7 February 2022
Although no official date has yet been set, the national political climate is already brewing in election mode. This will most certainly lead to lots of debate, some even damaging with regards to personal relationships at the workplace. These sort of arguments and comments might be damaging to your business reputation especially if they spill over social media. Malta’s political climate is always heated and during the electoral campaign it almost invariably reaches boiling point. There are ways how you may avoid undesired repercussions on the smooth running of the company, and you might want to delve into which solutions are available.
It is very debatable whether one may force a total prohibition on your team to discuss politics. It is impossible to prohibit staff members from discussing almost absolutely anything nowadays.
There are however ways how to prevent and contain any damage which may result from the political discussion. Political debate and campaigning may easily be forbidden especially when such activity negatively effects the work output of the staff members. All of these measures are widely acceptable and may easily be implemented and may be expanded to include interaction between members of the staff.
It is crucial to prevent offences which are politically motivated. These may include harassment or the clear display of political symbols. Prevention in this respect saves you the trouble of having to deal with disciplinary issues which would effect the whole team.
It is advisable to keep business away from political endorsement and prioritise protection of your staff and primarily your clientele. It is unadvisable to allow staff members to engage in political discussion or joining debate with your clients because this might have a lethal and long-lasting negative effect on your business. It is advisable to keep your business as politically neutral as possible. You may also consider prohibiting workplace association through social media platforms.
Any policy regarding political discussion or interaction must represent equality. This is vital since discrimination based on political opinion is a characteristic protected under Maltese employment law. This does not make a ban on political discussion illegal but the ban must cover all political talk in general and in total and not just talk related to one party or political agenda in particular.
Keeping all of the above in mind, you might want to make sure that you are protected from any problems arising from surging political activity. We would recommend drawing up a policy regarding politics and the workplace before the steam starts blowing.
Get in touch with us on info@advisory21.com.mt if you need us to assist you further about this.