Human Resources Guide in Managing Trainees at Workplace

Dear readers, regards to all. My article this time is focused on a group of individuals that are engaged in many organizations be it big or small to gain practical knowledge and hands on skills. This group of individuals is known as “trainees”. Of course in our country, they are known with many names… apprentice, management trainee, intern and so forth. But one thing that can never be changed is that these individuals are not paid “wages” for their contribution. This is because as trainees they are being guided by the company with work related skills and practical job knowledge and learning of values and work culture and ethics provided without any “fee”. Some organization do offer “ training allowance” just to cover their basic cost of meal and transport and some do provide them a place to stay and meals during their training period. More often than good, these trainees do sometimes are taken in under the disguise of practical training but are given role and duties just like an employee. Such practice is rampant today especially when the need for work is high and when the organization is in dire straits for people to fill up the gap in work. To save their manpower cost, some of these organizations take the most convenient route……….just engage as many practical students from the local varsities and colleges. Taking these students under the disguise as “trainees”, they abuse these young individuals by practically making them actually work throughout their training or practical period. The question is…. Is it right or ethical or legal to do? The answer lies on the intention and the purpose of the company in hiring trainees. Let me share some the current cases that happened recently. The first case involves a school leaver who was engaged as trainee due to her age. She was only 17 years old and due to the Young Person and Children Act 1966 which was revised defining Young Person as those below the age of 18, the company could not hire her as an employee. Well this part, the company got it legally correct. Unfortunately during her “training period”, she had met with an accident at the factory where she was hit by a forklift. Her left leg crushed and she had head concussion as well. She was rushed to the nearest government hospital and was given emergency treatment. She had survived the ordeal but too bad doctor had no choice but to amputate the damage leg below her knee to avoid infection of the entire leg. Almost 6 weeks later the family members when to SOSCO office to seek medical aid and welfare support but to their surprise, the officer concern had stated that her daughter is not a registered SOCSO contributor as she is below the SOCSO regulated age for contributions which is 18 and above. Feeling dejected and upset with concern for her daughters’ future, the worried father when to the company’s office and confronted the HR manager seeking answers and help. Unfortunately the HR manager gave the same reason as the SOCSO officer. The dejected father went back with full of frustration, sadness and worries. He was lost and don’t know what to do. The other case involves a varsity student who was engaged by a company for practical training for the period of 6 months which is part of his final year studies requirement. He was attached to the production department and was placed on shift rotating schedule and was given a monthly training allowance of RM500.00. Now the interesting part was what was stated his training contract. One of term mentions that his allowance will be deducted on prorated basis for the days that he fails to report for training. During the second month of training, he was on medical leave for about a week due to eye infection and fever due to long hours being exposed at the factory plant which is basically a new environment to him. When he came back to office and handed the MC chits and bills, he was told that he is not entitled for MC claims as he is a trainee and to add insult to injury he was told by the HR personnel that his allowance will be deducted. Feeling upset, his motivation to carry out his obligations when downhill and eventually he had to stop his practical training after 3 months due to his own request which did not go down well with Management. So they refuse to fill in the evaluation form given out by the academic office.
The 2 cases above shows how much ignorance or impact that can have on the individuals who come into an organization with full of hope and dreams. Costly blunders by HR department can create an unwanted attention from officers from Labour department, SOCSO or Department of Occupational and Safety (DOSH). That is why it is important for HR practitioners to know the right method in managing trainees and develops policies and terms that not only seen legally right but ethically fair. Engaging Trainees or Intern Appointing any individuals as trainees has to be done with proper and clear understanding of legal requirement of the employment laws. But FIRST, HR practitioners must learn to understand who is defined as trainees. “Trainees” are defined as an individual engaged by an organization or individual for the purpose of guiding and preparing them to assume a specific job role and responsibilities. Trainees will undergo practical and hands on training (On the Job – OJT) learning specific and generic work skills and also learn to adjust to work cultures and gain understanding of work and organizational values as well. These selected trainees will be placed in a specific department under the guidance of a supervisor who will be their mentor and coach. As mentors, these supervisors are supposed to teach, guide and develop them to be a competent person. Making mistakes or job errors or committing any misconduct are to be accepted as this is part of their learning curve and it is the duty of the mentor and the management to correct them. Appointment of Trainees – Legal Compliance HR practitioners who have plans to engage anyone as trainees must know the basic legal requirement in Malaysia. They need to draft contracts in accordance to these requirement and ensure that both parties are safe and secured. So the most important thing is to know the details of employment regulations FIRST. In Malaysia, engaging trainees involve certain legal compliance. This is because some of regulations may affect the trainees and management if proper considerations are not taken care when developing a contract for trainees. The first consideration is on the age of hiring. Under the Children and Young Persons Act 1966, any individual below the age of 18 is defined as “Young Person”. As Young Person, law prohibits any one from hiring them in the private sector as “employees”. But it does not stop any organization from taking anyone below the said age as “Trainees”. However, HR practitioners must take note that since they are below the age required to be defined as employees, these individuals are not legally bound to be SOSCO contributor as the age for such compulsory contribution starts from the age of 18 onwards. As such they are not bound for any SOCSO claim in the event of any work related accidents that results in injuries or death. The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 also defines employees as those attain the age of 18 and DOSH had clearly advised companies taking any school leavers below the age of 18 to be more considered in their welfare and safety. In addition to this, trainees are also not entitled for any minimum benefits which are outlined in the Employment Act 1955 or Sabah / Sarawak Labour Ordinance. The second consideration is payment in lieu of training. If companies offer training allowance instead of fixed basic wage, than irrespective of age, anyone engaged under this term will be excluded from the scope of Employment Act 1955 (which provides minimum benefits), SOCSO contributions and other statutory deductions. However there are companies who do hire individuals as “management trainees” but offers them a fixed basic salary. As such, these trainees are actually defined as “employees” legally but technically they are undergoing a specific period of on the job training before they assume the full role for a specific job. The third consideration is welfare and protection. Since trainees as we have mentioned don’t get the minimum benefits and protection because of the legal limitations, HR practitioners must prepare for any pitfalls or impact that may affect the organization. Such unwanted burden and attention must be avoided by taking appropriate measures. Referring back the first case where the young 17 year old girl was injured due to forklift accident, the father actually got the assistance of legal aid to sue the company for negligence and failure to provide safety for his daughter who was a new trainee. He had gained substantial amount of compensation in lieu of damages.

Drafting Contracts for Trainees Trainees engaged by companies must be given a proper and detailed training or apprentice contract that provides details of terms related to their scope of training, scope of coverage, scope of conduct and scope of compliance. a)Scope of Training Scope of training should state the nature of training touching on details of role and tasks to be learned, training location (for example, accounts department under accounts payable section), the training schedule and person who will be their trainer/mentor and identifying assessment tools to benchmark and record progressive feedback from both parties- mentor and trainee. b)Scope of coverage To me this the most crucial part as most trainees are affected by the limitations within the employment laws that do not benefit them. As part of consideration for welfare and protection, HR practitioners can develop certain privileges as part of benefits for trainees. The most important of all is purchasing PA and Insurance policy inclusive of medical card that covers them during their training period. This is very much crucial if the organization is planning to engage school leavers below 18 years old. The medical card with reasonable limit would allow trainees to at least cover their medical expenses. The Personal Accident scheme will at least assist HR department to assist trainees who are affected by work related accidents since SOCSO does not covers them.

c)Scope of Conduct

Part of the training contract also should include the trainees’ code of conduct during their training tenure. Code of Conduct should include – attendance requirement, attire and general appearance at workplace, ethical and professional behavior.

d)Scope of Compliance Trainees must be informed in writing detail information on any compliance and adherence to rules and regulations at workplace. The scope shall provide details on safety compliance, quality standard compliance, disciplinarycompliance and compliance to general guidelines set at the workplace.

Recommended Suggestions – Guide for HR Practitioners

Finally, it wise for HR practitioners to avoid certain terms and actions that can haunt them if not acted promptly. The following are some tips to be used as a guide. The guides are as follows:-

1.Develop Training Contract which must not have any elements of Employment Contract. Key terms to avoid any elements of Employment Contract are:- a)Training Schedule – Avoid stating working hours b)Scope of Training - Avoid stating it as Job Description c)Training Privileges – Avoid stating Benefits and Entitlement d)Trainee Code of Conduct – Avoid stating Rules and Regulations

2.Issue Training Voucher as proof of payment instead of pay slip as pay slip are given for payment made as wages. 3.Develop Trainee ID tag – Avoid issuing staff ID tag 4.Conduct Trainee Orientation program – for trainees to be familiarize with the organizations’ culture and values 5.Develop Trainees’ pocket guide book for easy user guide reference on the do’s and don’ts of trainee during their training period. Dear readers, hope the above can provide some guide on how to manage trainees and to avoid any unwanted repercussion. Remember, trainees are also human, they have feelings too. They can sense if the organization that had engaged them as trainees are actually teaching them or merely using their service in the pretext of providing them practical training. Such feelings of insecurity will lead to low morale among trainees and to certain extend may paint a bad picture of the company that had engaged them. Higher Learning Institutions may stop sending their students for practical training and school leavers may through their family members or any learned person lodge report to the relevant authorities. So be ALERT.