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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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