Discharge
An employee may be discharged from GrameenPhone service for reasons of physical or mental incapacity or continued ill health or other reasons not amounting to misconduct. Discharge is not due to the shortcomings in the employee's performance.
A medical board comprising 2-3 registered medical practitioners will be formed to examine the employee's health condition and submit their recommendation. Based on the board's recommendation, discharge decision will be made.
The discharge of any category of employee will be approved by Managing Director.
The employee will be give one month's notice or pay in lieu thereof. The employee will also paid gratuity for every completed year of service or for any part thereof in excess of six months, in addition to any other due benefits as per the Company policy.
Resignation and Exit Questionnaire
A permanent employee of GrameenPhone can tender resignation from his/her service by giving one month notice. Failure so submit resignation letter prior to one month notice will result deduction of one month's basic salary.
The resignation letter is submitted to respective departmental Head who in turn sends a copy of it to HR with his/her acceptance and comments. HR formally issues a resignation acceptance and release order to the resigning employee based on Department Head's comments. The issuance of release order is contingent on the following:
The separating employee has handed over the charges to assigned person
A clearance certificate is obtained from the respective Department head
The employee has no liability with the Company.
Once resignation acceptance letter has been issued, the employee fills up an "Exit interview Form" and submits it directly to Manager, HR confidentially without copying to any body. The form is kept strictly confidentially and is not a part of employee's Personnel file.
Objective of Exit questionnaire: The objective of filling an exit questionnaire is to know why the employee leaves the Company. After compiling the information provided in the questionnaire, management examines the causes and takes preventive measures to minimize employee turnovers.
The employee gets usual service benefits and unpaid salary, if any, as per Company policy at the time of leaving the Company.
Chapter 8: Benefits. Leave and Other Allowances
8.1Compensation and Benefits
Compensation is what an employee receives in exchange for his/her physical and mental works, and contribution to the company. Compensation does not represent only salary but a wide range of benefits and service are part of the total compensation package. GrameenPhone wishes to pay rewarding and competitive salaries to attract, retain and motivate competent and skilled employees at all levels of the Company. By rewarding and competitive salaries we mean that each employee should be rewarded in accordance with:
What the post requires,
How skilled the employee is and
What the market pays for work of the same type.
GrameenPhone wishes to design a compensation system that has strong positive impact on employees and ultimately on the Company's performance. Keeping Company's strategic objectives and unique characteristics and environment in mind, GrameenPhone determines a number of criteria for designing a compensation system. The criteria are:
Internal and external Equity: Internal equity means that there should have fairness of the pay structure within the Company i.e. similar jobs get similar pays. External equity assures that jobs are fairly compensated in comparison with similar jobs in the job market. To achieve internal equity, periodic job evaluation that assesses the relative worth of jobs throughout the Company should be conducted. On the other hand, to achieve external equity, periodic market survey and cost of living adjustment should be taken into account.
Competitiveness: There are obvious affect of market forces on compensation. Compensation must respond to the supply of and demand for employees in the market since employers compete for work force.
Cash and non cash benefits: Cash payment motivates employees through monetary rewards such as salary and allowances. The Company pays cash benefits according to ability to pay. Non cash benefits such as job security and making the job interesting is also taken into account.
Performance based pay: Employee productivity, skills and performance are also important determinants of the compensation system of the Company.
Consistency: All-out efforts are made to ensure that compensation system is consistent with HR policies and it is uniform and stable.
Provident Fund
The permanent employees of the Company are eligible to become members of the Provident Fund. Employee contributes 10% of their basic to the provident fund and the Company makes equal contribution to the fund. The Company's contribution starts once the employee has become permanent employee of the Company.
A Provident Fund Trustee, with separate rules, is formed for managing the provident fund.
The PF maturity period is three years. Employee has to serve minimum three years for being eligible for both employee and company contribution.
Gratuity
Gratuity is paid to an employee for providing a life time service to the Company. The eligibility is minimum five- year service with the Company.
Gratuity amounts are linked with the respective employee's length of service which are as follows:
Gratuity Years of Service
@ 1 month's basic/for each year 5 years
@ 1.5 month's basic/for each year 5 Years to 10 Years
@ 2 month's basic/for each year More than 10 years
Gratuity is equivalent to one (or more as the case may be) month's basic based on the last drawn basic salary for every completed year of service or for any part thereof in excess of six months.
Bonus
All employees are eligible for two bonus in a calendar year which is an amount equivalent to their two months basic salary.
One bonus is paid during Eid-ul-Fitr at a flat rate to all employees irrespective of the religion. Another bonus is paid as per the following festival of different religious affiliation:
Muslim : Eid-ul-Azha
Hindu : Durga Puja
Buddhist : Buddha Purnima
Christian : Merry Christmas
Two month's basic as bonus is paid in full for a calendar year or a pro-rata amount for incomplete calendar year, whichever may be the case. The bonus will be paid according to the basic that is due on the festival day, not the basic on the payment day.
An example: An employee who joins on April 1 and if there are two festival in that calendar year, then the employee will get fractional festival bonus according to the following formula:
2 months basic x days with the Company
----------------------------------------------------------------
365
HR will prepare the bonus list prior to three weeks time of Eid-ul-Fitr and the respective festival day and Accounts, based on the list, will arrange to transfer bonus amount two weeks ahead to employee's account.
An employee who joins after festival date will be paid bonus after the end of the year.
If an employee leaves the Company on any day preceding to the festival bonus payment date for whatsoever reasons other than retirement, his/her festival bonus will not be paid.
8.2 Sick leave and related leave
Sick leave
There will be no standard annual entitlement to sick leave. Sick leave at actual will be availed based on advice of registered medical practitioner. For sick leave of three days or more, certification of registered doctor or HSE head is required. An assessment will be carried out by HSE/ medical board if any employee is frequently availing sick leave.
If more than three months leave is necessitated due to occupational injury or on-duty accident, the same will be allowed. However dismemberment/ prolonged sickness more than 3 months will be reviewed by HSE/ board of doctors.
Maternity leave
A female is granted maternity leave for a period of 16 weeks. A female employee can avail the maternity leave only twice during her tenure with the company. A female is not entitled to maternity leave unless she has completed a period of not less than nine months immediately preceding the day of the delivery. A pregnant employee should inform in writing to her supervisor confirming her delivery date along with a medical certificate. A female employee should not be dismissed during maternity leave without sufficient cause.
Paternity leave  Â
A male employee is granted one week of paternity leave during his child birth. A male employee can avail the maternity leave only twice during his tenure with the company.
The condition is that he stays with his wife and uses the time to look after his family and home. If he does not live with his wife then he has no right to take such leave even if he is the child's father. Such leave can be taken before and/or after the birth of a child.
Annual Leave
An employee will be allowed to avail 25 days of annual leave per annum. Maximum 15 days annual leave will be carried forward to the succeeding year, if any, and excess of 15 days annual leave as of December 31st will be forfeited automatically.
Recreation Leave
Every employee must avail 5 annual leave at a time in a calendar year, proportionate annual leave will apply in that case.
Leave form:
All leave application shall be made by using a standard Registration of leave/Absence Form. The concerned Unit/Section head shall approve the leave by signing the form. The employee will provide full address on the leave form during the period of leave applied for. At the time, they leave place of posting that must also be intimated with new address. In the event requested leave is not approved or the approved leave is canceled, then the reasons for refusal or cancellation shall be recorded on the form. Such form will be part of employee's leave retained by HR.
Chapter 9: Other Human Resources Related Activities
9.1 Identity Card
The GrameenPhone employees must have their respective Identity cards with them and keep them displayed while on duty so that it is easily visible and can easily be checked against the person wearing it. External visitors, who arrive a Company premises on official business, must always be collected and escorted temporary ID cards to and from reception.
ID card is not transferable to anybody. HR will issue ID card to all employees of GrameenPhone at the time of their joining. The employee will sign an undertaking that he/she will carry out all official rules in this regard.
Employee will fill up ID card information form to get the card.
During separation from the Company, an employee must return ID card to HR otherwise release order will not be issued.
If the ID card is lost, the employee has to report and make a GD entry to nearest Police Station within 24 hours. The employee will submit a copy of the GD to HR. In order to get a new ID card, an application, duly recommended by Director of the concerned Division/Department, will be submitted by HR.
9.2 Confidentiality of information
All employees must maintain secrecy in respect of all Company matters and polices. All employees are bound to retain silence regarding all business relation or other relations which could provide unauthorized information to outsiders, especially competitors. Technical or business related information should not be shared with outsiders and those will remain within the framework of sales or general information activities. A Secrecy and Loyalty Form has to be signed by all employees of GrameenPhone. The employees will declare that they will maintain secrecy in all matters that come to his/her knowledge during employment in the Company and shall not divulge matters relating to the operation of GrameenPhone in any respect. Non-compliance of any of the provisions contained in the declaration form would lead, at the discretion of GrameenPhone, to disciplinary actions according to Company Policy.
Employee Information
Outside organizations or individuals may request GrameenPhone for ex-employee or present employee information. The sharing of any of the information with them exclusively depends at the discretion of GrameenPhone. Employees may ask for Experience certificate or salary information certificate from GrameenPhone for any valid reason. In such case, GrameenPhone may issue such certificate to the employees. HR, in consultation with line manager, may issue such certificate.
