Unless you are a Human Resource expert and know all of the laws relating to employment, you may have questions or even unknowingly engage in behavior that is either unethical or illegal. These situations can present themselves suddenly and it is important to recognize when you might need to investigate further to ensure you are not doing something that you shouldn’t be.
Consider employee solicitation. We have all experienced super customer service at one point or another. Whether we were at a doctor’s appointment or out to dinner, the employee who was helping us went above and beyond to make our experience more pleasant. How many of you have thought, “I would really like this person to work for me”? Some of you may even have gone so far as to let the employee know that if they were ever interested, they should apply to work at your practice.
Solicitation of staff has been happening for years. The best companies do it and in fact, some of the most successful companies actually recommend it. As long as there is not a non- compete clause in an employee’s contract, this is perfectly legal to do. But is it ethical? Ethics are the moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior. When we consider solicitation of another’s employees, we need to ask ourselves “How would it make me feel if someone were to solicit my employees?” Most of us would probably agree that we would not like it. That doesn’t necessarily answer the question but it does give an indication of what would be right for you.
Employee solicitation is one thing. But how about sharing employee or applicant information? Consider the following scenario: A colleague and friend calls you after their associate veterinarian abruptly quits. They are in a bind and need to hire a new vet. They ask if you have any applications on file. Since you interviewed for a new associate recently, you do. Your colleague asks you to fax over the applicant’s information and because they are a friend, you do it. Is this legal?
The answer in short is “no.” The sharing of information in an application would not be permitted because it is a breach of privacy. The only way you could legally share the information is if you had the consent of the applicant to share their information. You might consider calling the applicant to let them know a colleague is hiring. If they are interested, the applicant would contact your colleague directly.
The scenarios above provide just two of the many situations you may find yourself faced with. You may have already experienced one or both of them. The important thing to remember is to question what you are not sure of. Be sure to ask yourself, “is this legal, moral or ethical” before doing something that might hurt someone or that you might later regret.