Employee hygiene is important to any business, but to those that
serve or prepare food and to those that work with people it is
crucial. If you own a business with strict OSHA laws on employee
hygiene, it is imperative that you enforce them with your employees.
If you do not follow these laws, you will be liable. And you risk
having your business shut down for good or dealing with the guilt
(and perhaps legal effects) of making your customers ill. What Rights Do I have On Employee Hygiene?
As an employer, you have the right to demand that your employees
keep themselves as hygienic as possible. If you work in the food
industry, this means your employees must wash their hands every
time after using the rest room. You must encourage them to wash
their hands often throughout the day. A part of your employee hygiene
protocol may also include wearing hairnets or gloves while preparing
food.
If your business involves working with other people, like in nursing,
you also have the right and duty to demand that your employees
wear clean clothing and that they wash their hands frequently.
Your employee hygiene policy should include washing their hands
after working with each patient, particularly if the nurse helps
the patient use the rest room, changes any dressings or gets equipment
out for the patient. Failure for nurses to follow employee hygiene
procedures can spread illness among patients. For those with a
compromised immune system, the added germs can be deadly.
Even if you don’t own a business that involves working with
food or with patients, you still have the right to demand a certain
level of hygiene from your employees. As an employer, you can demand
that your employees remain presentable always, are free of body
odor, and are clean.
How Do I Enforce My Employee Hygiene Policy?
You should present your employee hygiene policy in writing to
each of your newly hired workers. This policy should clearly explain
expectations of employee hygiene. For example, you might include
when the employees must wash their hands, when they should wear
gloves, when they should wear a hairnet, and what clothing is and
is not acceptable to wear. You might also wish to ban the use of
cologne since the scent can be irritating to certain customers
and patients.
Besides describing expectations, the employee hygiene policy should
also detail the repercussions of ignoring these rules. You can
be precise, such as list an exact number of days a person might
be suspended for breaking the rules. Or, you can be more vague,
by providing a range of possible repercussions. Be sure to take
some time when creating the employee hygiene policy because it
will be your guideline when it comes to disciplining employees
that choose to ignore it.
Once you have created an employee hygiene policy, present this
information to your employees. In addition, they should sign a
paper documenting that they have received a copy of it. Then, when
an issue does arise, consult this policy to decide the action you
will take in response to your employee’s lack of proper hygiene.
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