Hi HRs, I want an opinion for the below-mentioned case.
One junior employee brings a pastry to the office pantry and celebrates a birthday of another employee (close friend) along with other employees. The company has a separate policy for the event, which states that a minimum of 2 employees' birthdays is celebrated in the office by cutting a cake. The HR told the concerned employee that the event could not be done officially that day due to a valid reason, but it would be celebrated later.
Despite the message, the employee ignored it and arranged a small pastry/cake, cutting it and sharing it with other peers. Now the questions are:
1) Will this be treated as indiscipline and a violation of the HR and company policies, or was what he did right?
2) If it was wrong, what action should be taken?
Please provide your valuable comments on the above matter as it would be highly appreciated. Thanks.
From India, undefined
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One junior employee brings a pastry to the office pantry and celebrates a birthday of another employee (close friend) along with other employees. The company has a separate policy for the event, which states that a minimum of 2 employees' birthdays is celebrated in the office by cutting a cake. The HR told the concerned employee that the event could not be done officially that day due to a valid reason, but it would be celebrated later.
Despite the message, the employee ignored it and arranged a small pastry/cake, cutting it and sharing it with other peers. Now the questions are:
1) Will this be treated as indiscipline and a violation of the HR and company policies, or was what he did right?
2) If it was wrong, what action should be taken?
Please provide your valuable comments on the above matter as it would be highly appreciated. Thanks.
From India, undefined
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Hi,
At the outset, although the deed is not a very serious misconduct to be punished, it is disobeying HR's version of company policy. The said employee should have taken due permission from HR by approaching them again before continuing with the celebration. HR would have allowed the cake cutting if properly convinced.
From India, Hyderabad
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202At the outset, although the deed is not a very serious misconduct to be punished, it is disobeying HR's version of company policy. The said employee should have taken due permission from HR by approaching them again before continuing with the celebration. HR would have allowed the cake cutting if properly convinced.
From India, Hyderabad
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Is it enjoyable for you when your management scolds employees for petty issues? Now, the question is:
1) Will it be considered as indiscipline and a violation of the message of HR and company policies, or is what he has done right? Is your management so autocratic that they fail to participate in the joy of a birthday celebration for an employee? Why do you view this as a violation of discipline?
2) If it is wrong, what action should be taken? Let's celebrate the birthday of the person.
From India, Pune
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1) Will it be considered as indiscipline and a violation of the message of HR and company policies, or is what he has done right? Is your management so autocratic that they fail to participate in the joy of a birthday celebration for an employee? Why do you view this as a violation of discipline?
2) If it is wrong, what action should be taken? Let's celebrate the birthday of the person.
From India, Pune
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It is not about celebration, it is about maintaining the office decorum as well as HR message. Once there is clear instruction from HR and an explanation of the birthday policies, how can any individual overrule the decision and celebrate in the office premises just because the concerned birthday was for a special friend? My focus is on this particular point.
Yes, we are all human beings and we love to enjoy any celebration, but at the same time, one has to remember that it is official, not a personal matter.
From India, undefined
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Yes, we are all human beings and we love to enjoy any celebration, but at the same time, one has to remember that it is official, not a personal matter.
From India, undefined
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Special friend was not mentioned by you earlier right!! If he is not an employee then it is not allowed.
From India, Hyderabad
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From India, Hyderabad
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HR is not Hitler he/she is there support Human Resources. And if employee are causing any wrong/loss to company/organization then only language of discipline should in picture else certainly NO.
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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Yes, Mr. Patnaik I have mentioned in my 1st post that the employee is a close friend of the person concerned.
From India, undefined
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From India, undefined
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You have mentioned a close friend of the employee, and they themselves are another employee. In the next version, you have referred to a special friend. If this special friend is an in-house employee, then celebrating is not a heinous crime to be punished.
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Please let me know if you need further assistance.
From India, Hyderabad
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Please let me know if you need further assistance.
From India, Hyderabad
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Interesting case, and I am surprised at the rather vociferous support of the "birthday party" and its organizer. The initial post mentioned that the company has a clear policy of celebrating birthdays by clubbing them; one cannot question whether the policy is right or wrong. As long as a policy exists, it has to be followed; or it has to be amended to reflect current systems.
Allowing people to behave or act contrary to policy is opening a Pandora's box... on what basis will you deny one employee and permit another employee? What are the policies you will allow others to contravene and for how long? What are the policies that you will enforce strictly?
Coming to the celebration itself, it could have just as easily been organized as a private affair after office hours. Why do it in the office when it is clearly discouraged?
In my opinion, the person was just trying to be a hero/heroine and clearly indicated his disregard and disdain towards organization policies. This should clearly be seen as misconduct and dealt with accordingly, as per company policy, (don't make the mistake of taking this personally), deal with it as per company discipline policy (I am sure you will have one, that includes a "progressive discipline process" where disciplinary issues are graded as "minor" or "major" and penalties are also graded for severity).
Have a look at this thread: https://www.citehr.com/54381-miscond...-download.html
From India, Kochi
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Allowing people to behave or act contrary to policy is opening a Pandora's box... on what basis will you deny one employee and permit another employee? What are the policies you will allow others to contravene and for how long? What are the policies that you will enforce strictly?
Coming to the celebration itself, it could have just as easily been organized as a private affair after office hours. Why do it in the office when it is clearly discouraged?
In my opinion, the person was just trying to be a hero/heroine and clearly indicated his disregard and disdain towards organization policies. This should clearly be seen as misconduct and dealt with accordingly, as per company policy, (don't make the mistake of taking this personally), deal with it as per company discipline policy (I am sure you will have one, that includes a "progressive discipline process" where disciplinary issues are graded as "minor" or "major" and penalties are also graded for severity).
Have a look at this thread: https://www.citehr.com/54381-miscond...-download.html
From India, Kochi
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One simple question ; did celebration happened during working hours or in lunch break??
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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Dear Anonymous,
Employers are doing a lot for employee retention. Birthdays are a very special day for every human being, and your company has a policy of celebrating them on another day. I have never heard of such a practice. Please consider letting it go if someone ate pastries in your pantry, as taking action against someone for celebrating their birthday may make them feel guilty for being born on that day. God bless your company.
From India, Pune
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Employers are doing a lot for employee retention. Birthdays are a very special day for every human being, and your company has a policy of celebrating them on another day. I have never heard of such a practice. Please consider letting it go if someone ate pastries in your pantry, as taking action against someone for celebrating their birthday may make them feel guilty for being born on that day. God bless your company.
From India, Pune
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In my point of view, Celebrating employees birthdays are for motivating and engaging employees towards their job. If no job is affected with his activity, then nothing is wrong in this.
From India, Karaikal
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From India, Karaikal
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I think the incident is being blown out of proportion. If friends who are also colleagues celebrate their birthdays among themselves while on their tea break or an extra break, how can that be a violation of the policy? The company may have a policy of celebrating all birthdays together at the end of the month. As an HR initiative, please celebrate it, but how can you stop them from celebrating the event among themselves during their breaks?
So, in the entire scenario, what was HR so annoyed about? I think it is the ego speaking and nothing else. If I had been the employee, I would have resigned at the same moment when HR asked me for an explanation. This is just saying that you are robots and not humans, and you should only act as per my command.
From India, Mumbai
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So, in the entire scenario, what was HR so annoyed about? I think it is the ego speaking and nothing else. If I had been the employee, I would have resigned at the same moment when HR asked me for an explanation. This is just saying that you are robots and not humans, and you should only act as per my command.
From India, Mumbai
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