Policies

HR Policy

Please read through the policy below and then fill in the acknowledgement form at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL

Version	Prepared by	Reviewed by	Approved by	Approved Date
1.0	Independent Consultant	Godfrey Mramba	Godfrey Mramba	April 2015
1.1	Hawa Bakari	Godfrey Mramba	Godfrey Mramba	July 2018
1.2	Hawa Bakari	Glorie Mballa	Lillian Nyakyi Chiume	April 2020

Approval of the Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual

This Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual has been approved by the Managing Partners of Basil & Alred.

Statement from Management Team

Basil & Alred has a proud tradition of conducting business in accordance with the highest ethical standards and in full compliance with all applicable laws. The purpose of this is to set alternative conceptualizations of the relationship between system of human resources management and organizational effectiveness, following the five-year strategy session, to provide clear human resources guidelines to all Basil & Alred employees.

Basil & Alred management is fully committed to conducting business with the highest level of integrity and we expect strict adherence to this policy and applicable laws.

Thank you for your commitment to comply with the highest standards of integrity and business ethics.

Godfrey B. Mramba
Managing Partner

Tanzanian Employment and Labour Relations Act 2004

The Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual is based on the Tanzanian Employment and Labour Relations Act 2004. This manual should be used in conjunction with the applicable laws and all other regulations including the Employment and Labour Relation Act 2004

Amendments of the Policies and Regulations

The Managing Partner of Basil & Alred formulate this Manual. Amendments to these Policies and Regulations shall be made by the direction of the Managing Partner of Basil & Alred.

Per Procuration

In the absence of the HR Department at Basil & Alred, the Managing Partner or someone designated by the Managing Partners takes over the duties of HR.

1 DEFINITIONS

In this Manual, unless the context otherwise states, the following words shall be defined as follows:

Allowances:	means monetary or other benefits enjoyed by a staff member over and above their salary
ATE:	Association of Tanzania Employers
Breastfeeding Period:	after the maternity leave, the employer shall allow the employee to feed the child during working hours up to a maximum of two hours per day for the period of three (3) months
Calendar year:	means the period commencing on the 1st day of January and ending on the 31st day of December of a given year
Casual employee:	means a person who works on a daily or hourly basis where payment of wages is due at the completion of each day’s work
Child:	shall mean; a biological child, stepchild, legally adopted child, or child of a deceased near relative who is below 18 years who is wholly maintained by the employee. Also includes a child of any age who because of infirmity is unable to earn a living and is therefore wholly maintained by the employee
Continuous Service:	means an employee’s period of uninterrupted service with Basil & Alred
Contract of service:	means any contract of service where a person agrees, in return for remuneration, to work for Basil & Alred
Contract Terms:	for a specific period and under such terms and conditions as shall be agreed upon and prescribed in a contract between the staff member and Basil & Alred
Dependant:	in addition to the above definition of a child, any person, regardless of age because of physical infirmity who is unable to earn a living and is therefore wholly maintained by the employee, shall also be classified as dependant
Disability:	means persons with physical or mental ailments that do not necessarily render them incapacitated for employment
Dismissal from employment:	means the discharge of an employee from Basil & Alred for disciplinary reasons including Summary Dismissal and Dismissal with Notice
Domicile:	shall mean; the place where the employee was born or where the employee has made it to be his/her permanent home as declared on his/her employment contract. This can be different from the place of recruitment
Employee:	Shall mean; any person employed for wages or management fees to serve Basil & Alred whether on probationary, permanent or temporary contract terms but excludes casual labourers
Employer:	means Basil & Alred
Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004:	the Employment Act which is in force under the Laws of Tanzania at the time
Family:	shall mean; an employee and his/her legal spouse and if any, the children of such employee as defined in “child” above
Gross salary:	Is a total of basic salary and other monetary benefits
HIV:	Human Immune Deficiency Virus
HRM:	Human Resource Manager
Interns:	these are people from Universities or Colleges working at Basil & Alred for no (or little) remuneration and with the ultimate objective of gaining work experience or doing research
Key relative:	a member of the employee’s family who substantially depends on that employee for his/her or her livelihood and is limited to spouse, parents, and children (biological/natural children)
Management:	shall mean; the Partners and the section departmental heads as per the Organizational Chart
Management Team:	Shall mean the Managing Partners and the departmental heads as per the Organizational Chart
Manual:	means the Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual of Basil & Alred
Net Salary:	means total salary after all deductions
Parties:	means parties to a contract of service
Pay period:	means the month in which an employee is entitled to receive his/her or her wages. Period been notified in writing to that effect
Permanent Incapacity:	means incapacity of a very severe nature, which incapacitates a staff member for any employment which he/she was capable of undertaking at the time when the accident occurred including but not limited to loss of limbs, loss of sight or loss of hearing
Probation period:	means the period of service during which an employee is being tested for his/her suitability for a particular job and shall be no more than 6 months unless otherwise extended with the consent of the employee. Such extension shall not exceed 6 months
Promotion:	shall mean; the appointment to a higher grade with an immediate or potential increase in salary
Payment in lieu of notice:	is a payment made to either party for a three months (3) notice period Note: an employer or employee who fails to give the proper period of notice on termination is required to pay compensation in lieu of notice to the employee/employer
Registered medical practitioner:	means any medical practitioner registered under the Laws of the United Republic of Tanzania
Regulations:	means regulations made under the Employment Act
Repatriation:	is the right to be transported back to the place of recruitment at Basil & Alred’s expense
Sick Leave Cycle:	means total of 126 days in any leave cycle
Spouse:	shall mean; the married partner of the employee as defined by the laws of Tanzania
Staff Member:	means any person who has entered into a contract of service with Basil & Alred, being paid or unpaid, fixed term or permanent. Any reference to masculine gender shall be construed to include the feminine gender, and vice versa
Service Agreement:	shall mean; the month-to-month terms on which employees are appointed for employment under condition agreed upon
Supervisor:	any person that has other staff reporting to him
Terminal Benefits:	are amounts due to an employee upon termination of employment which are payable within seven days
Termination of Employment:	means the separation of an employee from Basil & Alred through any of the modes mentioned in this manual
Transfer:	i) It shall mean the appointment of an Officer to a different position with no alteration in salary scale or: ii) the movement of an employee from one geographical location to another
Volunteers:	these are people who offer to do work without being paid
Week:	means a period of 5 (five) consecutive working days

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This manual provides the general terms and conditions of employment at Basil & Alred as well as general rules and guidelines for all employee and staff matters.

2 HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGY

Basil & Alred’s Human Resource Strategy (HRS) plays a vital role in the achievement of the organization’s overall strategic objectives and aligns the Human Resource (HR) function to fully support the direction in which the organization is moving. The HRS forms the basis for Basil & Alred’s Talent Management System that is the HRS tool that Basil & Alred is applying in its day-to-day activities. The HRS also supports other strategic objectives undertaken by all departments in the organization. This strategy aims to capture “the people element” of what Basil & Alred plans to achieve in the short, medium and long term, ensuring that:

it has the right people in place
it has the right mix of skills
it has employees with the right attitudes and behaviours; and
its employees are developed in the right way

3 CODE OF CONDUCT

The Code of conduct has been developed as a management tool to regulate behaviour/ conduct of employees while in the service of Basil & Alred and to protect the interest of the organisation. It is applicable to all employees and supplements the disciplinary code as spelt out in this document.

4 GENERAL PRINCIPLES

This document together with the employee’s appointment letter or contract or any other amendment to them, shall comprise an employment contract or contract of service. The terms of a staff member’s appointment shall be subject to any changes that may be made from time to time to these policies.

Any exemption from application of any provision of these Human Resource Policies shall be specified in the letter of appointment of the staff.

5 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Basil & Alred is an equal opportunity employer. Therefore, Basil & Alred shall ensure that staff are selected, assessed, promoted and treated regardless of personal characteristics, such as race, colour, national, social or ethnic origin and language, gender, marital status, disability, class, age, political or religious belief or HIV status, but on the basis of their merits, abilities and experience relevant to their post

5.1 RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY

All staff will be held responsible for reading and understanding the Employee Guidelines that derived from these regulations and any amendments that will be made as and when the organization deems necessary.

All employees shall be required to sign a form indicating that they have read the Employee Guidelines and agree to abide by the terms and conditions therein.

5.2 COMMITMENT

The entire working time of the staff’s contract shall be at the disposal of Basil & Alred. By agreeing to work for Basil & Alred, staff shall undertake to uphold the highest standards of professional behaviour and to ensure that Basil & Alred’s integrity and reputation shall not be damaged by their actions.

6 RECRUITMENT

Recruitment in Basil & Alred shall be targeted at addressing specific needs of the organization. Basil & Alred shall strive to attract employees of the highest calibre and integrity to ensure the achievement of the organizational vision and mission.

6.1 IDENTIFICATION OF A VACANCY

Vacancies shall be identified by Heads of Departments on departure of existing staff or creation of new positions within the structure. This shall be based on identified work for a particular position to be filled.

6.2 APPROVING AUTHORITY

The final approval for the personnel requisition to fill up existing positions or new ones rests with the Managing Partner.

6.3 ADVERTISEMENT OF VACANCIES

All advertisements for vacancies for Basil & Alred shall be approved by the HRM or his/her designate before publication. Vacancies advertisement should include the following information:

Brief description of Basil & Alred
Job title
Job specification
Person specification
Qualifications and experience required for the post
Location of duty station
Closing date for submission of applications
Addressee of applications

6.4 NO ADVERTISEMENT

A vacant post will not be advertised where:

condition justify, head hunting through consultants
the Managing Partner is satisfied that the post should be filled by promotion or lateral transfer of serving employee
when the post is in the subordinate cadre requiring no specialized skills

6.5 SELECTION

Job experience and qualification shall form the basis for recruitment. A panel of not less than three people, including the Head of the Department or his/her designate under which the vacant position falls, shall interview short-listed candidates. The Managing Partner shall conduct interviews for Senior Management positions.

Employment of any candidates shall be subject to letters from at least three referees, which should be from people of high integrity and good standing in society and a receipt of a satisfactory medical report where appropriate. No person who has a known criminal record or is convicted for criminal offence involving moral aptitude shall be appointed to the services of Basil & Alred.

The most qualified and suitable candidate shall be offered the position.

6.6 INDUCTION PROGRAM

New staff member shall be given a brief description of Basil & Alred, basic conditions of employment, organizational mission, goals and objectives, organizational governance, management structure and the overall operations. Where the new employee’s job requires liaison with other departments, the staff member will be accorded opportunity to familiarize him with the respective departments.

The employee shall be introduced to the work place and a job description given to him. He/she will also fill in all necessary documents and give information pertinent to his/her employment. A copy of the Employee Guidelines will be provided.

The HRM’s Department is responsible for the successful induction of new staff members.

7 APPOINTMENT

Basil & Alred’s types of appointment shall be:

(i) Contract

These are employees taken to render services to Basil & Alred for unspecified period of time and remuneration is based on the terms mutually agreed upon by both parties in the written contract.

(ii) Temporary

Employees appointed to fill positions, which on contractual basis are temporarily vacant or to assist in completing a specific task.

(iii) Trainees

These are employees initially taken as trainees or students for period of four weeks who are attached in the field. During this period they are only entitled to monthly transport allowance and office refreshments.

(iv) Casual

These are employees engaged for a specific purpose for daily or weekly payments.

Upon appointment, each staff member shall receive a letter of appointment which shall include the following provisions:

name, permanent address of the employee;
place of recruitment
job description
date of commencement
form and duration of the contract
place of work
hours of work
remuneration, the method of its calculation, and details of any benefits or payments in kind, and
any other prescribed matter.
Once the letter is signed by the staff member and returned to the Human Resource Department, the letter of appointment, Human Resources Manual and job description shall constitute the contract between the staff member and Basil & Alred.

8 RELOCATION ALLOWANCE

Relocation Allowance applies at the internal per diem rate used within Basil & Alred up to two weeks (14 days only) including the hotel accommodation. The management reserves the right to approve expenses for transportation of household and personal effects. Should this privilege be granted, the new staff is responsible for gathering quotations from at least three transport companies.

9 PROBATION

The staff probation period is three (3) months. If the performance during the probation period will be satisfactory, he/she will be confirmed; if not the probation period may be extended for a period of time but not more than 6 (six) months. If the job performance at the end of extended period is still not acceptable, he/she will not be confirmed. The outcome of the evaluation will be communicated to the employee in writing.

During the probationary period, a staff member will be eligible for standard employee benefits, such as medical insurance and social security contribution as stated in the employment contract.

Staff member will not be entitled to annual leave during probationary period. However, after probation staff member will be entitled to utilize annual leave.

10 EMPLOYEE RECORD

On appointment, a staff member shall be required to fill in or furnish Basil & Alred with the following;

A completed personal data record form
A statement of reading & understanding the Confidentiality Statement
A statement of reading & understanding the Employee Guidelines
A statement of reading & understanding the Code of Conduct
A statement of reading & understanding conflict of interest Recommendation letters from his/her referees

It is the obligation of the staff member to inform Basil & Alred of any change in his/her personal records. Providing false information amounts to grave misconduct and may lead to a staff member’s dismissal.

11 OFFICE HOURS

Normal office hours shall be 45 hours per week, excluding a one hour lunch break per day. Employees may be required to work outside the normal working hours of 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday as Management may determine, at no extra remuneration provided that the working hours shall not exceed forty five hours in seven consecutive days.

Basil & Alred shall recognize and respect all public holidays as may be declared by Government of Tanzania from time to time.

Employees who are absent from work, report late to the office, or work less than the required number of ordinary hours without proper authorization shall be subjected to disciplinary actions.

Overtime hours need the approval of the Manager in writing in advance of the hours to be worked.

12 ANNUAL LEAVE

It is the policy of Basil & Alred for every staff member to go on leave every year. Requests for all types of leave must be made on the appropriate application form/system i.e Replicon. The Managers shall ensure that there is no disruption in the workflow and that adequate coverage of an employee’s work responsibility shall be maintained during their annual leave period.

Annual leave days shall be 28 consecutive days of every year inclusive of public holidays that may fall within the period of leave.
An employee planning to be away on a scheduled vacation must complete an application for leave form which must be approved by the Manager at least one month in advance. Days absent without authorization will be deducted from annual leave and noted in the employee’s personal record.
Carryover leave shall not be permitted without express written consent. Only 5 working days can be carried over and must be taken within the first quarter of the following financial year.
Carryover of leave shall not be permitted without express written consent. Only five working days can be carried over and must be taken within the first quarter of the following financial year and must be taken by the end of the first quarter.
Encashment of leave will not be allowed
Leave not taken by the end of the fiscal year, without the approved reason by the Manager and forward to HRM, shall be forfeited. However, at the discretion of Management due to workload and other contingencies of service staff may carry over a maximum of 5 days and must be taken within the first quarter of the financial year. This however, must be approved by Management. An employee may be recalled from their annual leave for operational reasons, only by the concerned Manager or Managing Partner.
Failure to return from annual leave or any other authorized leave in time shall be deemed as absence without leave and will be subject to disciplinary measures.

12.1 LEAVE OF ABSENCE / LEAVE WITHOUT PAY

In very special cases, leave of absence may be granted to a staff member who has exhausted annual leave. Before any approval is granted, it must be proved that his/her work can be carried on effectively during his/her absence.

During leave of absence, the staff member will not be entitled to salary or any other benefits. Employees with less than six months services are not entitled to leave without pay. Application for such leave will be submitted to the Managing Partner for approval.

12.2 MATERNITY LEAVE

Female employees are entitled to 84 calendar days (for single birth) or 100 calendar days (for twin birth) of paid maternity leave on full pay as long as the employee has completed one year of continuous service subject to the submission of a medical certificate. An employee with less than one year of continuous service shall be given her unused accrued annual leave entitlement.

An employee is limited to one claim for maternity leave during a 3-year period, except in the event that the child dies within the year of birth. The three years counting commence from the date on which the staff completed her last paid maternity leave.

On the recommendation of a registered medical practitioner that additional maternity leave days in excess of the 84 days are necessary for the medical condition of the mother or the child, such days shall be charged to a paid sick leave circle of 63 days full pay.

The employee expecting to have a maternity leave in a particular year shall notify HR Department at least 3 months before the expected delivery date. A staff member shall apply for maternity leave at least 3

months in advance of her maternity leave to allow time for proper handing over and due notice to be given to a staff member who may need to relocate to cover in her absence.

For the avoidance of doubt, it is emphasized that under no circumstances will maternity leave be considered as sick Leave.

12.3 BREASTFEEDING

Where an employee is breast-feeding a child, the employer shall allow the employee to feed the child during working hours up to a maximum of two hours per day for the period of three (3) months.

12.4 PATERNITY LEAVE

A male employee shall, immediately after the delivery or miscarriage of a wife, have the right to take three (3) days with pay within first seven (7) days of the miscarriage/delivery once in 36 months cycle.

12.5 SICK LEAVE

Every employee will be entitled to a maximum of 126 days, of which, 63 days shall be paid with full pay and 63 days shall be paid with half pay. Temporary employees including those on probation shall receive full pay for up to one month only.

When an employee is sick, he/she shall notify the Supervisor or HR Department through phone before 9:00 AM. Sick leave application must be filled immediately upon returning to the job. A staff member must submit a medical report from a registered doctor for any sick leave above 2 working days.

12.6 COMPASSIONATE LEAVE

Compassionate leave shall be granted to employees in cases when there is death of an immediate family member (father, mother, employee’s sibling, spouse, child or parent of spouse), or when the employee needs to attend to a sick immediate family member. Employees must notify the HR Department within the same day.

Employees are entitled to five (5) working days to attend to a sick immediate family member.
Employees are entitled to ten (10) working days for bereavement arising out of a loss of a parent, or sibling; and
Five (5) more working days for losing a child or spouse.

12.7 STUDY LEAVE

It is the policy of the Firm to have well qualified personnel in different disciplines within the Firm. Staff may be granted study leave, at the discretion of the Partnership, for examinations leading up to, and including the registration CPA (T)/ACCA & CISA, etc…

However, all study leave mentioned are granted for first time writers only. Study and examination leave is not granted for supplementary examinations.

It should be noted that study leave is a privilege and not a right. It is subject to the approval of the relevant Managers and Partners. The major deciding factor will be client pressures, and this will affect the time of leave. Although every effort will be made to provide staff with reasonable leave, the Firm may need to limit leave or recall someone from study leave in the event of an urgent problem. The firm will grant 5 study leave days per annum for examination purposes only to staff who have disclosed their further studies to HRM. No study leave will be granted for supplementary or carryover studies and examinations.

12.8 UNAUTHORIZED LEAVE/ABSENCE

Any leave taken by employees in excess of their approved leave, or any unauthorized absence from work not satisfactorily explained, shall be noted on the employees personnel file as unauthorized leave/ absence.

Unauthorized absenteeism and persistent tardiness may result in progressive disciplinary action as deemed necessary by the Managing Partner.

12.9 HANDOVER DURING LEAVE

Employees shall be required to properly handover their work, prior to embarking on any leave which exceeds 3 days. This is to ensure that there is sufficient coverage for their roles and responsibilities during their time away from work.

The handover process should be formally conducted through a meeting with the delegated person(s) that shall assume the role of the employee whilst on leave.

The concerned supervisor of the position embarking on leave, should be made formally aware, via e-mail of the delegated person(s) and list of responsibilities he / she shall assume during the leave.

Delegated persons shall be held accountable for ensuring that all responsibilities assigned to them are duly performed as agreed during the handover process.

Failure to adequately handover responsibilities or failure to assume responsibilities delegated may result in disciplinary action.

13 SALARY AND OTHER BENEFITS PAYMENT

13.1 SALARY AND SALARY REVIEW

Salaries/Management fees shall be paid monthly (from the date of the first appointment) the due date may vary from month to month. Employees of Basil & Alred shall be paid salaries by bank transfers to their respective accounts.

Promotions and staff salary increments shall be monitored regularly and reviewed annually/once per year. This review will be dependent on Basil & Alred’s financial position, inflationary changes and currency devaluation. The objective of the salary review shall be to ensure conformation with the industry remuneration scales and to take into account any increase in the cost of living.

Any salary increase should reflect the contribution of each employee. Salary increases can be given as a promotional award, a merit reward, or a market related adjustment to the remuneration package. Every recommendation for a salary increase should be based on a performance evaluation. An employee’s performance in the past year, his/her present salary position in terms of Basil & Alred’s salary scale, the employee’s ability to contribute in future and overall performance of Basil & Alred, shall be taken into consideration when an increase is granted.

14 PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

The performance of staff shall be appraised once per year by their respective immediate supervisors. The performance shall be evaluated on the basis of clear and objective key performance indicators i.e. targets, in accordance to the organisations targets and departmental work plans specifically, overall employee’s performance is used as a basis to award the annual salary percentage increase or promotion. The supervisor shall likewise identify training and development needs which are directly related to the business during performance evaluation.

The performance management process shall be implemented on an annual basis, in line with Basil & Alred’s financial/performance year. The HRF shall be responsible for ensuring that all the required stages of the process are implemented on a timely basis.

All probationary employees shall be evaluated as per the KPIs given during the start of the probation period. Evaluation of employees under probation period shall be done from the first months to avoid surprises.

The following steps govern the Performance Appraisal system for all levels of staff:

Management through departmental heads, shall share annual targets with staff. Each supervisor shall agree with individual staff on the annual objectives and the set performance standards that will be used in evaluations. The targets and standards shall be according to the employee’s job descriptions.

Performance appraisal forms shall be made available to all Managers at the beginning of each financial year. Each Manager will present for review and approval to the HR Department and Partners the results and recommendations as summarized in the staff appraisal review form of each staff.

15 REPLICON

Every employee is responsible for the submission of their timesheets on a weekly basis to their Line Manager for approval. It remains the responsibility of the employee to ensure that his/her timesheet is accurately completed to reflect the activities of the week and submitted by no later than 9pm on a Friday.

Failure to comply will result in withholding of the employee’s monthly salary and may lead to employment termination for repeated offenders. Staff are given three opportunities to miss their timesheet within a given year. Exceptions cannot be granted without prior expressed written consent from the Managing Partner.

In the event that a client code is not opened, the time worked must be charged to Administration /Authorised project. Once the activity code is opened for the client / engagement, it remains the responsibility of the employee to reverse the time from ‘admin’ to the specific pursuit’s code. The correction must be actioned within 4 weeks.

16 PROMOTION

Outstanding overall performance by staff may be rewarded by salary increase or promotion. Recommendations for promotion and approval shall be subject to there being a vacant position in higher level and will be based on merit. On being appointed to fill a vacancy at a higher grade, a staff member’s salary shall be reviewed

All promotions shall be confirmed in writing, by a letter from the Managing Partner or his/her designate specifying the changes in the contract of the staff member concerned, and attaching the job description of the new appointment.

Employees may be eligible for promotion provided the following conditions are met:

There should be a vacancy in the grade for which the employee is being considered for
The employee should have achieved high performance rating levels (overall rating of 3 or above) in their current grade and demonstrated the potential to perform at a higher grade
The employee should possess the adequate educational qualifications, relevant experience, skills & competencies as required for the job/grade they are being promoted to
The recommendation for promotion should be made by the concerned Manager and approved by the Managing Partner and the Manager of the new position by filling up a Promotion Action Form
All promotions shall be recommended by the concerned department head and approved by the Managing Partner. The promotional increase should not in any case cause the employee’s salary to exceed the maximum of the recommended salary grade to which the position belongs to.

17 EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES

Details of the benefits to which employees shall be entitled, shall be set out below:

17.1 RELOCATION

An employee who is proceeding on transfer from one duty station to another, provided that the new duty station is not his/her place of domicile, Basil & Alred shall pay subsistence allowance appropriate to an employee grade for fourteen days at the Basil & Alred’s approved per diem rate and normally, no additional subsistence allowance shall be payable after this period.

An employee who is transferred shall be paid transport costs incurred using public transport or any other competitive and convenient means as may be available and appropriate, together with her/his spouse up to 4 children/dependants and personal effects/luggage.

Where an employee is transferred at his/her own request, both transfer costs and all other entitlements as defined above shall not be payable by Basil & Alred.

17.2 DEATH BENEFITS/OBITUARY ENTITLEMENT

In case of death of an employee, spouse, child and maternal parents of the employees, burial expenses will be covered by Basil & Alred in accordance to the policy in force at the time. However, such expenses will include but not limited to:

Coffin
Preservation of body
Shroud
transport of the body and personal effects to his/her place of domicile or any other place
depending on the request of the deceased family/relatives in case of death of an employee,

In the event of an employee dying during the term of a contract of service with Basil & Alred, his/her next of kin declared in the personnel file shall be entitled to the salary and any other remuneration due to the employee at the date of death.

Application for such payment shall be submitted within 2 weeks from the date of loss.

17.3 TERMINAL BENEFIT

Terminal Benefits are final entitlements of an employee upon termination of an employment contract.

Section 44 of the Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004 provides the following for upon termination of the employment contract:

Any remuneration for work done before termination
Any annual leave pay due to an employee for leave that employee has not taken
Any annual leave pay accrued during any incomplete leave cycle
Any notice pay due
Any severance pays due if an employee qualifies for this
Any transport allowance that may be due (Repatriation costs to the place of recruitment, which shall be paid only if you had been moved to a different location after being hired by Basil & Alred and the contract is later terminated by Basil & Alred for reasons other than summarily dismissed for theft or fraud, insubordination, or resignation.)

17.4 MEDICAL BENEFIT

During your employment period, employees will be entitled to medical services for him- or herself, spouse and up to a maximum of four children under 18 years of age from selected medical insurance providers.

i). Medical Examination: A staff member may be required to undergo a medical examination if he/she complains about a medical condition that affects him in the conduct of duties.
ii). A written medical report from a registered medical practitioner, appointed and paid by Basil & Alred, shall be given to the HR Manager or designate who shall keep it in strict confidential.

Where an employee travels on Basil & Alred business or he/she is on Basil & Alred’s sponsored training abroad where there are insufficient insurance arrangements and incurs medical expenses, he/she will be reimbursed upon presenting supporting medical practitioner’s report and receipted accounts.

17.5 TERMINAL BENEFIT

Terminal Benefits are final entitlements of an employee upon termination of an employment contract.

Section 44 of the Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004 provides the following for upon termination of the employment contract:

Any remuneration for work done before termination
Any annual leave pay due to an employee for leave that employee has not taken
Any annual leave pay accrued during any incomplete leave cycle
Any notice pay due
Any severance pays due if an employee qualifies for this
Any transport allowance that may be due (Repatriation costs to the place of recruitment, which shall be paid only if you had been moved to a different location after being hired by Basil & Alred and the contract is later terminated by Basil & Alred for reasons other than summarily dismissed for theft or fraud, insubordination, or resignation.)

17.6 LOCAL TRAVEL/TRAVEL WITHIN

Employees shall be expected to use Firm vehicles to conduct Basil & Alred’s work. In the event that there is no Firm vehicle and there is urgent work to be done, employees will be advised to use UBER for business as a first alternative transport or public transport and claim for a reimbursement.

18 STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Basil & Alred shall promote continuous learning and development of employees on a continual basis internally as well as externally. Adequate planning and budgetary provisions shall be done where appropriate, in order to achieve this policy. Development of the Human Resource shall be done in such a way that it is directly relevant to the core business of Basil & Alred.

All statutory professional training/courses shall be registered to HR Department and participation of the employee shall be approved by the Managing Partner as per availability of funds or necessity of participation at that particular time.

This policy will be reviewed periodically and its implementation will be subject to availability of funds.

18.1 STAFF TRAINING AND ELIGIBILITY

Staff who have served the organization for more than one year (1) will be eligible to access training opportunities.

Employees, who are sponsored by Basil & Alred to undertake the training, will be expected to enter into a bond agreement with Basil & Alred to work for the organization for one year. In case an employee terminates the contract before completion of the bond he/she shall pay the Firm equivalent amount. Employees who resign before completing the training shall be required to refund the equivalent of the amount expended on them by Basil & Alred in training fees.

18.2 PROFESSIONAL CAREER

The Firm will ensure that learning and development strategy is aligned to the business strategy of the Firm. The Firm will only support further studies that has been authorized by the Managing Partner and CEO. The Firm will only fully sponsor professional exams such as CPA, ACCA, CISA… Sponsorship is granted for the first writers only.

19 THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (OSHA)

Basil & Alred acknowledges that it can only realize and achieve its documented mission by primarily creating a safe work place through a well-coordinated OSHA management system. This in line with Occupational Safety and Health Act No. 5 of 2003 and underlying regulations. HRM shall ensure compliance with the OSHA Act No. 5 of 2003.

20 HUMAN IMMUNE VIRUS / ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (HIV/AIDS)

Basil & Alred shall at all times promote a working environment which shall not discriminate people living with HIV/Aids i.e. employees, job applicants, clients, suppliers and other people who in one way or another deal with the Firm. Basil & Alred shall maintain employee privacy and take reasonable strides to safeguard the health of the workforce.

21 DISABILITY

Disability is the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the normal life of the community on an equal level with others due to temporary or permanent physical, mental or social barriers. Such a loss or limitation could be aggravated by community’s perception of disabled people.

Basil & Alred shall not discriminate any employee with disability nor candidate applying for a job.

22 COMMUNICATION AND CONSULTATION

Management recognizes the importance of open communication and joint consultation between management and staff. It therefore encourages dialogue with staff in whatever form.

23 DISCIPLINARY CODE AND PROCEDURE

Basil & Alred expects high standards of behavior from its employees. Employees that behave in unacceptable fashion or violate rules, regulations and policies will face disciplinary sanctions proportional to the gravity of the offense they have committed.

The following disciplinary penalties shall be used in progression as appropriate:

Verbal Warning
Written Warning
Final Written Warning
Disciplinary hearing
Suspension; or
Dismissal, Summary Dismissal
Any disciplinary proceedings, warning, suspension or termination of employment will be conducted in accordance with local law and procedures governing the relationship between employees and employers.

23.1 PROBLEM RESOLUTION AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

It is expected that if an employee has a work-related problem, he/she will discuss it first with his/her supervisor. If such a discussion is not possible or is inappropriate, he/she should discuss it with the Human Resources Department. If the problem cannot be resolved through these efforts, the employee may refer the matter to Partners.

23.2 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

The objective of the grievance procedure is to resolve disputes as quickly and fairly as possible. If an employee feels at any time that disciplinary action taken against him/her is unfair, he/she may invoke the grievance procedure as follows:

Any grievance must first be raised with the employee’s supervisor. Every effort must be made by both parties to resolve the grievance. If no satisfactory settlement can be reached, the grievance is referred to the Human Resources Department for resolution.
If a grievance is raised during disciplinary procedures, termination of employment notice may not be given until the grievance is resolved.

24 SEPARATION POLICY

This policy describes the circumstances under which an employee ceases to become an employee of Basil & Alred

24.1 TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT FOR STAFF ON PROBATION

A staff member on probation can terminate employment by giving one month’s notice in writing. Basil& Alred Management may terminate a staff member who is on probation period by giving him/her one month’s notice in writing.

Seven days will be given if in the first month of employment and after those four days if the employee is employed on a daily or weekly basis or 28 days if the employee is employed on a monthly basis.

24.2 TERMINATION OF CONTRACT ON MEDICAL GROUNDS

Termination of contract on medical grounds shall follow the procedures provided for under rule 21 of the Code of Good Practice.

24.3 EXPIRATION OF CONTRACT

An employment contract will automatically terminate after the expiry of the employment period indicated therein.

24.4 RESIGNATION

An employee who intends to resign must give 30 days’ written notice or make payments in lieu of notice as provided for in the Employment and Labour Relations Act. Leave cannot be taken as part of the notice period.

24.5 RETIREMENT/AUTOMATIC TERMINATION

The mandatory retiring age for staff is 60 years. Any employee intending to retire voluntarily after attaining the age of 55 years shall give Basil & Alred a notice of six months of his/her intention to retire.

In the case of compulsory retirement, management shall advise the employee concerned not less than six months before the effective date of his/her compulsory retirement, provided that failure to notify the employee shall not entitle him/her to any claim arising out of the omission by Basil & Alred to notify him/her on the due date.

24.6 CESSATION OF RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES ON TERMINATION OR DEATH OF EMPLOYEE

The rights and privileges of an employee extended to his/her family shall cease on the termination of employment or on the death of the employee

24.7 CLEARANCE

On leaving employment the staff member should hand over to the supervisor all Basil & Alred property (including money) previously under his/her control before his/her terminal benefits are paid.

24.8 EXIT INTERVIEW

The HR Manager or designate will arrange an exit interview for staff member(s) leaving the service of Basil & Alred with its supervisor.

24.9 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The Certificate of Service is a statement of fact of the employment of the employee. The Certificate of Employment is not a recommendation, clearance, Certificate of Good Moral Character, Salary Certification or a waiver of any claim of the employer against the employee. It is a simply an acknowledgment/ appreciation of the employees’ services thought his/ her contract

25 CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Generally speaking, a conflict of interest tends to occur in one of three ways:

When an individual has the opportunity to use his or her position for personal financial gain or to benefit a Firm in which the individual has a financial interest.
When outside financial or other interests may inappropriately influence the way in which an individual carries out his or her responsibilities.
When an individual’s outside interests otherwise may cause harm to the Firms’ reputation, staff, or clients.
A staff member who is involved in political activities shall inform Management accordingly before recruitment or before start if already recruited; and if a staff member intends to run for a political office, he/she should first terminate his/her employment with Basil & Alred.

26 DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INTEREST

Staff members shall be expected to declare any personal interest whether direct or indirect, in the course of execution of their duties in Basil & Alred.

Staff members shall be required to declare any directorship and any other interests held, directly or indirectly, in any Firm or organization that has direct dealings with Basil & Alred.

27 UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

Staff shall exercise the utmost discretion in regard to matters of official business and shall not, without prior written permission from the Managing Partner or designate, disclose any information known to them that has not been made public. Staff shall at no time, including after the end of service with Basil & Alred, use such confidential information for personal or third party advantage, unless authorized by the Management.

Only designated and authorized staff shall make statements or express opinions on behalf of the Management of Basil & Alred to the press, conventional and social media (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter), including personal blogs, electronic media and bulletin boards.

28 PERSONAL BUSINESS

Conducting personal business using Basil & Alred office resources, including phones, computers, photocopiers, stationery and other equipment before, during or after office hours is not allowed.

Materials and equipment purchased by Basil & Alred are the property of Basil & Alred and are to be solely used for Basil & Alred activities.

29 EXTERNAL COMMITMENTS

External commitments are not allowed. If a staff member is offered an external consultancy, for which remuneration is anticipated, before accepting the assignment, the staff must seek the approval of Management in writing, who may or may not give the approval. Failure to disclose or have approved external consultancies and commitments will be considered gross misconduct.

A staff member cannot provide consultancy services for his or her benefit whilst being employed by Basil & Alred. Failure to this will be considered gross misconduct

30 GIFTS AND FAVOURS

No gift is acceptable as a reward for services to be rendered; but only as a token of appreciation for something already done. Gifts shall be received without any consideration or compromises in return. Staff shall inform management if, in the course of or as a result of his/her work for Basil & Alred, he/she is offered an honor, favour or gift.

31 WRITING FOR PUBLICATION

External, professional writing of relevance to Basil & Alred, shall require the approval of Management. Management may also require that where such writing is undertaken on Basil & Alred’s contracted time or with the use of Basil & Alred supporting services, that part of any payment received may be remitted to Basil & Alred.

32 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Basil & Alred is the inherent copyright owner of the data and documentation that any staff member or consultant may have developed, gathered, reviewed or analysed on behalf of Basil & Alred, both during and at the end of Basil & Alred’s contracted time, whether or not such data and documentation has been published by Basil & Alred.

33 DRESS CODE

Staff members are expected to be neat and smartly dressed at all times. Male staff is expected to be well groomed and dress in business-like fashion. Female staff is expected to wear clothing commensurate with acceptable standards of decency.

34 REPORTING OF DISHONESTY, FRAUD AND FORGERY

It shall be the duty of every staff member to immediately report to Management any malpractice, misconduct, fraud, error, dishonesty, forgery or any other concealed practice against the policies, procedures and interests of Basil & Alred. If a staff member gets to know of such malpractice, misconduct, fraud, error, dishonesty, forgery or concealed practice and he/she fails or neglects to report the matter to Management, he/she will be treated as an accomplice and disciplinary action shall be taken.

In case the normal reporting lines and communication channels are not appropriate, e.g. the report would include the supervisory, the Whistle-blowing procedure shall be applied.

35 WHISTLEBLOWING

This Whistle-Blowing Policy provides assurances to a Whistle-blower to raise issues of malpractice for the Firm to conduct an internal investigation without fear of retribution (either criminal or civil in nature) by the Firm later on. It aims to:

Provide assurance to all Whistle-blowers that they will not be penalized, harassed, victimized internally or subject to civil or criminal action by Basil & Alred;
Provide assurance to all Whistle-blowers that the disclosure will be treated in a strictly confidential manner and that their identity will not be disclosed;
Promote effective risk management in a transparent manner;
Enhance corporate governance where Management can take appropriate measures to protect the interest of Basil & Alred and its stakeholders.

35.1 EXCLUSION

This Policy does not cover the following:

Staff grievances. Such cases are covered under the section Grievance Procedure.
Financial, business or strategic decisions made by the Management (However, the designated person may use his/her discretion to investigate this area if it’s deemed necessary in relation to the nature of the complaint).

35.2 PROTECTION

Basil & Alred assures that the employee or any person providing information under this procedure will not be subjected to any form of retribution whatsoever, provided that;

the disclosure is made in good faith;
the Whistle-blower believes that there is malpractice and that he/she intends to disclose for the best of other employees and the organization.

35.3 REVOCATION OF WHISTLE-BLOWER PROTECTION

Whistle-blower protection shall be revoked if in the course or after the investigation, it is found among others, that:

the Whistle-blower himself has participated in the improper conduct disclosed;
the Whistle-blower wilfully made in his/her disclosure of improper conduct which he/she knew or believed to be false or did not believe to be true;
the disclosure of improper conduct is made solely or substantially with the motive of avoiding dismissal or other disciplinary action; or
if the Whistle-blower disclosure is legally obliged by police or courts
No action however, will be taken if the employee makes an allegation in good faith but subsequently, not substantiated by internal investigation.

35.4 WHISTLE-BLOWER’S RESPONSIBILITIES

To facilitate investigations to proceed in an orderly manner, the Whistle-blower must not contact the suspected party in an effort to determine the facts or demand bribe and do not discuss or divulge information of the case to any internal or external third party.

36 SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY

Sexual harassment happens where an employee directly or indirectly makes sexual advances, sexual innuendos requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature towards another member of staff: It also includes an implied promise of preferential treatment, or threat of detrimental treatment, being made a condition of an individual’s employment affecting such individuals performance evaluation or progression in employment.

Sexual harassment may include but is not limited to the following:

Using language written or verbal or comments of a sexual nature
Comments directed at an individual, based on the individual’s gender, that are abusive in nature
Sexual innuendoes in the guise of humour to coerce sexual favours
Sexually degrading words, verbal abuse of a sexual nature; teasing, jokes or questions
Sexual remarks, flirtations, graphic or suggestive comments about a person’s body, clothing or behaviour
Patting, pinching or other unwanted touch of another’s body
Winking, leering or ogling
Letters, e-mails and telephone calls that are sexually suggestive
Pressure for dates
Solicitation of sexual favours or other sexually related behaviour by promise of rewards
Coercion of sexual activity by threat or punishment
The display in the workplace (also via internet) of sexually suggestive objects, magazines, cartoons, pictures-including nude photographs, videos or films

37 STATEMENT ON CONSENSUAL RELATIONSHIPS

Management considers it inappropriate for any employee to establish an intimate relationship with a staff, subordinate or colleague on whose job performance he/she will be required to make professional judgment.

38 HANDING OVER

A staff member, who is proceeding on leave, transfer or promotion to another position, and in cases of termination, shall handover in a proper manner the documents and any Firm property in his/her possession to the staff member who is taking over from him or to his/her immediate supervisor as the case may be. The handing over shall be authenticated by a comprehensive handing over report, which shall be signed by the officer handing over and the officer taking over.

39 CUSTODY AND RETENTION OF EMPLOYEES’ RECORDS

All employees’ documents or records shall be in the custody of and retained by the Human Resources Department and they shall be kept in strictest confidence. In case of any legal changes of employee records, the employee shall inform the HR Department in writing and submit a legal document showing legality of the changes with effective date.

40 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

40.1 OFFICE CLEANLINESS

All employees shall keep their desks and office equipment in a neat and orderly condition. It is also important that all equipment be properly covered at the close of each working day and that all windows be closed and lights / power turned off before leaving the office.

40.2 OFFICE EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

Office equipment like computers, photocopiers, telephones shall be available for official use. However, where employees need to make use of them for private issues, they shall seek supervisor’s sanction prior to their use.

40.3 STAFF ID CARDS

All Basil & Alred staff must have a valid identity card. Such cards shall be renewable at the beginning of each subsequent contract period and the dates therein shall be those related to each contract period. When an employment is ceased the Staff ID Card should be handed back to Basil & Alred.

40.4 REFRESHMENTS

In all Basil & Alred offices, refreshments in the form of water, tea or coffee will be served daily to all members of staff.

“I acknowledge that I have read, and do hereby accept the terms and conditions contained in these policies. In addition, I will not copy, share or distribute these documents without a written approval of management”

HR Policy Acknowledgement Form