Confused About Hospital Standing Orders and Code of Conduct? Need Clarity on Certification!

I am working with a reputed 400-bed hospital with 417 employees. I am confused about standing orders, model standing orders, and the code of conduct. Although I have learned a lot from the respected members of this esteemed site, I need some information. Do we need to get certified from any competent agency for standing or model standing orders, or can we have our own code of conduct? If we draft our own code of conduct and apply it to all employees, will it be legally correct? Which agency provides certification for standing or model standing orders? Please reply at the earliest so that I can sleep well.

Regards

First of all, the Industrial Establishments (Standing Orders) Act should be applicable to your organization, i.e., hospital. Only in some states has this Act been made applicable to commercial establishments, and basically, this Act applies only to factories.

If your state law permits or covers hospitals, then you can proceed with drafting standing orders. The Act contains model standing orders that you can use as a base to draft your own policies and procedures but within the framework of the law. This means that although the standing order is the independent property of the establishment, you cannot include provisions in the orders that are illegal, such as stipulating a 12-hour duty time or a clause requiring every employee to serve the organization for at least 5 years, failing which the employee must pay a sum of money as damages, etc., in the policy.

The draft should be accepted by the employees in general. Five copies of standing orders should be submitted for certification to the certifying officer. If your establishment has no trade unions, the certifying officer (an officer of the Labor department not below the rank of Deputy Commissioner) will select a few representative employees to sign the draft. Once certified, the provisions will be binding on the employees and the employer.

An employee code of conduct is only a document that defines the codes of conduct that every employee should follow while in service. It is not a legal document like Standing Orders, but if it is accepted by all employees as read and understood, we can enforce it as a binding document, at least in the case of those who are not in the workmen category.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Yes, I agree with Mr. Madhu's view. As a first step, please draft standing orders and show them to the selected number of employees and also to the Dy. Labour Commissioner (who is the Certifying Officer) for their views and suggestions. All suggestions, views, opinions, etc., need to be incorporated and modify the DSO accordingly.

Then make a revised set of Standing Orders (in 5 copies) and submit them to DLC for his certification. Once the certified Standing Orders are received, please take a photocopy of the same and exhibit it on the Notice Board of the establishment. The original SO can be kept in a folder file.

Thanks,
R K Nair

To add to what Shri Madhu Sir has pointed out, the Standing Orders/Model Standing Orders arise from the provisions of the Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act 1946, and it applies only to industrial establishments. The term 'Industrial Establishment' is defined in Section 2(e) of the Act, and prima facie it does not cover hospitals. None of the State Governments, in the literature available at this end, has extended the provisions of this act to hospitals.

As regards having any code of conduct, please check with the State Labour authorities to see if any such guidelines exist.

Regards,
KK

Application of the Standing Orders Act

The Standing Orders Act applies not only to factories but to all industrial establishments as defined under Sec 2(e) of the Act. Clause (1) of the subsection states that the Act applies to all industrial establishments defined as industrial or other establishments under Sec 2(11) of the Payment of Wages Act. This section gives power to the state governments to apply the Act to any other establishments in the state.

The Kerala government has thus applied the Standing Orders Act to all commercial establishments in the state, coming under the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishment Act 1960. Hence, all hospitals in Kerala employing 50 or more workmen are now under the purview of the Standing Orders Act.

Hence, please check whether your state government has extended the SO Act to hospitals. If so, go for certification.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

As many views presented above, standing orders have a legal aspect to them. The code of conduct depicts the values or types of behaviors that the organization believes in. For example, for an MNC, the code of conduct will remain the same throughout the world. However, the terms of employment and other employment legislation will be governed by geographical/local laws.

Thank you all for providing valuable information. Do hospitals in Punjab come under this act? As Mr. Kk Nair mentioned, this act does not cover any hospital. If we draft a code of conduct, how will it be implemented properly to avoid any litigation, etc.? Should we release a code of conduct manual or policy manual, or get it printed on hospital letterhead, signed by every employee, and keep them in their personal files? Thank you in anticipation.

If Industrial Establishment (Standing Orders) are not applicable, Model Standing Orders are automatically applicable.

Thanks & Regards,
V R RAO PULIPAKA

Dear Mr. Madhu TK has given you a very correct suggestion on how to get the Standing Order certified. Please go through the Act; whatever is missing will be made clear therein.

Difference Between Model Standing Order and Certified Standing Order

As for your confusion about the difference between them, there is a basic distinction. The Model Standing Order or Standing Order is a pivotal guide for industries on service condition matters, conduct, misconduct, rights, duties, and obligations on the part of employers as well as employees, etc. It is not specific to any particular industry, company, or establishment. However, once the contents of the Standing Order are certified by the Competent Authority under the Act, it becomes a rule and is binding on the employees employed in that specific company/establishment/organization, depending on the scope of coverage of the Standing Order. Violation of a clause of the Certified Standing Order amounts to misconduct and warrants disciplinary action and punishment to be determined by the Disciplinary Authority defined in the Certified Standing Order.

Regards,
AK Jain
HR Personnel