HR and Employees’ Civic Responsibilities

As a HR professional in Nigeria, you have six regulations to abide by

1. The Constitution of the country

2. The various labour Acts and regulations of the land

3. Industry regulations

4. Company/organisation’s policy/rules and regulations as detailed out in Employee handbook; and

5. Terms and conditions of employment as spelt out in appointment letter, and to a lesser degree

(6) Your professional body which regulates the practice and ethics of your profession. This however has less legal implication for your organisation or the employee. I say this because if, for instance, you fail in your obligation to your professional body it is not something an employee can litigate you or your employers about.

Regulations (2) – (6) all gravitate to the Constitution of the land.

Voting in an election is part of every citizen’s civic responsibilities.

Now, as HR professional, you should know that when there is a national election to elect a new government, and the government of the day has declared a work-free day, and restricted movement so that people can go and exercise their franchise, you are actually circumscribing your employees’ constitutional right to vote when you ask them to report for work on the eve of election and asking them to stay over till after the election. Apart from this being unhealthy, unprofessional and unethical practice, it is also, actually, an infringement on the individual employee’s constitutionally guaranteed right.

This, however, is without prejudice to organisations that, by their nature of work, obligate their employees to do shift work and, consequently, pass the night in the office. Example are hospitals, media houses, telecoms companies, and other essential service providers.

Unfortunately, in Nigeria, there are organisations not in the essential services sector but who, more or less, compel their employees to work during such national holidays, although they pay overtime for it.

Such organisations, though in the minority, obviously prioritize productivity over the law of the land.

What to do as HR?

As HR professional, it is your duty to:

1. Advise your Management that it is in the overall interest of the organisation to abide by the law of the land and directive of the government of the day,

2. Find a middle ground such that employees can exercise their franchise without loss of company production time

3. Engage employees on the possible way out without denying them their constitutional right to vote, or losing vital production time and potentially failing on production deadline.

This should be done, of course, without confrontation or conflict. This is where your HR acumen and experience comes in.

If you deploy your HR Acumen adroitly, chances are there would be employees who would be willing to shelve their voting right in order to show up for work, abstaining from voting is, after all,also a constitutional right.

Whatever you decide to do, the buttomline is to ensure not to force the employees to give up their right.

So be professional, show understanding, and empathize with them for the sacrifice you are asking them to make. As much as possible, reciprocate their gesture