(Enterprise Environmental Factors) Government Impact - Human Rights Legislation Impact on Management of Team

 

Most of the time project manager has to deal with managing the team but; quite often, you get members with special needs or; you have to recruit your team as, not the case you get a pre-assigned team by functional managers; in both cases, there are few tips that the project managers need to be aware of to avoid legal implications, this falls under the constrain of EEF (Enterprise Environmental Factors) in other words it is a Government Impact - Human Rights Legislation Impact on Management of Employees.
The Project manager must have a basic knowledge of human resource management though in most complicated cases the project manager is required to involve the HR manager whether it is unionized or non-unionized and be aware of local legislation of the province, awareness is vital.
However, on the daily grounds for the execution of project activities project managers might see people with special needs those people need to be treated differently to be fair to them. As a project manager, you should eliminate negative treatment of individuals based on prohibited grounds of discrimination.
This is called “duty to accommodate” and it is project managers' and HR's obligation to accommodate a person when their needs are based on the grounds in the Local Human Rights Act.
This may require that alternative arrangements be made to ensure the full participation of a team member with special needs. Organizations should build accommodation into the way they do business as much as possible. Be aware of your company’s policies, it should have policies in place to make the environment accessible, to prevent barriers from occurring rather than removing them retroactively. However, the duty to accommodate has limits too, sometimes accommodation is not possible because it would cause an organization “undue hardship”
The company can claim undue hardship when adjustments to a policy, practice, by-law or building would cost too much, or create risks to health or safety. There is no precise legal definition of undue hardship each situation should be assessed individually. To prove undue hardship your company will have to provide evidence as to the nature and extent of the hardship. The HR department is required to ensure that all people affected by the organization are treated equally, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation or any other grounds of discrimination listed in the Local Human Rights Act.
Management policies and practices should be fair and equitable. There should be no discrimination, harassment or retaliation against anyone who works for the organization or receives services from it.
The company is obligated to take appropriate action against any employee who harasses someone because an employer can be held responsible for harassment committed by their employees
For example, “The Accessibility with Disabilities Act” requires employers to provide necessary accommodations such that physical environments won't pose a barrier to a qualified individual from doing a job.
Another example, is the “Scheduling and Employment Act” For a number of hours 160 per month, a few employees do 168 hours of shift work then what does the company have to do to pay overtime or not, it puzzles the project manager and here should get HR department involvement, overall it is tough to call also for HR as need to adhere to the policies & standards of legislations and alignment within the organization and geographic location.
Compensation programs should be based on performance and skills fairly with no discrimination against jobholders in other respects.
Even when project managers are required to do “Performance appraisal” they should be free from biased thoughts and personnel dislikes as well.
On the other hand, if a project manager is required to hire a team then advertising to recruit people for job descriptions must be inviting to all people to apply not have phrases which exclude members of protected classes, you can check the draft with your HR if you are not exactly sure.
Recruiting and selection must not discriminate against names or age or other ground and starts with application screening, however, organization entitled to use a Bona Fide Occupational requirement (BFOR) in (Canada) the same as (BFOQ) in (the US) Bona Fide Occupational Qualification or it is called (GOQ) in (UK) Genuine Occupational Qualification all serve project managers involved in recruiting as attribute or quality for consideration when making decisions on “Hiring” based on the requirement and nature of business.
The HR department must reflect the organization’s employment equity plans
Project managers are required to identify special “Training” for the team and that must be available for all team members, this is a very challenging one as the question raises should members who are to retire soon have access to development programs? In certain conditions, the company has to protect their investment.
Project managers realized the importance of the HR department to manage all policies to ensure the compliance of the company with all legislations and regulations related to human rights and labour laws concerning the prohibited ground for discrimination but the project managers should not turn a blind eye to a non-compliant team member.
Ensure all team members' safety by having a system documenting a prove of all members have received the necessary training for the job, Job hazard analysis programs & re-assess the risk if any change occurs in standard operation procedures which don’t violate safety
Provide or ensure on the project site that all necessary PPE is used (Personal Protective Equipment)
Project managers are required from time to time to review with the HR department and revisit all company policies to ensure the freeness of all toxic and intentional discrimination or systematic discrimination.
Most legal requirements put too much pressure on the HR department and it looks like they need to have a law degree to handle all legal issues for big companies it is not unusual to have a law firm working for them to ensure all legal requirements are met.
For example, If the project requires the team to work in a substation/switchyard then the project manager is required to ensure that the team has high voltage and arc flash training, the project manager with the assistance of HR required to provide and document all necessary safety training to ensure the safe condition of the team and project site, In general, the safety is a duty of everyone but mostly it falls on the project managers as they are in charge of the site and are likely to be the first prosecuted if any fatal accidents happens in project’s site.
If the project manager has to do “Dismissal” that should be handled fairly by providing due diligence of all documented progressive disciplinary actions, by giving reasonable notice, or by paying severance pay for immediate dismissal
Everyone in the team on the project should be accountable to adhere to rules and requirements to be in compliance, project managers and HR are responsible to facilitate the required training and provide continuous education keeping everyone informed by transparent communication for any changes in laws and policies.