own safety on the job. This means
that you have the right to refuse to do any act or operate any tool,
appliance, or equipment when you have reasonable cause to
believe that to do so would put you in danger.
 It is your responsibility to wear proper clothing for the job site and to
use the PPE provided by your employer or required for your job.
 You must not remove any safety equipment from machines or
equipment. This includes shields from grinders, mixers, etc.
 You must have had adequate instruction about a piece of machinery
or equipment before you use it.
 You must make sure that no machine, equipment, or tool is used in
a way that would cause injury to someone else.
 You must make sure that there are safe entrances to and exits from
the workplace.
 You must make sure that the work area is safe for the movement of
workers, equipment, and materials.
Work Safe BC
Responsibilities

7. Loyalty is a commitment to the true interests or goals of the
organization.
Being Loyal to Your Employer:
The law in Canada requires an employee to be loyal towards
his employer. This means that an employee must:
 be honest with his employer while he works for him
 use good judgment in his role as an employee
 put the interests of his employer above his own
 protect confidential information
The duty of loyalty is based on the idea that an employer
should be able to trust an employee both at work and outside
the workplace. An employee must respect his duty of loyalty
regardless of the industry he works in or position he has.
However, if an employee has heavy responsibilities within a
company, such as a management position, his duty to be
loyal may be greater. Even a former employee must be loyal
to his former employer. If you did not sign an employment
Loyalty to Employer

8. Here are some of the types of behavior that are considered
disloyal to your employer:
 Lying or being dishonest with your employer
 Stealing from your employer
 Putting what is best for you before what is best for your
employer (also called “being in a conflict of interest”): As an
employee, you cannot use your employer’s materials for your
own benefit. This type of behaviour is disloyal and can have a
negative impact on your employer’s interests.
 Misusing confidential information for your own benefit or to
benefit others
 Intentionally damaging your employer’s reputation or harming
his business: If you publicly criticize your employer, it goes
against your duty to be loyal to your employer. You cannot
intentionally damage your employer’s reputation or that of his
business or make public comments degrading his products or
services. You have the right to express yourself but you must
show respect for your employer and help protect his
Loyalty Issues

9. Continued:
• Spreading false information about your employer
• Using the Internet or accessing online social networking
sites (like Facebook, Twitter, etc.) during your work hours
is disloyal to your employer and allowed only when is
justified by the type of work you do and/or permitted by
your employer (Your Starting Point for Legal Information, 2019).
Disloyalty Consequences:
The consequences of not being loyal can vary.
For example, an employee might simply receive a warning.
He might also be sued and/or fired. A judge can even order
an employee to stop his disloyal behaviour. However, an
“injunction” (the legal name of the judge’s order to stop
doing something), is used more often when the employee
signed a non-competition agreement. If you find yourself in
this type of situation, it may be helpful to speak to a legal

10. According to Boatright and Smith (2017), whistle-blowing is
the voluntary release of nonpublic information, as a moral
protest, by a member or former member of an organization
outside the normal channels of communication to an
appropriate audience about illegal and/or immoral conduct in
the organization or conduct in the organization that is
opposed in some significant way to the public interest.
whistleblower is a disloyal agent who backs out of an
agreement that is an essential part of the employer–
employee relationship.
You have to keep information about your job secret even if
you have not signed anything asking you to do so. Being
loyal to your employer means keeping the confidential
information you learn about on the job to yourself. As well,
you cannot sell information that belongs to your employer, or
Whistle-
blowing

11. Continued:
Some employers decide to take extra steps to be sure their
employees will not use information in an inappropriate way
and make you sign a document saying that you promise to
keep their work secret. If your employer asks you to sign this
type of document, called a confidentiality agreement, it means
he wants to make sure that you will keep the information you
have access to secret. This type of agreement might be part
of your employment contract or a separate document. The
document creates a larger responsibility that goes beyond
your basic duty to be loyal to your employer.
It is important to note, however, that the obligation of loyalty
does not require you to report everything that goes on in your
workplace. You must report incidents that could have a
negative impact on your workplace or your employer’s
business. Also, if your employer asks you about an incident
involving a colleague, the obligation of loyalty requires you to

12.  Conflicts of interest are forbidden in the company code of
conduct.
 The consequences of conflict of interest leads the
employee to struggle between diverging interest, point of
view, or allegiances.
 Conflicts of interest can cause an employee to act out of
interests that are at odds with those of his or her
employer or co-workers.
 Employees should avoid any actions or choices that
could potentially signal a conflict of interest.
 These are the marks that are considered against the
employee’s reputation, integrity and, trustworthiness in
Conflict of Interest
Introduction

13. Conflict of Interest
Definition: Conflict of interest is defined
as “a situation in which a person, such as
a public official, an employee, or a
professional, has a private or personal
interest sufficient to appear to influence
the objective exercise of his or her official
duties ”(“Ethics and Conflict of Interest”, n.d).

14. TYPES OF CONFLICT OF
INTERAEST
Self dealing

15. 1. Self Dealing:- Using your position for personal interest.
For example, using a government position to profit your
private company by securing a contarct.
2. Accepting benefits:- Bribery is one of most common
example found.
3. Influence peddling:- ”professional solicits benefits in
exchange for using her influence to unfairly advance the
interests of a particular party”.
4. Using Employers Property for Personal Use:- For
example, using software that is licensed for the company
for the own private use or using the laptop provided by
the company for private use.
Types of Conflict of
Interest

16. Continued:
5. Using Confidential Information:- Using client
information for your personal use or profit. For
example, you learn that the client is planning to buy
property in your region; you quickly rush out and buy
the land in your wife’s name.
6. Outside Employment or Moon Lightening:-
Setting up a business on the side that compete directly
with your employer.
7. Post-employment:- Here a dicey situation can be
one in which a person who resigns from public or
private employment and goes into business in the
same area. For example, a former public servant sets
up a practice lobbying the former department in which
she was employed (“Ethics and Conflict of Interest”, n.d).

17.  Manager providing paid consultation or advices on
weekends to the company customer.
 A purchasing agent his/her relative to provide vending
services in the company lunch area or any other benefit.
 An employee works part-time in the evening for a company
that makes a product that competes with the products of
his full-time employer.
 A male manager having relationship with a female
employee who reports to him or vice versa.
 An employee reports to a supervisor who is a relative or
close friend and has control over their job responsibilities,
salary, and promotions.
Some Examples of
Conflict of
Interest

18. Continued:
• Hiring an unqualified relativein your compnay to provide
services needed.
• Going on social media about your company’s weak
point.
• Accepting payment from another company for information
about your employer.
• Accepting a favor or a gift from a client above the amount
specified as acceptable by the company or taking bribery
from the client.
• Using confidential information learned on the job for your
own benefit.
• Sharing information in an interview about your
employer’s activities or plans.

19. Continued:
 Failing to investigate a subordinate or coworker’s
wrongdoing because they are a friend.
 Working part-time at a company that sells a competing
product or service as your full-time employer.
 A lawyer represents a client in a civil dispute while
accepting fees from litigants who hold the opposing point
of view.
 An employee sets up a personal website on which he
sells his employer's software products (Heathfield, 2019;
“Everfi”, 2020).

20.  Management of conflict of interest requires variety of
approach.
 Following is the list of major means by which conflict
of interest can be managed.

21. Objectivity
Avoidanc
e
Disclosur
e
Competitio
n
Rules and
Policies
Independe
nt
judgement
Structural
change
WAYS TO MANAGE CONFLICT
OF INTEREST

22. Managing Conflict of Interest
 Objectivity:- The employee should avoid being biased by
an interest that might interfere with his/her ability to serve
another.
 Avoidance :- The most direct means of managing conflicts
of interest is to avoid acquiring any interests that would
bias one’s judgment or otherwise interfere with serving
others. Though it is not easy to implicate avoidance.
There are two main complications.
 First, it may be difficult to anticipate or identify a conflicting
interest.
 Second, acquiring conflicting interests may be unavoidable
due to the nature of the business.
• Disclosure:- There are fewer chances of conflict of
interest if the transparency of information is kept by the

23. Continued:
• Competition:- Strong competition provides a powerful
incentive to avoid conflicts of interest, both actual and
potential.
• Rules and Policies:- Some companies have strict rules to
avoid conflict of interest. Companies do not allow
employees to accept any type of gift, for example.
• Independent Judgement:- Independent third party can
be used to avoid the conflict of interest. For instance, the
company requires an executive with a conflicting interest
to pass any decision to the next level.
• Structural Change:- Conflict of interest arises when
providing many different services to different clients. To
avoid this structural changes can be introduced. For
example:- advertisement companies have different teams
for each account (Boatright & Smith, 2017).

24. References
BC Campus Open Education (2019, February). Workplace safety: WorkSafeBC responsibilities. Retrieved from
https://opentextbc.ca/workplacesafety/chapter/roles-and-responsibilities/#return-footnote-23-1
Boatright, J. R. & Smith, J. D. (2017). Ethics and the conduct of business. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Ethics and Conflict of Interest. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ethics.ubc.ca/peoplemcdonaldconflict-htm/
Government of Canada. (2015, August). Employment and social development Canada: Employer and employee duties. Retrieved from
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/health-safety/reports/duties.html
Heathfield, S. M. (2019, November 25). Conflicts of Interest in the Workplace. The balance careers. Retrieved from
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/conflict-of-interest-1918090
Everfi. (2020, April 21) 20 Examples of conflicts of interest at work. Retrieved from https://everfi.com/insights/blog/conflicts-of-
interest-at-work/
Your Starting Point for Legal Information. (2019, December). Work: Being loyal to your employer. Retrieved from
https://educaloi.qc.ca/en/capsules/being-loyal-to-your-employer/
Your Starting Point for Legal Information. (2020, January). Work: Rights and responsibilities of employers and employees. Retrieved from
https://educaloi.qc.ca/en/capsules/rights-and-responsibilities-of-employers-and-employees/