What We Expect of You as a UVic Employee

The following guidelines will help define the boundaries of reasonable performance and conduct that supervisors will expect from you.

Positive and Respectful Workplace

• The law is clear: all employees have a joint obligation to maintain a respectful and harassment-free workplace.

• We expect employees to treat each other with respect, in every interaction.
• We also expect employees to take action to help create a positive and respectful workplace. Such actions are reflected in the Basic Principles for a Positive and Respectful Workplace which we expect all staff to follow. The principles are:
• Focus on the situation, issue, or behavior, not on the person
• Maintain the self-confidence and self esteem of others
• Maintain good working relationships
• Take initiative to make things better
• Lead by example
• Think beyond the moment

© Achieve Global – used with permission

Honesty and Integrity

• You have an obligation to represent the University in a responsible manner.

• We expect you to conduct yourself with honesty and integrity. This includes, for example:
• not removing or using private documents where it is reasonable for you to assume the documents are confidential;
• safeguarding, and not stealing property of the University, co-workers and students;
• having scrupulous regard for the confidentiality of student, employee, and University information;
• respecting the privacy of other staff (e.g. avoiding listening in to telephone or other conversations); and,
• using University property or equipment appropriately (i.e. internet, telephone, fax, printers)

Performance

• When performing your job, you must meet a reasonable and acceptable standard. This includes the following:
• being reasonably careful, and not careless, in the performance of work; being reasonably efficient in your work; properly carrying out your job duties;
• carrying out the lawful directions or instructions of your supervisor in a cooperative manner;
• working co-operatively with co-workers; and,
• accepting your supervisors’ coaching and feedback to improve performance.

• You must make every effort to attend work capable of safely performing your duties (eg. being sober and physically and mentally able). If you cannot, you are expected to ask for assistance or accommodation.

• You must treat your co-workers, supervisors, staff you supervise and colleagues in a respectful manner. Bullying, intimidation, sexually harassing or other similar behaviour is unacceptable (See University DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES #1150).
  

Attendance

• You are expected to organize your personal affairs so that you can attend work on a regular basis. In order to assist you with this the University makes provisions within the Collective Agreements or employment contracts. These may include paid or unpaid leaves, flexibility in scheduling, and other time off provisions as operations allow.
  
• Where you may not be attending work regularly, the supervisor or manager has a responsibility to meet with you to determine what, if anything, the University can reasonably do to assist you in your efforts to come to work.
  
• You must provide a reasonable or justifiable explanation for your absence (subject to the limits in your Collective Agreement). Concerns for privacy may allow you to refuse the details of an illness, but when you are unexpectedly away from work for justifiable reasons, your supervisor must be notified about the absence, its expected duration, and the general reasons for it.
  
• When you intend to leave work early, even for justifiable cause, you must notify your supervisor except in rare circumstances where this would not be reasonable.
  

Off-Duty Conduct

• We expect that you will not conduct yourself away from your jobs in such a way as to seriously prejudice the University’s interests or reputation.

Dealing with problems or issues

• If you have a complaint or issue with your work conditions, co-workers or your duties you are expected to use proper procedures (e.g. notifying your supervisor, Union Steward, Human Resources Consultant) to remedy a situation.
  
• Ultimately if your continued employment presents a serious risk to the University’s property or to the well-being of co-workers, or where your behaviour persists over such a period of time so as to confirm conclusively your unwillingness to cooperate or to follow the reasonable and lawful directions of your supervisor, you may be discharged for cause.