1) Develop an HR Policy based on the following case information (this is a fictional organization, and the case scenario has been developed for assignment purposes). You may decide what format to use; there is no right or wrong template/approach to use but make sure you are consistent in your format. You can find examples of templates/formats online.

Newbridge Financial is a leading Ontario-based financial services organization. They provide clients with products and services, which include individual life insurance, auto insurance, group life and health insurance, pension products, annuities, and mutual funds. Newbridge is a medium-sized company (about 150 employees) and mostly operates in an office-based setting where many employees work in a call- center taking and making sales calls to customers. Other departments include Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Account Processing and Human Resources. The company is very innovative and constantly embracing changes within the industry but was totally unprepared when the pandemic hit to transition to a work from home situation. As a result, the companys senior management team requested HR to develop a formal policy to manage work from home situations going forward. The senior management team indicated that employees must receive approval from their manager to work from home, unless in the situation such as a pandemic or other extraordinary circumstances. They also indicated that approval will be based on depend on the nature of the employees job, the employees current and past performance, availability of electronic resources and the overall feasibility of a proposed work from home arrangement.

As the Human Resources team for your organization, you must develop a written policy that will outline the parameters of the policy and the procedures to be followed for Work from Home. Additional parameters/criteria are to be included in this policy and can be obtained through examining work from home policies from various organizations.

Do not plagiarize all elements of your policy must apply to the fictional company described here. Remember that your type of industry and company size will influence your policy.

Here are some hints/ considerations: Who will supply the equipment such as phones and computers? Is your company big enough and successful enough to provide computers and phones to all work from home employees or does it make more sense to provide them with a fixed technology allowance to cover the costs of employees using their own equipment? Or will employees be allowed to expense some of their items? Consider, health and safety and ensuring the office space is set up ergonomically. Will you allow flexible work hours or will do employees follow core business hours? Is there a set number of days/ weeks that individuals, if approved, can work from home or do they need to report into the office a certain number of days?

Use the table of contents below to develop the HR policy for the company New Bridge:

Work from Home Policy for Newbridge Financial

Introduction

Purpose of the Policy

Eligibility Criteria

Approval Process

Equipment and Technology

Health and Safety

Workspace Setup

Working Hours and Reporting

Performance Expectations

Communication Protocols

Duration and Frequency

Reimbursement and Expenses

Termination of Work from Home Arrangement

Confidentiality and Data Security

Compliance with Company Policies

Review and Amendments

Acknowledgment of Policy

Use any relevant information you research online but adapt it to the fictional company Newbridge Financial