PROSPECTUS

Human Resource Policy & Code of Practice

Objective of the Policy: 

This policy has been formulated and agreed to by the Board members and SLT of the school to ensure that all employees of the school are recruited, oriented, trained and developed and contribute to their full potential in a controlled environment and suitably compensated for the services rendered to the school.

Scope: 

This policy document is applicable for the following processes:

Exiting employees due to resignation, termination, or end of contract

Policy Clauses:

Requirement Identification

  1. Employees working in the school must form a part of the organization structure. An annual HR plan should be approved by the EC – Executive Committee that includes the Human Resource Officer and Principal / Director prior to the start of any academic year and form a part of the school’s annual budget.
Recruitment
  1. All candidates recruited to fill approved vacant positions in the school will be shortlisted by the HR officer and approved by the Principal /   Director of the school.
  2. The basic salary offered to an employee should be as per the approved salary structure and based on the grade, qualifications, and experience of the candidate. The basic salary offered must be fixed at the minimum level of the grade and position unless decided by the School Board to fix it higher than the minimum but certainly not more than the maximum level for the grade.
  3. The salary structure approved by the Board and increment structure of the school is part of this policy document, only for the use of the School Board, and does not form a commitment to any employee to claim salaries based on the approved structure.
  4. Discrepancies in the employee offer letter should be dealt with prior to the signing of the offer and not after the signing of the Offer Letter.
  5. During the probation period, new employees will be given a contract that will be valid till the completion of probation, after which, the employee is expected to sign a new confirmed contract. As far as the employee is on a contract that is pre-probation, he or she will be under probation.
Orientation
  1. Employees joining the school will be immediately provided a job description and instructions on how to perform his or her job to the best of their ability.
  2. New employee orientation to know about the organization structure, the local norms and culture and the government regulations regarding conducting oneself in public will be provided to all new employees within two months of their work in the school.
Basic resources and amenities:
  1. Employees will be entitled for basic resources to perform the job based on the nature of’ their job.
  2. International Employees can be transported to work by the school Ferries from and to the school provided accommodations. 
  3. The school will provide concession in the school fee (based on the fee policy for that year) for the children of the employees after approved by the Board of the School.
  4. The School Board will decide on the requirement of accommodation to be given to any staff based on their eligibility for the same, experience of the staff and in case the same is approved to be given, any damage to any electrical/electronic equipment provided in the accommodation by the school should be replaced by the staff who has been given the accommodation, and school will not be liable for the same.
  5. The staff will be provided, where applicable, with amenities such as laptop, and SIM card for official calls as per the decision taken by the Management on individual cases based on official needs and grade of the staff.
Gadget Policy terms:
  1. Gadgets covered under this policy include cameras, laptops, chargers, mobile phones, hard disk, USB drives and printers. No gadget should be left unattended in a classroom or staffroom even if it is in charge mode in the absence of the responsible staff. The staff must take complete ownership of the gadgets under his/her care and hand it over in good condition to the next employee in case of role change or resignation.
  2. Any staff holding an electronic gadget must sign a document for having received the gadget and undertaking to take proper care while in use. This should be done in front of their reporting authority and Principal with confirmation that the same was received in good condition with date and model specifications.
  3. During their tenure, the gadgets in the employee’s possession are their responsibility and any damage caused to the gadget will be a liability of the employee and to be repaired as per school’s requirements such that it is returned to the original working condition.
  4.  The loss of gadgets will also result in the staff responsible for the loss to replace the gadget with the equivalent model and make of the gadget that was provided.
  5. All disputes regarding gadgets will be decided as per the Management’s decision and all staff are required to abide by such decisions.
Training and Development
  1. Employees will be required to undergo professional development during non-working hours and even the vacation periods. In case employees are required to attend such sessions, there will be no additional compensation paid.
  2. Employees who provide training to other colleagues or a group of colleagues can be compensated for such additional work provided the same is authorized by the School Board, based on recommendations from the principal or relevant member of the Board.
  3. External training i.e., conducted outside the school campus or at an overseas location will be paid by the school as per actuals. All employees are entitled only for basic fares for such trips and accommodation in a 3-star category hotel, preferably close to the training venue. Any higher category of travel such as first class and so on should be approved prior to travel by the School Board.
Leave:
  1. Employees are allowed paid leave as per the contract (weekend, annual leave, casual leave, festival holidays & public holidays) on completion of 3 months in service. Sick Leave is eligible after completion of the Probation Period. 
  2. Academic staff who join mid academic year will be paid pro-rata for the current academic year vacation days that fall after their joining and not prior to their joining. For major vacation days such as summer vacation that follows their date of joining, the vacation payment will be done only after completion of one year in service.
  3. The following leave types, if validated with sufficient proof, may be approved by the Principal as paid leave if the employee avails such leave with prior permission:
  1. Sick leave as per contract should be substantiated with documentary evidence/proof from an authorized doctor, clinic, or hospital, to be claimed as sick leave as per contract.
  2. Employees wanting to extend their approved leave should communicate in writing to the school through the official email ids in advance, stating the reasons and proof to extend their approved leave however, such extension can be considered only as unpaid leave. Leave extensions should be approved prior to the start of the extension period.
  3. Employees reporting late without approval of leave extension, beyond the approved leave, will be deducted double of their daily wage, for every day of delay.
  4. Employees wanting to either suffix or prefix leave to the approved school holidays such as festival holidays, winter break and national holidays can do so only after special approval. If the employee fails to report for duty soon after the approved leave period, then the complete period of absence including the school holidays will be considered as leave without pay.
  5. Maternity leave is applicable for female staff as per the Board’s decision.
  6. Any leave that is not approved will be treated as Absent (2 days Loss of Pay).
  7. During vacation, when the school office is functional, the non-academic staff should work at least for 5 hours to be considered for a day’s pay. In case any staff leaves before the scheduled time, before 5 hours, it will be considered as leave without pay.
  8. Leave applications must be duly filled, approved by the management, and supported by necessary documents especially in case of Sick Leave.
  9. Staff are requested to duly sign the Attendance Register during entry and exit, and record their entry and exit in the Biometric device, failing which, the missing entries will be treated as leave. The leave type treatment will be decided by management.
  10. For all cases of leave not explained in this document, the final authority will be the decision of Management on how the leave is to be treated.

Higher Studies

  1. In case of any long leave applied for higher education, etc., the salary of the last worked month will be paid after rejoining duty and the period of absence for study leave will also be considered as loss of pay.
  2. The leave application for Study Leave must be submitted before 2 months for approval by the management. 

Employee Appraisal:

  1. All employees must receive a performance appraisal during the mid-year and at the end of the academic year based on quantitative and qualitative analysis of employee performance in his/her job. The following will appraise the staff for performance:
    1. Chairperson for Principal / Director
    2. All other staff by Principal 
  2. Employee appraisal should be based on comments from immediate juniors, immediate seniors, and peer group of any employee.
  3. Employee appraisal of all staff must be treated confidential and handed over to the principal directly by the immediate supervisor for academic positions and the relevant line manager for non-academic positions.
  4. Employees will not be entitled for increments unless and until merited by their performance and time in service and will be decided by the School Board based on the periodical appraisals.
  5. Employees can be promoted for demonstration of continuous excellent performance and upon recommendation from Principal for academic and non-academic positions.
Grievances:
  1. Employees who face any untoward incident in the school due to the conduct of fellow employees, immediate supervisor or any other cause can raise a grievance note in hand-written format or by email addressed to the Principal. Such grievances will be copied and first filed in the employee dossier maintained by the HR officer and then the School Director will call for appropriate action to meet and discuss the grievance with the employee.
  2. For all grievances that require a policy change in the school, the Director will raise the grievance note to the School Board.
  3. Employees can be invited to meet the management members in person to discuss grievance matters after receiving the grievance note through email or in handwritten format. The Director reserves the right to discard such meeting requests or take corrective action without having to meet the employee in person.
  4. All grievance notes will be acknowledged, and any action taken by the School Board will be informed through email only by the Director
Disciplinary Action
  1. Employees found acting against the law or the general business or moral ethics will be subject to disciplinary action. Such action will be notified to the employee in writing by the Principal.
  2. Disciplinary Action can lead to one of the following decisions:
    1. Termination of services of the employee as per HR Policy. This can be decided by the School Board on completion of investigation and recommendation by the Principal or Director OR
    2. Suspension from work till external investigation (legal) is completed. The employee will be paid 1/2 day’s basic salary for every day of suspension for a maximum period of one month. After this time the employee will be either terminated from service leading to loss of all contractual benefits till the external investigations are completed.  OR
    3. Warning Letter with deduction of salary to be approved by the Director OR
    4. Warning Letter only with no deduction in salary.
  3. Three occurrences of warning letters with or without deduction in salary can lead to termination of services and this can be decided by the Director as per recommendation from the principal or relevant line leaders.
Code of Practice & Ethics
  1. All employees are to follow the general code of ethics such as:
    1. Maintaining confidentiality of information
    2. Dressing appropriate to the work requirements
    3. Wearing the school uniform if provided.
    4. Using good business language in all verbal and non-verbal communication.
    5. Maintaining general discipline and decency.
    6. Mutual respect to colleagues, sub-ordinates, children, parents, and management, who form an integral part of the school.
General Administration of employees:
  1. Disputes between employees or employees and management can be settled as per the contract or as per legal proceedings as applicable within the laws of the country.
  2. All employee records will be maintained in the school by the HR officer reporting to the relevant Director and will update these records in a timely manner.
  3. Employees who need letters and service certificates from the school for representation to the bank or government office can request the same from the Accounts Officials which will then be forwarded to the Director. Requests may be refused in some circumstances and will be notified to the employee.
  4. All employees in the school who resign from their job at the end of their contract or prior to the same will meet the members of the School Board in a formal exit interview. Minutes of all exit interview meetings should be presented to the School Board as and when they happen, and a record maintained in the employee records.
  5. If any employee leaves the school in the middle of any academic session for any unavoidable reasons, the final settlement will be made after adjusting the leave salary, total fee dues of their wards and after handing over all the school assets in their custody in good condition. In case of damages, the cost of damages will be deducted in the final settlement.
  6. The age of retirement for all employees is 58. In case employees are required to continue in service beyond this age if the School Board may decide to extend the service of the employee for a further term.

Below is the Employee’s Release Form with respect to Brainworks TIS

General Release

I hereby voluntarily and knowingly release Brainworks – Total Group of Schools, their, directors, office bearers, agents, employees, contractors, and representatives from any and all claims, demands, causes of action, settlement or other legal or administrative actions or proceedings for any loss or damage to property or persons  

or any personal injury or death to myself or others that may happen during my personal time outside of normal school working hours, public holidays or after the last working day of the school. 

I hereby voluntarily and knowingly release Brainworks – Total Group of Schools, their, directors, office bearers, agents, employees, contractors, and representatives from any and all claims, demands, causes of action, settlement or other legal or administrative actions or proceedings for violating any religious, motor car and motor cycle licensing   laws, immigration and residency laws that may happen during my employment period or after the last working day of school according to my Employment Agreement. 

I knowingly and voluntarily expressly release the above stated parties’ liability for claims arising out of such matter. This release shall be binding upon my heirs, successors, personal representatives and assigns.

I agree and adhere to the previsions of this general release.

Signature _______________________________________ Date _________________

Print Name _____________________________________ Date _________________

Aims and Strategies

The policy aims to motivate individuals to exert themselves mentally, physically, and spiritually to their full potential. In brief, it seeks to prepare them to be a citizen of the world.

Students whose efforts and attitudes are geared towards self-improvement on any front will be acknowledged and encouraged by the school. These include but are not limited to the following:

The school maintains a record of all such efforts and achievements and duly credits students all year round. This in turn is, reflected in their improved attitude toward learning, school community, discipline, interpersonal relationships, and in their general approach towards life. The Reward & Acknowledgement Policy is a reminder that the school has its full weight behind each and every student.