Sample Code of Conduct for Employees

The Employee Code of Conduct is one of the most important sections of your Employee Handbook. We have drafted a code of conduct to help you communicate your expectations to your employees in a clear and tactful manner. Please note that this template is not a legal document and may not take into account all relevant local and national laws. Therefore, ask your attorney to review the final policy document or handbook.

Contents:

• Dress Code
• Cybersecurity and Digital Devices
• Internet Use
• Cell Phones
• Work Email
• Social Media
• Conflict of Interest
• Relationships with Employees
• Forming friendships
• Employment for family members
• Visitors to the Workplace
• Recruitment or Distribution

Code of Conduct for Employees

As an employee, you are responsible for behaving appropriately while at work. Here is an overview of our expectations. We cannot cover every possible scenario, but we trust that you will always use your best judgment. Please contact your manager or HR manager if you encounter any difficulties or have questions.

Dress Code

Our company’s official dress code is [Business / Business Casual / Smart Casual / Casual.] This includes [pants / shoes (loafers) / blouses / boots.] However, an employee’s position may also provide guidance regarding their attire. If you regularly meet with clients or prospects, please adopt a more formal dress style. We expect you to be well-groomed when you come to work and to avoid wearing unprofessional clothing (such as workout clothes). As long as you comply with our guidelines above, we have no specific expectations regarding the type of clothing and accessories you wear. We also allow various styles of grooming, clothing, and accessories related to religious beliefs, ethnicity, or a disability.

Cybersecurity and Digital Devices

This section covers all digital matters at work. We would like to establish a set of guidelines for the use of computers, phones, internet connections, and social media to ensure security and protect our assets.

Internet Use

Our business internet connection is primarily intended for business use. However, you may also use our connection occasionally for personal purposes, as long as it does not interfere with your responsibilities. We do expect you to temporarily stop any personal activities that slow down our internet connection (such as uploading photos) if we ask you to do so. You must not use our internet connection to:

• Download or upload obscene, offensive, or illegal material.
• Send confidential information to unauthorized recipients
• Invasion of another person’s privacy and gaining access to sensitive information.
• Download or upload illegal movies, music, material, or software.
• Visit potentially dangerous websites that could compromise the security of our network and computers.
• Engaging in unauthorized or illegal activities, such as hacking, fraud, and buying or selling illegal goods.

Cell Phones

We allow the use of cell phones at work, but we also want to ensure that these devices do not distract you from your work or cause a disturbance in our workplace. We therefore ask that you follow a few simple rules:

• Use your cell phone in a way that benefits your work (business calls, productivity apps, calendars).
• Keep personal calls brief and use an empty conference room or common area to make those calls so you don’t disturb your coworkers.
• Avoid playing games on your phone or excessive texting.
• Do not use your phone, for any reason, while driving a company vehicle.
• Do not use your phone to record confidential information.
• Do not download or upload inappropriate, illegal, or obscene material using our business internet connection.
• Do not use your phone in areas where cell phone use is explicitly prohibited (for example, in laboratories).

Work Email

Email is essential to our work. You should therefore use your work email primarily for work-related purposes. We permit the use of your work email for certain types of personal communication.

• Work-related use.
  • You may use your work email application without restrictions for work-related purposes. For example, you may subscribe to newsletters and online services that can help you perform your job or support your professional growth.
• Personal use.
  • You may use your email application for personal reasons as long as you do so securely, do not send spam, and do not disclose confidential information. For example, you may send emails to friends and family members, and download e-books, manuals, and other safe documents for personal use.

Our General Expectations

Regardless of how you use your work email application, we expect you to avoid the following:

• Signing up for illegal, untrustworthy, disrespectful, or suspicious websites and services.
• Sending unauthorized marketing messages or emails.
• Signing up for a competitor’s services, unless authorized.
• Sending offensive or discriminatory messages and communications.
• Spamming other people’s email inboxes, including those of your colleagues.
• As a general rule: use strong passwords and be on the lookout for emails containing malware or phishing attempts. If you’re unsure whether an email you’ve received is safe, please contact our [Security Specialists.]

Social Media

We would like to provide you with practical advice to avoid careless use of social media in our workplaces. To that end, we focus on two types of social media use: the use of personal social media at work, and representing our company through social media.

Using Personal Social Media at Work

Access to your personal social media accounts is permitted at work, but we do expect you to act responsibly and in accordance with our policies, and to ensure that you remain productive. Specifically, we ask that you:

• Self-discipline. Don’t let your social media platforms distract you from your work.
• Make sure others know that your posts on your personal accounts are not made on behalf of our company. For example, use a disclaimer such as “the opinions expressed are my own.”
• Avoid sharing intellectual property (such as trademarks) or confidential information. Consult with your manager or PR representative first before sharing company news that has not been officially announced.
• Avoid defamatory, offensive, or derogatory comments. You may temporarily set aside our company’s anti-harassment policy if you wish to inform colleagues, customers, or partners of the existence of such posts for informational purposes.

Representing Our Company on Social Media

If you use our social media accounts or speak on behalf of our company, we expect you to protect our company’s image and reputation. Specifically, we ask that you:

• Be respectful, polite, and patient.
• Discuss matters outside your area of expertise as little as possible.
• Follow our policies regarding confidentiality and data protection, and comply with the law regarding copyrights, trademarks, plagiarism, and fair use.
• Consult with our [PR/Marketing Department] before sharing any important message with significant impact.
• Do not delete or ignore comments without good reason.
• Correct or remove potentially misleading or incorrect posts as soon as possible.

Conflict of Interest

When a conflict of interest arises, your personal goals are no longer aligned with your responsibilities to us. For example, if you own stock in one of our competitors, this constitutes a conflict of interest. You may also face ethical issues. Accepting bribes, for example, may provide you with financial gain, but it is illegal and violates our company’s code of ethical conduct. If we discover such behavior, you will lose your job and may face legal consequences. A conflict of interest is therefore a serious issue for all of us. We expect you to be vigilant and to identify circumstances that could cause a conflict of interest-both for yourself and for those around you. Follow our policy and always act in the best interests of our company. Do not let your personal or financial interests conflict with your work. If you encounter an ethical dilemma, discuss it with your manager or HR manager. We will always try to resolve the matter with you.

Relationships Among Employees

We want to ensure that relationships among employees are appropriate and harmonious. In this regard, we would like to draw your attention to our guidelines and ask that you always conduct yourself professionally.

Forming Friendships

Forming friendships refers to dating or becoming friends with your coworkers. In this policy, we define “dating” as mutual romantic and sexual relationships. Relationships that do not occur with mutual consent constitute sexual assault, which we explicitly prohibit.

Dating Colleagues

If you are dating a coworker, we expect you to remain professional at all times and keep personal discussions outside of our work environment.

Dating Managers

To prevent allegations of favoritism, abuse of authority, and sexual harassment, supervisors may not date their direct reports. This restriction applies to any manager in relation to a direct report. Even if you work as a contracted manager, you are not permitted to hire your partner for your team. You may refer them to a position on other teams or in other departments where you do not have managerial authority or responsibility for hiring staff.

Friendships at Work

Employees who work together are, of course, welcome to form friendships with one another, both at work and outside of work. We encourage these types of relationships among colleagues because they can be helpful in communication and collaboration. However, we do expect you to focus on your work and keep personal disputes out of the workplace.

Employment of Family Members

Anyone hired, transferred, or promoted by our company is selected solely on the basis of their skills, character, and work ethic. However, we do not tolerate nepotism, favoritism, or conflicts of interest and will therefore impose certain restrictions regarding the hiring of employees’ family members. For our company, “family member” is defined as anyone who is a relative by blood or marriage up to the third degree of an employee. This includes: parents, grandparents, parents-in-law, spouses, domestic partners, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, stepparents, stepchildren, and adopted children. As employees, family members are permitted to work for our company. These are the only restrictions:

• [There must be no supervisory-subordinate working relationship between family members.]
• [You may not be transferred, promoted, or hired by a family member if there is a direct chain of command.]
• [You may not serve on a hiring committee where a family member is being considered for a position.]
• If you find yourself in a manager-subordinate relationship after both of you have joined our company, we may need to [transfer one of you].

Visitors to the Workplace

If you wish to invite a visitor to our offices, please first request permission from our [HR Manager / Security Officer / Department Manager]. Also, notify our [reception / front office] of your visitor’s arrival. Visitors must sign in and provide identification. They will receive visitor badges and will be asked to return them to the [reception / front office] once their visit is complete. If you host visitors at the office, you also have responsibilities. You must:

• Always keep an eye on your visitors (especially if they are minors).
• Keep your visitors away from dangerous machinery, chemicals, confidential documents, or sensitive equipment.
• Prevent your visitors from trying to proselytize your colleagues, asking for donations, or requesting that they participate in activities while on our premises.

Those delivering orders, mail, or packages for employees must not go beyond the reception area or the gate of our building. If you are expecting a delivery, [front office staff / security personnel] will let you know when you can pick it up.

Solicitation or Distribution

Solicitation is defined as any form of asking for money, support, or participation in connection with products, groups, organizations, or matters unrelated to our company (for example, missionary work and requests for signatures on petitions). Distribution is defined as the distribution of literature or materials for commercial or political purposes. We do not permit solicitation or distribution at our workplaces by non-employees. As an employee, you may only ask your coworkers for something if you:

• Want help from coworkers in organizing events for another employee (for example, in connection with adoption, the birth of a child, a promotion, or retirement).
• Are seeking support for a cause, a charity, or a fundraiser that is sponsored, funded, organized, or authorized by our company.
• Want to invite coworkers to participate in employee activities for an authorized non-business purpose (e.g., recreation, volunteer work).
• Want to ask colleagues to participate in work-related activities or groups that are protected by law (e.g., labor unions).
• In all cases, however, we ask that you refrain from disturbing your colleagues or distracting them from their work.

Disclaimer: Please note that this template is not a legal document and may not take into account all relevant laws at the local and national levels. Therefore, please have your attorney review the final policy document or handbook .